Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
Post Reply
User avatar
andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by andy10917 » November 28th, 2016, 8:58 pm

In the North, we're basically there -- yup, it's time to put a fork in the 2016 Season.

But wait!! One more task...

Did the Lawn you made this Season meet your goal(s)?

Rate it from "A+" (which is way more than you hoped for) to "F" (call the rototiller guys). Explain your rating.

LoneRanger
Posts: 2692
Joined: April 25th, 2014, 11:11 pm
Location: Macomb County Michigan
Grass Type: Front/Side - Emblem, Back - Panterra V
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by LoneRanger » November 28th, 2016, 10:26 pm

For the late seeding I ended up with, I'll give it a B+.

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by MorpheusPA » November 28th, 2016, 10:48 pm

C. We had an extended drought this year, so a lot went dormant from late June through late August.

It looked great from late February through late June, though, so A's and B's through that period. F from late June to late August. D in September. B in October, B in November so far; it looks great, but there are a few patchy holes where the grass died over the summer and didn't have the water to come back in fall.

Billybob
Posts: 1484
Joined: May 5th, 2012, 11:29 pm
Location: Central NJ
Grass Type: TTTF
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by Billybob » November 29th, 2016, 9:30 am

With the horrible drought this past summer I give it a D-...... I ended up over seeding. Hard to believe it but today it bounced back to an A. Ended up be a great fall, the spoon feeding kicked in nicely

User avatar
PSU4ME
Posts: 1147
Joined: November 29th, 2016, 9:29 am
Location: Metrowest MA
Grass Type: Front: Bewitched/Midnight/Everglade Back: Midnight/Diva/Everest
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by PSU4ME » November 29th, 2016, 9:49 am

I'm with morph, the drought really killed me this year but I'd give myself an A for how I dealt with it. I was able to Reno about 13k worth of a backyard and it turned out ok.


User avatar
kenomikes
Posts: 75
Joined: March 21st, 2016, 11:50 am
Location: RI
Grass Type: Front Masterpiece TTTF, Rear Driveway area Masterpiece TTTF, rear pool swingset area TTTF Barenbrug
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by kenomikes » November 29th, 2016, 9:57 am

Learned alot this year starting with the soil test. Half my spring seeding reno failed, redid the failed sections in September and the front and back look nice now. Need to finish up leave mulching and drop the winterizer.

D at first and and now a B.

User avatar
Pete1313
Posts: 873
Joined: June 2nd, 2014, 9:36 am
Location: Northwest Illinois
Grass Type: Bewitched KBG
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by Pete1313 » November 29th, 2016, 10:06 am

I would give mine a B, about all I could expect in its first year. I eliminated most of the weeds, and it is a darker green compared to most of the area lawns, but is all I can expect from an old NoMix. I spent most of the year working on the soil by adding alot of BLSC/KH, grains, and following ST6's recommendations and I think I am starting to see some change for the better in the soil. I also followed the aggressive fall N plan and played with fall apps of generic primo. Overall, all the inputs helped it go from a D to a B in one season.

User avatar
nclawnguy
Posts: 2808
Joined: July 12th, 2011, 8:53 am
Location: Piedmont Region of NC
Grass Type: tttf
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by nclawnguy » November 29th, 2016, 10:52 am

C - I spent little to no energy on my lawn this year. I had backyard tore up for pool and patio install. I do not have irrigation and my lawn is around 35,000 sqft. Had a drought and had heavy equipment and trucks driving through it. It looked like hell in July and August, but bounced back nicely in the fall. I did do an overseed to repair some of it. Right now it looks pretty good, not anything close to where my last lawn was like, but not too bad.

User avatar
BoatDrinksQ5
Posts: 1387
Joined: September 27th, 2013, 8:54 am
Location: North Twin Cities, Minnesota
Grass Type: 9k of KBG (2013 sod) Blue-tastic, Corsair, BlackJack, Empire
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by BoatDrinksQ5 » November 29th, 2016, 11:15 am

B

Lawn was pretty great - then went on a 2wk trip to UK - neighbor cut grass a little short for me - coincided with a dry period and not enough watering. Lawn got a bit toasted in spots - then came the moles - a lot of areas just barely recovered come fall. Started mowing shorter and there was even more BBDL then typical (old mole tracks and drought artifacts...). Was a little too light on the fall fertilizing - so thickening wasn't is good as desired once grass was shorter.

Next year I am going to make a point of mowing a little shorter year round and watering more aggressively. As Andy has pointed out before I believe - is it worth spending the time, money, and energy in the yard - but then short change it by stressing/hurting it with being cheap with the water (that is fairly cheap in my area)!

Each year I get better and better at detecting 'stress' and watering - but this year I was GONE during the worst period... fail. Security "yard" cameras have been purchased.... won't make the mistake again :) lol

Good year - looks great after the snow melted - looking forward to next year!!!

User avatar
ronfitch
Posts: 252
Joined: April 1st, 2012, 1:41 pm
Location: St. Paul, MN
Grass Type: original: I don't know; overseed: Kentucky Bluegrass
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by ronfitch » November 29th, 2016, 12:48 pm

It's about context .... B.

It still looks good, a darker green than some others around here this late in the year and I could push the reflective poles in the ground by hand pretty far this week (for you in the south, we put those up along the street to try and keep the snow plows in the street). Five years ago, I could not have done that even in the softest part of the lawn - utterly impossible in the boulevard sections by the street. I recall needing a hammer to drive wire tent stakes into the ground in the backyard the first summer of turf.

I stuck with milo and (sorry, Andy) shampoo/molassas in May-July, Sept-Oct. I keep meaning to do the proper BL mix and just never got to it. That, plus three hits of gypsom again this season and winterizing about ten days ago. And pre-Em. Probably about what I would pay for a five-per-season treatment service.

One big change for me was swapping out the controller on our irrigation system to a Rachio II in early July, which syncs with WeatherUndergound.com stations as one of the options in addition to setting a regular watering cycle. It was free to me as one of first 50 in the city to respond to the offer.

I was already out-of-sync with most neighbors and the HOA by not watering every other day (I was watering once-a-week, when needed and keeping an eye on rain amounts). Honestly, our HOA has sprinklers running *during* heavy summer storms and there are areas of sidewalks that have standing water much of the year because of it.

The Rachio took that over for me, even when gone for a two-week trip late July/early August. The water use for the October billing period (which probably covered July 1st - Sept 30th) this year is about 40% of last year, same for 2013 and 2014, and less than a third of what it was for the same period in 2011 and 2012.

User avatar
darkcrisis
Posts: 176
Joined: October 20th, 2014, 9:31 pm
Location: Knoxville, TN
Grass Type: TTTF
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by darkcrisis » November 29th, 2016, 1:19 pm

C-

We are in a severe drought...

Front Lawn - Neglected because I was focusing my money, attention, and work to the back lawn reno. I may just plan on letting it coast from here on out and overseeding with rye every fall so it looks nice and green while everything else is brown during the winter months.

Back Lawn (Reno) - Started out looking great, but quickly declined. I think I infrequently watered too long... I thought it was grubs because I found one, but the damage continued. I then figured it must be a fungus. The delay in putting down applications of fungal control products caused more damage. By that time growth slowed tremendously.

I have some areas that look really good while other look horrible. I plan on preventative fungicide treatments on the lawn next year and hope I can get it back to a worthy looking yard. I honestly am glad the season is over because every time I look at my reno I get angry. Oh well... nothing I can do now. At least I have a good starting point next year. I will probably have to do a heavy overseed in the worst areas next fall. Regretting not mixing in some KBG to my TTTF. Not having any grass that can spread kind of sucks.

Live and learn... Looking forward to a fresh beginning next year!

User avatar
HoosierLawnGnome
Posts: 9591
Joined: May 22nd, 2013, 5:59 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Grass Type: Blueberry KBG
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » November 29th, 2016, 2:03 pm

B.

Renovation had good coverage that should fill in this spring and get the thickness I want. Looks more yellow than I'd like going into winter.

User avatar
1977212
Posts: 992
Joined: June 16th, 2015, 8:49 pm
Location: MN
Grass Type: Quack, No Mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by 1977212 » November 29th, 2016, 3:51 pm

B- I was shooting for a cheap way to keep it nice this year and succeeded, but The color suffered. I believe I've push too much N in the spring as my lawn got a little floppy. Next year will be much better as I'll be doing some iron apps.

User avatar
probasesteal
Posts: 1032
Joined: March 29th, 2014, 3:39 pm
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Grass Type: FRONT: SPF30, NuGlad and Midnight. BACK: Hogan's TTTF with SPF30 HBG
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by probasesteal » November 30th, 2016, 8:53 pm

B

Front yard has never looked better and the reno HBG/KBG looks great. Few thin spots that I hope fill in. The backyard is lagging, but further along than many years past. Average is a 'b', front a-, back C+.

The bluegrass that's established looks amazing, so far well worth the wait (I was tempted mid October to scrap and throw down PRG) thanks for the nudge NClawn and ECU.

g-man
Posts: 501
Joined: June 29th, 2016, 9:54 am
Location: Fishers, IN
Grass Type: Mix (mostly KBG)
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by g-man » December 5th, 2016, 10:59 pm

Not fully done for the season since there is still some top growth. Hopefully I should drop urea this weekend.

Front A

The aggressive nitrogen approach made the front spread really nice. The Milo gave it a deep green. At least 9 neighbors have asked for details what I'm doing and 3 have actually started to follow with Milo applications and have cancelled their service (true green, sorry Billy).

Back B+

The soil still needs more work on the back and the rust impacted the color. It is a new construction, so it will take some time. It is not a sprint but a long term marathon. The kids were able to play on grass instead of mud, so I'm happy.

User avatar
Jackpine
Posts: 1081
Joined: October 28th, 2011, 6:02 pm
Location: Antrim County, Michigan
Grass Type: N.W. Mi. KBG blend
Lawn Size: 3000-5000
Level: Experienced

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by Jackpine » December 8th, 2016, 6:32 am

About a B-

2015 summer reno did not thicken up much due to getting pretty much the same amount of N as the rest of the lawn. Color will be better next year!

No rust this year in the front...Yeah! Did have a bit of thinning in the shady areas of the summer reno due to an unknown issue.

Front looks great with nice compliments on the 75% Blue Velvet/25% Bewitched blend.

Same as last year the lawn has gone to bed hungry with no winterizing app. Milo down in September all used up.

User avatar
OldGlory
Posts: 336
Joined: June 30th, 2013, 9:51 am
Location: North Shore, MA
Grass Type: Carl Spackler Hybred: KBG; Featherbed Bent; Northern California Sensemilia
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by OldGlory » December 8th, 2016, 11:16 am

Tough year with the drought. Grade C overall.

Front Yard Reno was a challenge. Was hoping for a nice wet spring to help it along. Had to rely on my irrigation system since mother nature was so stingy with rain. It took a very long time to fill in and I still have some bare spots where I could not get adequate coverage with the irrigation system. It hung on until the water ban in late August. Plan for next year is to use Tupersan and overseed in Spring hoping for a wetter go of it.

Backyard stayed green but was riddled with Poa. Plan for next year is to lay down a continuous blanket of pre-em starting in early spring and RU the Poa and install sod where the patches are.

Green
Posts: 6837
Joined: September 14th, 2012, 10:53 pm
Location: CT (Zone 6B)
Grass Type: KBG, TTTF, TTPR, and FF (various mixtures)
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by Green » December 8th, 2016, 8:09 pm

B+ for the main front. I managed to knock down a lot of the Triv problem in the past year, and overseeded the entire thing several times over the past year or so. I also got rid of most of the clover finally.

B for the side front. Parts of it burned out in the drought despite hand watering, irrigation at regular intervals to adequate depth, etc. It's due to tree roots, slopes, compaction, and old/poorly performing grass types in some parts. I did an overseed on the worst part, the top of the front hill this Fall. I also managed to escape disastrous brown patch this year by treating after the first signs. The area recovered well in the Fall.

A+ for the hell strips. Gypsum, proper fertilizing, and lots of hand watering as needed...really held up well despite the near-impossible nature due to their small size, pavement adjacent bounding them, and high temps this past Summer. Planning to add irrigation to them next Spring.

A+ for the back. After a rocky start last Spring and a little dormant seeding on the sloped part, this area really held up well, even without a ton of irrigation. This is due to better soil, some protection from the sun, and better grass types.

C+ for the side. It's still got a lot of Triv. I finally overseeded this Fall, for the first time since it was planted in 2011.

A- for the low-input area. I managed to reduce the Poa A infestion to nearly nothing, finally. Last Spring, I reclaimed and re-seeded a lost portion that had tree litter from neighbors for about a decade. I'm grading this area on a different scale though...as a utility area, since that's what it is. Irrigated the low-input area several times during the Summer/drought. Also put in spray heads on spikes for the newly seeded part. Watered that part on a timer very frequently throughout the Summer and early Fall. It came in very well. Still some bare spots in the low-input area that burned out due to the drought this Summer, but it's recovering. Still some Bentgrass mixed in, but that's acceptable on utility/low-input turf.

A+ for effort and time spent.

User avatar
j rockford
Posts: 427
Joined: October 6th, 2010, 9:46 pm
Location: cincinnati
Grass Type: emblem moonbeam moonlight slt midnight star midnight prosperity, boutique
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by j rockford » December 11th, 2016, 1:47 pm

D/F as in dry and fungus. Also a helping or two of my own buttsteak idiocy. Picked the wrong year to tinker with process. Hot humid weather with a late hot and dry spell and a scoop of dollar spot added up to a lousy result.

User avatar
llO0DQLE
Posts: 1420
Joined: August 4th, 2013, 3:20 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB Canada
Grass Type: KBG and Creeping Red Fescue
Lawn Size: 1000-3000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Put a Fork In It (and Then Grade It)

Post by llO0DQLE » December 15th, 2016, 12:50 am

A+ from spring green up to mid June. The weekly 2x BR Milo + Tons of Rain + No proactive biofungicide regimen = fungus on my first year lawn starting mid June until the end of the season. By the end, it felt like an F to me. Lots of brown blades everywhere. I actually couldn't wait for winter snow to cover it so I could look forward to spring green up next year.

Next year I'll hold back on fertilizing, I will probably stick to grains and only BR Milo monthly at most starting in late spring (just for the color) and be proactive with the Serenade. I might even just do FAS for color if I don't feel like dropping any soluble N.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests