New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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BIGDADDY13
Posts: 44
Joined: May 28th, 2020, 2:06 pm
Location: Northeastern CT
Grass Type: KBG and Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by BIGDADDY13 » May 28th, 2020, 2:25 pm

Decided today was the day I would finally join the forum. Been lurking and stealing good treatment options for years and figured it was time. Located in Northeast Corner of CT. Have a pretty big lawn (almost 40K square ft) and not looking for perfection!

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Masbustelo
Posts: 488
Joined: September 14th, 2018, 10:56 pm
Location: Western Illinois, parallel to tip o Lake Michigan.
Grass Type: Mazama KBG
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by Masbustelo » May 29th, 2020, 8:54 am

What are the light colored areas that you can see in the pictures?

BIGDADDY13
Posts: 44
Joined: May 28th, 2020, 2:06 pm
Location: Northeastern CT
Grass Type: KBG and Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by BIGDADDY13 » May 29th, 2020, 9:26 am

that pic was taken in early April and things were still greening up. Notice the trees had no leaves at that point. The top pic was last week. Overall, only issue are is right by the stone where our dog does her business. Toughest challenge I always have is that the entire back side of my property borders on an overgrown cow pasture. So the edges are always a battle keeping random weeds and crabgrass at bay. Last fall I did some pre-m treatment to hopefully cut it back this year (especially with the poa, etc) and am hitting the others as they arrive. Coronavirus has given me a bit more time off the road so I am just staying on top of it the best i can.

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prog_dave
Posts: 72
Joined: October 8th, 2010, 9:43 pm
Location: Manchester CT
Grass Type: Northern Mix with multiple Crest/Baron/Blue Angel KBG Overseeds
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by prog_dave » May 29th, 2020, 1:48 pm

Nice looking yard! I spent quite a bit of money over the years getting my soil up to snuff, and I'm only dealing with 15k square feet. The thought of what it would have cost to deal with a yard the size of yours makes me cringe.

BIGDADDY13
Posts: 44
Joined: May 28th, 2020, 2:06 pm
Location: Northeastern CT
Grass Type: KBG and Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by BIGDADDY13 » May 29th, 2020, 2:36 pm

It is not cheap. I have been slowly moving away from the "scotts" program as results were always a crap shoot. Doing more targeted application of weed control and pre emergents every year actually has reduced the cost considerably. I have used milorganite with quite a bit of success, but always researching.

On a separate note, we have over 1000 linear feet of stone walls around our property. Former farm land and good soil profile to start with. Just trying to get a little better every summer!


Masbustelo
Posts: 488
Joined: September 14th, 2018, 10:56 pm
Location: Western Illinois, parallel to tip o Lake Michigan.
Grass Type: Mazama KBG
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by Masbustelo » May 29th, 2020, 9:28 pm

Can you show us the stone walls? I'm interested to see them from an architectural viewpoint.

BIGDADDY13
Posts: 44
Joined: May 28th, 2020, 2:06 pm
Location: Northeastern CT
Grass Type: KBG and Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by BIGDADDY13 » June 1st, 2020, 10:31 am

I will take some pics tonight. They are all loose stone erected which is traditional in our area. Always maintaining them...

BIGDADDY13
Posts: 44
Joined: May 28th, 2020, 2:06 pm
Location: Northeastern CT
Grass Type: KBG and Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by BIGDADDY13 » June 2nd, 2020, 1:54 pm

Image

Image

here are the pics of the wall. Takes lots of patience and time to get them solid. Always remember "one over two, two over one". Makes the wall solid!

Masbustelo
Posts: 488
Joined: September 14th, 2018, 10:56 pm
Location: Western Illinois, parallel to tip o Lake Michigan.
Grass Type: Mazama KBG
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by Masbustelo » June 2nd, 2020, 8:02 pm

How old is the wall? Does winter freezing and thawing tear it up?

BIGDADDY13
Posts: 44
Joined: May 28th, 2020, 2:06 pm
Location: Northeastern CT
Grass Type: KBG and Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by BIGDADDY13 » June 3rd, 2020, 9:09 am

The original "farm wall" has been there since the 1800's(you find cool stuff when working on them. Arrowheads, horseshoes, wrought iron nails, etc). Farmers used to stack the stone along the edges of the fields when they tilled them. Many have been rebuilt since. I rebuilt it about 6-7 years ago. The key to preventing it from taking a beating from the freeze thaw is to construct a quality base (usually several feet of crushed stone compacted under it. The area in these pics has some good base and some not so good base (due to the fact that there is significant ledge in parts of it that the wall is on, could only go down several inches to prep base).

It does require annual adjustments (deer and other animals knock stone off it constantly). Overall, if constructed well, they last a really long time.

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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: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by ronfitch » June 3rd, 2020, 3:08 pm

BIGDADDY13 wrote:
May 28th, 2020, 2:25 pm
Have a pretty big lawn (almost 40K square ft)
"Pretty big lawn". :rotfl: :rotfl:

Isn't that about a quarter of Connecticut?

(Looks great, love the wall).

BIGDADDY13
Posts: 44
Joined: May 28th, 2020, 2:06 pm
Location: Northeastern CT
Grass Type: KBG and Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by BIGDADDY13 » June 3rd, 2020, 4:25 pm

Close. Using a backpack sprayer is an all day affair if I were to treat the entire lawn. Actually looking to build a sprayer rig (have the parts to do it, but lack the motivation, lol!!!) Have way to many other projects with my tractors right now. I have an annoying issue with my zero turns electrical wiring where it melts when I turn to start it. Been mowing with my other rider for now...

Masbustelo
Posts: 488
Joined: September 14th, 2018, 10:56 pm
Location: Western Illinois, parallel to tip o Lake Michigan.
Grass Type: Mazama KBG
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: New to the forum, but lurked for years!

Post by Masbustelo » June 3rd, 2020, 9:32 pm

Thanks for the info on the wall. Where I live there are no rocks in the fields probably for 200 miles from here. it looks great. Here, we have to buy rocks.

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