Come One, Come All! This is the moment you've all been waiting for!
It's The Journal To End All Journals!
The Official PlanetBeen 2025 Lawn Journal!!
As usual I have a lot to say but don't really have the desire to type it all out right now, but I probably will anyway.
This journal will cover 3 of my 4 lawn areas.
This is approximately 12,000 Sq Ft and includes my entire back yard. It also includes "The Stepping Stone Section" and the "Sidewalk Flowerbed Strip" which are connected to each other and also connected to the back yard. (through the side yard gate)
The Overseed Section has gone through 2 years of Pylex applications and also 2 heavy overseedings. I'm not sure of my exact plans for it for this year.
The fourth area will be this year's renovation and will have its own thread.
We had a very snowy winter! It's been at least a couple of years since we had any measurable snowfall and this year did it's best to make up for that. As a matter of fact, our most recent snowfall (last Wednesday 2-19) was one for the record books. At my house we got between 11.5" and 12" of snow! It finally finished melting this morning which is good because I had things to do today!
Last fall, I put down Prodiamine in the Front Non-Renovation section and the Renovation section. They are both "due" for their next applications. Non-Reno was "due" on 2/12 and Renovation was "due" on 2/18.
The Overseed Section did not get any Prodiamine last fall. It had Mesotrione at seed down and again 30 DAG but when 60 DAG came around, (12/4) I decided not to do the Prodiamine and instead wait for February.
On 2/7 I put down a 3 month application of Prodiamine in the Overseed Section. That will be "due" for another 3 months application 5/7/25.
Today, 2/26/25 I got the Prodiamine done for the Renovation Section (3 Month). That will be "due" 5/26/25.
I still need to do the Non-Renovation front yard which was all "due" on 2/12. The Sidewalk Strip and Front Driveway Side will be easy enough, but I can't do the "Ditch Section" until I finalize my new renovation section. I don't want to put pre-emergent on a renovation area since the goal is to get things to grow so I can kill them. Plus, why prevent weeds if you're going to kill it all anyway?
I ordered a 2.5 gallon Round Up Pro from Amazon today and hopefully that won't take too long to arrive. I need to kill everything in the strip along the Renovation section so I can have my dirt back. I liked my dirt strip.
Guess What?
Chicken Butt!
No...
I mowed the Renovation Section today! First cut of the year. The mower was still set at 2.5" so that's what I went with. It has just started to wake up in the past few weeks. I was out walking around doing some preliminary measurements and flag placement for the new renovation and I noticed the grass had grown a bit more than I had realized. I was planning to get the Prodiamine down but at the last minute I decided to mow first.
I always feel like a crazy person when I do anything, especially being the first to mow and doing it on the same day that the last of the snow finally melted off the lawn but as soon as I started I was happy I had decided to do it, crazy or not. It had actually grown quite a bit more than I thought and getting it back to being even will hopefully prevent one of those "first spring mowing scalping" type situations that I would have ended up with if I had decided to wait until it had all grown.
I would like to put down some fertilizer. I still have AMS on hand and I am considering putting down 0.25lb N tomorrow before the chance of rain tomorrow evening. I know I have seen it said more than once "new grass is hungry grass".
The past couple of days the highs have been in the 60s. Tomorrow will be in the 70s, Friday 60, Saturday back to 70. Sunday and Monday will be cooler with highs in the 40s but after that we're back to 60s. I have a feeling that Sun/Mon will be one of the last cold spells this year. We should be at least in the upper 50s from here on out with more 60s and 70s mixed in.
At some point I may add more snow pictures. I already put some in one of my other journals. I also have a couple of interesting ones that show the difference in color that the renovation had over the winter. There is a part along the side that is closest to the house that stays in the shade of the house all day all winter. That section stayed a darker green than everything else even though it was frozen more and longer than everything else. It was the opposite of what I would have expected. I noticed it one day when I thought I was looking at the shadow from the house and realized it was overcast and the "shadow" was permanent! It's been interesting to watch the rest of it as it starts to grow and green back up. Hopefully it'll finish greening up over the next couple of weeks.
I will probably cut the back soon. I'm still using the push mower but it's time to switch to the zero turn. I really want a 30" push mower and I've been watching for a used one (that doesn't cost $700) to try out and see how I like it.
Here are some pictures from today.
A pic while mowing. Look at that hot mess to the left where it's supposed to be 4ft of bare dirt before the Non-Renovation Section! Glyphosate is on the way!
![Image]()
The lighter areas are just where it's not fully awake yet. Ugh, that strip of horror to the right! Look at the Fluffy Poa Annua growing on the gravel side of the "border" at the bottom of the picture! Glyphosate!! We won't even talk about the rest of the "lawn". That'll be Reno #2.
![Image]()
Last one. This shows the color a little more accurately than the one above. There are very few weeds. I may do a blanket spray at some point maybe in a month or so. I know there is clover scattered here and there and I'd like to get rid of it before it spreads any more.
![Image]()
That's enough typing for this first and very long post. I'll update again when I do something else amazing. lol
It's The Journal To End All Journals!
The Official PlanetBeen 2025 Lawn Journal!!
As usual I have a lot to say but don't really have the desire to type it all out right now, but I probably will anyway.
This journal will cover 3 of my 4 lawn areas.
- "The Overseed Section" AKA - "Pylex Project Area"
This is approximately 12,000 Sq Ft and includes my entire back yard. It also includes "The Stepping Stone Section" and the "Sidewalk Flowerbed Strip" which are connected to each other and also connected to the back yard. (through the side yard gate)
The Overseed Section has gone through 2 years of Pylex applications and also 2 heavy overseedings. I'm not sure of my exact plans for it for this year.
- "The Front Yard Non-Renovation"
- "The Renovation"
The fourth area will be this year's renovation and will have its own thread.
We had a very snowy winter! It's been at least a couple of years since we had any measurable snowfall and this year did it's best to make up for that. As a matter of fact, our most recent snowfall (last Wednesday 2-19) was one for the record books. At my house we got between 11.5" and 12" of snow! It finally finished melting this morning which is good because I had things to do today!
Last fall, I put down Prodiamine in the Front Non-Renovation section and the Renovation section. They are both "due" for their next applications. Non-Reno was "due" on 2/12 and Renovation was "due" on 2/18.
The Overseed Section did not get any Prodiamine last fall. It had Mesotrione at seed down and again 30 DAG but when 60 DAG came around, (12/4) I decided not to do the Prodiamine and instead wait for February.
On 2/7 I put down a 3 month application of Prodiamine in the Overseed Section. That will be "due" for another 3 months application 5/7/25.
Today, 2/26/25 I got the Prodiamine done for the Renovation Section (3 Month). That will be "due" 5/26/25.
I still need to do the Non-Renovation front yard which was all "due" on 2/12. The Sidewalk Strip and Front Driveway Side will be easy enough, but I can't do the "Ditch Section" until I finalize my new renovation section. I don't want to put pre-emergent on a renovation area since the goal is to get things to grow so I can kill them. Plus, why prevent weeds if you're going to kill it all anyway?
I ordered a 2.5 gallon Round Up Pro from Amazon today and hopefully that won't take too long to arrive. I need to kill everything in the strip along the Renovation section so I can have my dirt back. I liked my dirt strip.
Guess What?
Chicken Butt!
No...
I mowed the Renovation Section today! First cut of the year. The mower was still set at 2.5" so that's what I went with. It has just started to wake up in the past few weeks. I was out walking around doing some preliminary measurements and flag placement for the new renovation and I noticed the grass had grown a bit more than I had realized. I was planning to get the Prodiamine down but at the last minute I decided to mow first.
I always feel like a crazy person when I do anything, especially being the first to mow and doing it on the same day that the last of the snow finally melted off the lawn but as soon as I started I was happy I had decided to do it, crazy or not. It had actually grown quite a bit more than I thought and getting it back to being even will hopefully prevent one of those "first spring mowing scalping" type situations that I would have ended up with if I had decided to wait until it had all grown.
I would like to put down some fertilizer. I still have AMS on hand and I am considering putting down 0.25lb N tomorrow before the chance of rain tomorrow evening. I know I have seen it said more than once "new grass is hungry grass".
The past couple of days the highs have been in the 60s. Tomorrow will be in the 70s, Friday 60, Saturday back to 70. Sunday and Monday will be cooler with highs in the 40s but after that we're back to 60s. I have a feeling that Sun/Mon will be one of the last cold spells this year. We should be at least in the upper 50s from here on out with more 60s and 70s mixed in.
At some point I may add more snow pictures. I already put some in one of my other journals. I also have a couple of interesting ones that show the difference in color that the renovation had over the winter. There is a part along the side that is closest to the house that stays in the shade of the house all day all winter. That section stayed a darker green than everything else even though it was frozen more and longer than everything else. It was the opposite of what I would have expected. I noticed it one day when I thought I was looking at the shadow from the house and realized it was overcast and the "shadow" was permanent! It's been interesting to watch the rest of it as it starts to grow and green back up. Hopefully it'll finish greening up over the next couple of weeks.
I will probably cut the back soon. I'm still using the push mower but it's time to switch to the zero turn. I really want a 30" push mower and I've been watching for a used one (that doesn't cost $700) to try out and see how I like it.
Here are some pictures from today.
A pic while mowing. Look at that hot mess to the left where it's supposed to be 4ft of bare dirt before the Non-Renovation Section! Glyphosate is on the way!
The lighter areas are just where it's not fully awake yet. Ugh, that strip of horror to the right! Look at the Fluffy Poa Annua growing on the gravel side of the "border" at the bottom of the picture! Glyphosate!! We won't even talk about the rest of the "lawn". That'll be Reno #2.
Last one. This shows the color a little more accurately than the one above. There are very few weeds. I may do a blanket spray at some point maybe in a month or so. I know there is clover scattered here and there and I'd like to get rid of it before it spreads any more.
That's enough typing for this first and very long post. I'll update again when I do something else amazing. lol
