DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
DevilDawg81
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Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
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DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 1st, 2020, 9:13 pm

In short: today I seeded almost 13,000 sq ft of my property to continue our ‘new’ lawn.

Long version: Well folks, I’ve been quietly working on a reno throughout the summer here at our house we built and moved into last summer. I started last year with a ~5500 sq ft section of new lawn in the backyard that you can read here:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=25441

In mid June I started off taking measurements on a much larger area to reno this fall. My 6-year-old daughter went out with me one night as we mapped out watering zones. In all it was 13,000 sq ft of area. I sprayed Round Up in June, then about 3 weeks later in July, and last spray of Round Up occurring in mid-August. Admittedly, I missed the sweet spot of August 15 seed down-but I had some grading work done that was just completed a couple days ago.

Prior to grading, I had 10 yards of top soil brought in to help level out some low spots. Everything was set for me and today performed these steps:

>Seed (Sunny blend, from Seed Super Store) ~80 lbs
>Scotts Starter Fertilizer with Mesotrione
>Straw spread
>Set 11 sprinklers on Melnor timers and let the watering commence

Some notes: I used straw on this larger area. Typically I’ve used peat moss on the smaller areas but this summer we’ve had some unpredictable pop-ups. I anticipate some An increase of weed pressure from 1) the straw and 2) not spraying Tenacity (I’ve had much better luck spraying versus using granular mesotrione).

Important note: In Spring my next door neighbor came over and said “Your backyard you planted last fall, it’s gorgeous...but the rest of your yard, you should seriously consider TruGreen. There’s a definitive line between my lawn and yours...” and he proceeded to pitch me on hiring TruGreen and totally degraded our lawn. I tried to convey to him that our property was a cornfield but 18 months ago, and we don’t even have true turf for anyone to treat, but he just wasn’t getting it and could tell he just didn’t understand. I let it go but that moment has stuck in my head ever since then.

Let the fun begin! Best of luck to all this fall!!

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 1st, 2020, 9:16 pm

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ken-n-nancy
Posts: 2571
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Grass Type: Front: KBG (Bewitched+Prosperity); Side: Bewitched KBG; Back: Fine Fescue Blend + Prosperity
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Level: Experienced

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by ken-n-nancy » September 2nd, 2020, 3:36 am

DevilDawg81 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 9:16 pm
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Looks like an awesome seedbed! Keep up the great work!
DevilDawg81 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 9:13 pm
In short: today I seeded almost 13,000 sq ft of my property to continue our ‘new’ lawn. ...

Prior to grading, I had 10 yards of top soil brought in to help level out some low spots. ...

... I anticipate some An increase of weed pressure from 1) the straw and 2) not spraying Tenacity (I’ve had much better luck spraying versus using granular mesotrione).

Important note: In Spring my next door neighbor came over and said “Your backyard you planted last fall, it’s gorgeous...but the rest of your yard, you should seriously consider TruGreen. ...
Congrats on seed-down! I feel for you in spreading so much soil by hand! However, there isn't any better way to get it leveled out well!

I'm curious as to if you've had good success with spraying Tenacity in the past, why did you switch to Scotts granular this time? Was it a matter of convenience at seeding? Having the fertilizer left over from something else? Had you run out of Tenacity?

I'm hoping the neighbor pitching TruGreen was a different neighbor than the adjacent farmer?

Looking back at your renovation thread from last year, it's easy to have a high confidence that this year's renovation will turn out great, too! In two months, you can be looking forward to a photo like the one that you posted back in October 2019 of the back yard renovation:
DevilDawg81 wrote:
October 27th, 2019, 3:37 pm
...
Image
...
Looking forward to hearing how it goes and seeing that late October 2020 pic!

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stack316
Posts: 326
Joined: July 15th, 2010, 7:11 am
Location: MA
Grass Type: Side: 2014 Bewitched Reno Front: 2013 Faith, Cochise IV, Falcon IV, LS 1200 reno Back 1st half Mutt, Back 2nd Half 3rd Millenium & Rhambler reno
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by stack316 » September 2nd, 2020, 10:49 am

Good luck!

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
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Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 2nd, 2020, 10:55 am

Thank you both!!

Two main reasons for not using Tenacity...time & my rotator cuff. My largest capacity sprayer (currently) is a 4 gallon backpack sprayer and that's what I used for all of my Roundup treatments. Each time at the end, my arms were about to fall off and I was aggravating my shoulder. Comes with age I guess :-)

My neighbor pitching TruGreen lives (as you're seeing those photos) directly to the right of us. What's funny is after he mentioned that, a week or two later his wife was telling me how much she hated paying for it b/c their lawn is full of weeds still haha.

Last night we received a decent amount of rain and it's still continuing today. I've shut all water off. When the builders constructed our home, they cut a natural swale around the perimeter of the lawn. This reno goes right through the swale, and this morning there was a fair amount of washout in that zone. We're supposed to get more rain tomorrow, so I'm going to hold off on reseeding until Friday afternoon. From then on the extended forecast looks favorable.

I'll post a pic later so everyone can see what the current state looks like!


DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 2nd, 2020, 12:07 pm

Here we are about 24 hours after initial seed down. The swale created a ‘stream’ of water and washed out (the dark brown in the pics).

I plan on reseeding Friday and going from there.
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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 6th, 2020, 9:49 am

This morning I went out and adjusted some of the sprinklers to get better coverage. I had a brand new head that wouldn’t rotate and Amazon just delivered the replacement so I had to swap a unit out. I did note some termination but we’re fixing to leave her shortly so I’ll snag some pics tonight or tomorrow.

The week ahead weather wise looks favorable, a little hot to start the week but cooler by mid week.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - Day 7

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 7th, 2020, 7:41 am

I have some baby grass poking through. I noticed some yesterday morning but I can see a lot more today. The breeze is chilly this morning. I had to put a long sleeve t on as I’m out here inspecting things.


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TheStig335
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Location: E. Panhandle West Virginia
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by TheStig335 » September 7th, 2020, 9:10 am

What sunny mixture did you get from SSS? Is this the same mixture you had on your reno last year, too? I have SS5000 on mine and was wondering if we were in the same boat.

Everything is looking good!

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 7th, 2020, 10:21 am

TheStig335 wrote:
September 7th, 2020, 9:10 am
What sunny mixture did you get from SSS? Is this the same mixture you had on your reno last year, too? I have SS5000 on mine and was wondering if we were in the same boat.

Everything is looking good!
Yes it is the SS5000 mix. I used the same last year, but I think some of the cultivators/species were changed with the blend this year. I went out and walked around the entire area this morning and I’m seeing germination abound. This is my largest reno to date and has me the most paranoid :D

I was sitting in the morning room reading and looked up and saw a deer standing in the back. She ran towards the house up to the reno area, and all the straw stopped her in her tracks. She turned back and ran the other way. Our Ring spotlight cam caught a glimpse of her. You can see last years reno area in the pic, right next to the current one.


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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - Labor Day Downpour

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 7th, 2020, 7:34 pm

Currently in the middle of this...


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I had turned the sprinklers off after the mid-day cycle in anticipation of this. It is pouring right now, a tornado had touched down north of Columbus earlier.

I’ll have to assess in the morning.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - Downpour Aftermath

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 8th, 2020, 9:06 am

I have some standing water in spots. The swale portion got washed out but I had some germination in there that was still standing this morning so I took straw and covered up what I could. It's actually not as bad as I had thought it was going to be. We received over 2" of rain last night. Here are some pics, you can see the green fuzz of baby grass grouping together. Also is the standing water spots and that daggone swale portion.

I'll reapply seed this afternoon where needed and cover with straw. Onward and upward!


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Masbustelo
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by Masbustelo » September 8th, 2020, 9:30 am

I have some similar terrain that I'm seeding as well. I am using a seed blanket that came in a big roll for $40. It seems to be very effective at erosion control in the most vulnerable places.

DevilDawg81
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 8th, 2020, 11:24 am

Masbustelo wrote:
September 8th, 2020, 9:30 am
I have some similar terrain that I'm seeding as well. I am using a seed blanket that came in a big roll for $40. It seems to be very effective at erosion control in the most vulnerable places.
Thanks! I will have to check something like that out, this is twice in less than a week.

Masbustelo
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by Masbustelo » September 8th, 2020, 12:05 pm

I forgot to say that I bought the erosion rolled material at Lowes. Apparently they have a bagged good erosion pellet product that is best applied by hand. I'm going to pick up some of that today as well.

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stack316
Posts: 326
Joined: July 15th, 2010, 7:11 am
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Grass Type: Side: 2014 Bewitched Reno Front: 2013 Faith, Cochise IV, Falcon IV, LS 1200 reno Back 1st half Mutt, Back 2nd Half 3rd Millenium & Rhambler reno
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by stack316 » September 8th, 2020, 1:05 pm

If there is a lot of KBG in the mix, Alternative would be to grow plugs/containers and transplant and wait for spreading

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
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Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 8th, 2020, 8:57 pm

stack316 wrote:
September 8th, 2020, 1:05 pm
If there is a lot of KBG in the mix, Alternative would be to grow plugs/containers and transplant and wait for spreading
Excellent suggestion, I could certainly get some pots started and use them

jskierko
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Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by jskierko » September 8th, 2020, 9:10 pm

Masbustelo wrote:
September 8th, 2020, 12:05 pm
I forgot to say that I bought the erosion rolled material at Lowes. Apparently they have a bagged good erosion pellet product that is best applied by hand. I'm going to pick up some of that today as well.
I used Pennington Slopemaster from Lowe's (not sure if that's what you are referring to) on several areas of my yard including probably a ~400 sq ft section that is about 30-40 degree slope. I had a brief, yet strong T-storm on day 5 of my KBG reno and it helped hold everything tremendously. No washout areas, even germination, no super dense areas.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - 2020 Version

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 8th, 2020, 10:06 pm

jskierko wrote:
September 8th, 2020, 9:10 pm
Masbustelo wrote:
September 8th, 2020, 12:05 pm
I forgot to say that I bought the erosion rolled material at Lowes. Apparently they have a bagged good erosion pellet product that is best applied by hand. I'm going to pick up some of that today as well.
I used Pennington Slopemaster from Lowe's (not sure if that's what you are referring to) on several areas of my yard including probably a ~400 sq ft section that is about 30-40 degree slope. I had a brief, yet strong T-storm on day 5 of my KBG reno and it helped hold everything tremendously. No washout areas, even germination, no super dense areas.
Thank you both. I have some rain coming this weekend (looking at forecasts) so I may get some mats. I have decent germination everywhere else minus that swale b/c it’s getting hammered

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81’s New Lawn - Drone Perspective

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 9th, 2020, 12:47 pm

I took my drone out a little bit ago to take some pics from overhead.


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