Mission to 0.25"

[SimonR]

Considering there is absolutely nothing going on in the Warm-Season forum, while the cool-season folk are going gang-busters, I thought I would start a thread for my Oz growing season.

I had a crazy plan over the winter that I wanted to attempt to maintain by hybrid at 0.25" (well actually a bit less, 6mm). Considering I only have a pidly 2.5k, I figured the worst that can happen is that I would have to raise the mowing height. Big deal.

I had it at 10mm for about 6 weeks last year and it got puffy real quick, and the inevitable occurred with raising the HOC as the season progressed. Solution, covert a mower to a dedicated groomer.





So I scalped 2 weeks ago down to 10mm and applied a light sand topdressing. I am going with a 23-2-13 this year, rather than a straight N fertilizer. Looking at 1lb N/1k every 6 weeks.

Mowed tonight. I got about 10 feet into it and immediately thought, wow this is uber short! Double cut both front and back. A bit of a concern that perhaps I didn't scalp low enough before I laid the sand down. There is still a fair degree of stubble evident, so I am not too sure how I will manage that just yet. Hopefully the groomer can cut a lot of the stubble out. It does a great job of pulling lateral stems out and standing them up for the mower to cut. I think for now I will groom before each mow just to see what happens. Groomer is set at 5mm above the soil surface, so technically 1mm of canopy penetration.

Primo maxx is in the house too, so as soon as I have 100% coverage again I will look for my first app.

It was getting dark so I didn't get a chance to get some decent photos in, so I'll keep this updated.

Shout out to MQ & Wisey for the advice in the off season

[Michael Wise]

Nice work on the groomer!

I think it sounds like you have a solid plan.

Keep up with the water and fertilizer, and I bet you got this whipped!


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[SimonR]

Thanks Michael. Fair bit of fluffing around and it blew the budget a bit, but do it once and do it right!

Got the water set for every 3 days for now, but once it comes in I'll scale the frequency back and up the duration

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[Begotten]

have you considered astroturf or is all the tinkering what you enjoy?

[Mightyquinn]

That groomer looks down right evil, but I like it!!!!! I too think you have a solid plan and can't wait to see what 6mm looks like! Mowing with all that sand may wear down your reel faster so make sure you check for sharpness until it is all filled back in. Don't wait until you are 100% filled in to use the Primo, I think 85-90% and it will help tighten the turf up a lot plus give it a nice deep green too!!! That stuff is addictive and once you use it you won't ever not want to use it again!! From all the reading I have done the groomer works best at 10-30% below HOC so at 6mm that would be .6-1.8 mm below obviously. Can't wait to see how this turns out as I will be right behind you in about 6 months. What are the day time temps there?

[Sixohh]

cant wait to see how it comes out! i wish i was on your "level" !

[SimonR]

have you considered astroturf or is all the tinkering what you enjoy?

Me + 4 girls = lots of time on the lawn and in the shed!

That groomer looks down right evil, but I like it!!!!! I too think you have a solid plan and can't wait to see what 6mm looks like! Mowing with all that sand may wear down your reel faster so make sure you check for sharpness until it is all filled back in. Don't wait until you are 100% filled in to use the Primo, I think 85-90% and it will help tighten the turf up a lot plus give it a nice deep green too!!! That stuff is addictive and once you use it you won't ever not want to use it again!! From all the reading I have done the groomer works best at 10-30% below HOC so at 6mm that would be .6-1.8 mm below obviously. Can't wait to see how this turns out as I will be right behind you in about 6 months. What are the day time temps there?

Sand was going everywhere which was a worry for the reel. Considering its a freshly ground reel too I'm hoping to get by on backlapping for now then reassess. I found this article which probably explains the grooming process the best;

http://www.bladerunnerfarms.com/site/wp ... oomers.pdf

Intersting perspective on the primo too, might have to start earlier than I thought

Day temps are between 70-85F so reasonable conditions at the moment without the worry of stress on the grass

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[Mightyquinn]

Simon, sounds like you are in optimal growing conditions and more heat the better when it comes to bermuda(Couch). I have read that article over and over many times and I have it saved on my computer!! There is one more thing I wanted to add, the groomer you have, I take it has a drum on the rear of it, so any lifting of the grass will be negated from the drum but at least you will get the cutting action on the stolons and culm. How often do you plan on grooming?

[SimonR]

Simon, sounds like you are in optimal growing conditions and more heat the better when it comes to bermuda(Couch). I have read that article over and over many times and I have it saved on my computer!! There is one more thing I wanted to add, the groomer you have, I take it has a drum on the rear of it, so any lifting of the grass will be negated from the drum but at least you will get the cutting action on the stolons and culm. How often do you plan on grooming?

It's a great article, also saved on my hard drive. #geek

It's the downside of not having an integrated groomer directly in front of the reel. I guess we can't all have a greens mower
So the rear roller runs over the stem, then the front roller of the mower runs over it again, so while not ideal I'm hoping I can play around with depths to get the best result.
I was looking at grooming weekly during maintenance, but it might need to do it a bit more regularly initially to get it to where I want. Thoughts?

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[Mightyquinn]

Sounds like a good plan to start with just make sure you are changing you mowing/grooming directions often to help keep the grain from appearing, that is what I plan on doing. I am also planning on aerating at least twice next year too as that will help with the grain and the thatch build up which creates that spongy feeling you get later in the Summer. Do you have a place you can rent one? I think the top dressing you did this year will help with some of that. I think the groomer you have will work well and since you don't have a lot of square footage of lawn it isn't as labor intensive as it would be as in my lawn.

[SimonR]

This is proving to be a slightly greater challenge than I anticipated. This issue is that I can now see that I didn't scalp low enough before I put the sand down. There is too much stubble evident, that is now being pushed over by the front roller and not being cut. The fact that this is being pushed over is also starting to initiate some graining. I groomed and mowed Friday, and whilst some areas look quite good, there are others areas that need work. Thinking of taking the groomer down to 0.125" above the soil and getting stuck in to hopefully correct the grain now before it gets to be a real issue.

At the moment it is also really unforgiving mowing at this height, but I am hoping things will improve as density increases and the sand top-dressing settles in, firming up the surface.

My reel also needs to be adjusted and back-lapped already after 3 mowings as it is not cutting cleanly. Bloody sand. I'll get that done before I next mow.

Put some Primo down along hard edges and around the pavers at the front as they were already annoying me having to constantly trim with the line-trimmer. Put out 1.5ml/5L

Pics;

[Mightyquinn]

Looking good Simon!!! I think you are right about the sand causing some of your issues. I think once the grass grows through and everything firms up you should be fine. Is there an option for a grooved roller for your mower? It will help stand the grass up to get a cleaner cut. I know you already have spent some money on that groomer conversion but I think a grooved roller should help. I would be surprised if you have grain this early in the year but after everything grows in and firms up you might need to verticut or aerate to help remove some of the stolons and rhizomes that built up from last year. Just give it another week or two and most of that sand will be gone.

[SimonR]

I think what I need to do is get the groomer lower and go against the grain to try to disrupt the old stems that are lying flat. The new shoots are not a problem, its the older, tougher more wirey stems that are the issue. I also think I need to get the mower backlapped and adjusted properly so that it is cutting the old stems effectively. The sand has played a bit of havoc with the reel/bedkife clearance, and I really should be checking/adjusting each mow.

If I was planning to cut at 3/8" it wouldn't be an issue, so chalk it up to trial and error. If I had my time over I would have shaved and verticut this to the soil, then added the sand.

It is coming in quite fast with some days in the mid-80s, so hopefully in another 2 weeks I'll have full coverage and can assess.

[SimonR]

This is what I mean about the stems;

[Mightyquinn]

I wouldn't worry about the brown stems too much as they will go away over time. All the sanding you did will remove almost all of your grain since the grass will grow UP to get through it all and not out. As for the reel, I would let the grass grow out a little bit so you can mow a little higher until most of the sand is gone otherwise you will be sharpening your reel more often.

[SimonR]

I back lapped and adjusted the reel so it's cutting paper again so I think I will take that advice on board MQ and let it come up a bit more before the next mowing

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[Mightyquinn]

I back lapped and adjusted the reel so it's cutting paper again so I think I will take that advice on board MQ and let it come up a bit more before the next mowing

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What are you currently mowing at? 6mm? I think you will be fine since you won't be cutting any of the stolons or rhizomes since they will be under the sand for awhile. I know it is hard to sit back and not do anything but give it a week and see how it looks.

[SimonR]

Yep, currently at 6mm. I guess I wanted to start early to avoid it getting too vertical. Considering I scalped and sanded this exact time last year, I am well ahead of that point. Some crap weather coming this week so might have to do some more research

[Mightyquinn]

What kind of crap weather?


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[SimonR]

When I say crap, I mean nothing over 70F lol

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