I can dig it. Curious if you used any PGR and how much you were mowing? I am contemplating on stressing mine out a little bit to see how low it can tolerate.

 

I didn't use any PGR last year and was mowing the yard every 2-3 days, and the green almost every day. I did just buy some PGR to use on the yard this year and hopefully cut down on the mowing. With a 6 and 3 year old, their bedtimes are cutting into my evening mowing time during the week. In hindsight I probably should have raised the height to let it fill in and slowly work the HOC down over a several-week span.

 

This year I decided to try and overseed with Creeping Bentgrass. There are a lot of golf courses around Atlanta with Bentgrass greens so I figured why not give it a shot. I tried to overseed with Arden 15 last year and I just couldn't get it to germinate. This time before spreading the seed, I spread out a few bags of cow manure you can find at Home Depot. Spread seed generously all over the green, lightly raked, and followed an hourly watering schedule for 7 minutes (6am - 8pm).

April 17th, 2023 - Overseeded with Creeping Bentgrass
April 23rd, 2023 - Seedling germinated

After the seeds germinated, I changed the watering schedule to once a day 6am for 30 minutes. It's filly out nicely so far so I'm looking forward to seeing how well it establishes from here. I'm curious what the forum recommends for fertilizing and topdressing. How long should I wait before I start pushing it with Nitrogen for coverage?

April 23rd, 2023

April 24th, 2023

April 25th, 2023

April 26th, 2023

 

The weather has been rough in Atlanta this year so the bermuda seems to be having a hard time waking up. I've had a very difficult time trying not to over-manage the putting green while the bentgrass matures. It's officially been 8 days since germination.

I thought some of the dead winter spots could be a disease of some sort so I decided to throw down a fungicide. I think the green could have waited another week before applying. I also lightly topdressed over the weekend to try and smooth out some bumps from the seeding. Lowered the HOC to 5/8" and scalped several areas. Watered early this morning and rolled to work on smoothing.

I realized the lowest HOC the Tru Cut can go is 3/8", so I've been really itching to upgrade to a better greensmower. I found a 2016 JD 220e that I'm seriously considering. I would be interested to hear of others' experiences with the 220e.

 

I realized the lowest HOC the Tru Cut can go is 3/8", so I've been really itching to upgrade to a better greensmower. I found a 2016 JD 220e that I'm seriously considering. I would be interested to hear of others' experiences with the 220e.

Not sure if some Trucuts are different but using a HOC gauge, mine is at 1/4” on the second notch from the bottom.

 

Do a search for the mower here on TLF, I’m sure you will get a lot of hits.

 

Picked up the 2016 JD220 E-Cut and after cleaning up it looks like new. LETS GOOOO!!

Close to selling the Tru-Cut H20 which will be missed...

 

That thing looks clean! Nice pick up.

 

You will love the 220e. I transitioned a couple of years ago from my Tru-Cut and haven’t looked back. The ease of maintenance on the JD is easily the best part. Congratulations on your new mower.

 

Glad to hear that! Backlapping and reel to bed knife adjustments is a game changer. The tru-cut was a hassle and took finesse to get it right. Only thing I’ll miss is the ease of HOC adjustments. Thanks man!

 

I would say roughly a 1/4 of the new bentgrass on the green has died. I’m thinking it is due to watering since the ground is quite dry less than an inch in the surface. I cut the watering back to once a day for 30 min at 6am but I’m going to dial it back up to 2-3 times a day to see how it responds. Also threw down a 1.5 lbs of starter fertilizer and will start spoon feeding nitrogen every 3 days. Fingers crossed there’s no more death.

 

How much are you planning on asking for the tru-cut?

 

Around 850 with grass catcher and straight roller.

 

Finally seeing consistent warm weather in the forecast so I'm excited to see the bermuda start to really wake up. I got a mow in yesterday at .35". I'm likely going to continue at this height if I can keep up with it. So far this year, the bermuda really hasn't been growing much so it's been about a mow/week thus far. We have our annual Hilton Head vacation coming up Memorial week, so I need to start working in PGR but want to hold off until the bermuda fills in a bit more. I dropped the cutting unit off yesterday to get the reel sharpened. After back lapping twice, it still wouldn't cut paper so excited to get a cut in with a freshly sharpened blade.

Mistakes thus far:
Applying PGR - Didn't calibrate/trial run a new Ryobi backpack sprayer before trying to apply PGR. I used PrimoMax 4oz in about 2- gal of water and applied it all in a 1k sqft area... First time using a sprayer and the first time applying PGR. Needless to say, one-half of my front yard has not done much in the last 3 weeks.

Bentgrass overseeding (Putting Green) - In hindsight, I should have killed off the existing bermuda before overseeding. When I start pushing the HOC down it may not be a problem, but the color difference between the two grass types is dramatic. I also should have kept a more consistent watering schedule after germination. I either underwatered for a few days or I applied insecticide and fungicide too early before letting it get established.

Watering (Putting Green) - I had been using the entire backyard irrigation to water the green. I think this is most definitely going to cause some disease issues in the bermuda. I have since stopped that and put out a dedicated sprinkler to only water the green on a controlled schedule.

May 7th - Top dressed green with 4 bags sand, overseeding with the remaining bentgrass seed to try filling in a few areas.

I have a lot to learn here and reading through other journals has helped a lot. My goal is to put together a program for the rest of the year and execute that plan. My current approach seems a bit too haphazard and not very cost-effective.

May 6th, 2023
13 days after germination

Overapplied PGR is visible in this one..

May 8th, 2023
14 days after germination

May 9th, 2023
15 days after germination

Potential disease abrewing..

 

Sprayed Bifen IT (6.5 fl/oz - 6 gal - 5,500 sqft) *did not spray green

Plan to spray every 14 days to keep ants under control. Saturday with throw down Caravan G fungicide granular and will rotate fungicide apps every 14-25 days.

Jake man putting in work

 

Spread 3 lbs (1k/sqft) of Caravan G fungicide in back yard. Scott’s spreader setting at 3 with a half a pound extra. Next time 3 1/2 setting should sit perfect with less leftover. Plan is to apply the front and side yard tomorrow. I got creative with weighing out the granular by using a scale and pouring in a bucket. The scale wouldn’t pickup less than 6 pounds so measured the bag instead.

I came home this afternoon to germinated tiny little bentgrass on the green. Now to keep it alive!!

 

It’ll do as a plugger..

 

5/14 - spread 8.5 lbs of Heritage G at 4,500 sqft (front and side yards). The plan is for the backyard fungicide and insecticide program to be a bit more aggressive than the front.

5/15 - Dropped the HOC to .25 from .35 and threw down a little N to keep pushing fill-in. I also applied ~1lbs of Heritage G and 0.10 /floz of Bifen IT on putting green.

Good chance of rain this week so plan on spraying soil conditioner by Simple Lawn Solutions (Amazon). This is the first time I've ever used a soil conditioner so I'm sure the clay soil will benefit from it.

 

The green is filling in really well even though the pictures don't show it. I've been treating the bare spots with a 7-day fungicide schedule and can see some bentgrass hanging in there but scarce and growing extremely slowly. I also installed a GTC, transport wheels, and kickstand on the JD 220e. Thanks, @TulsaFan for the wheels!

Treatments:
5/19 - Caravan G ~3.3lbs/k [Backyard + Green]
5/20 - T-Nex @ xx/k, Ironite [All yard excluding green]
5/22 - Milo @ 10lbs/k [All yard + Green], Caravan G ~2lbs/k [Front yard]

To do:

• Received soil test kit from UGA and need to get samples mailed before we go on vacation.
• Get one more mow in before leaving Saturday morning before applying another round of T-Nex + Bifen. Hoping the PGR will regulate growth for the entire week we're away.

May 16th, 2023

May 21st, 2023
Topdressed to fill in some bare spot. Last time I'm going to topdress for a while unless I can get fully dried sand. It's always a little moist which I think is smothering some spots.

 

Lawn regulated right before we head out of town for the week. We’ll see how things look next Saturday.

 

A little backyard chipping the wife managed to snap. Literally no growth coming back from a week of vacation. PGR for the win. I’m holding on anymore PGR apps until the Bermuda fills in a little better. Not sure why it’s having a hard time this year other than weird spring temps and likely over managing.

 

Its been warm here so the Bermuda is moving (high 80s in Atlanta). Im going to be pushing the lawn with N to fill in some bare areas. I was hitting around 300 GDD but still seems to be in regulation. Hit with , FS, and some nitrogen last night.

I sprayed .25-.30 N from dissolving 34-0-0 fert granular two night ago prior to applying the PGR last night. I’m telling you the lawn has never looked so green. Mowed with the 220e last night at .50 HOC and previous was Saturday.

You can tell the color difference in the neighbors in the one..

 

Word of advice on the JD that I didn’t realize till later- there is an adjustment needed on the front roller bracket to match your HOC. For .500”, it looks like the appropriate setting is 4.

 

@cnet24 Yikes... I appreciate you mentioning that (I had no idea). This will be a problem since I'm also mowing the green at .180". Do you have any idea how much this affects the cut quality?

 

If anything it changes the attitude (angle) of the bed knife. Probably not affecting anything too major but worth the time to adjust as needed.
No need for Yikes- the mower is a beast and takes some time to learn, but I love mine!

 

It's definitely a beast. Btw congrats on the newborn, @cnet24! Your thread was one of the first ones I stumbled on when I first found TLF and have enjoyed reading through it since you're in ATL as well.

 

Got a mow in early this morning before the kids woke up. It makes it a lot easier to cut straight and even when there’s dew on the ground. Decided to do a light verticut and collected some of the sprigs to spread in a few bare areas in the back yard. Anyone know what kind of Bermuda this is?

 

I dug up the problem areas in the green mainly to check for debris. The bottom layer roughly a foot deep was like a thin slab of hardened clay. I took a pick to it and it busted into tiny pieces. I’m honestly not sure if this was causing the problem where everything there struggled but was backfilled with a mix of the existing soil, topsoil, and sand. Since I ruled out a fungus and found no insects, fingers crossed it fills in.

Verticut the green with the JD 220e greens conditioner, over-seeded 1lb of Pencross creeping bentgrass, and light top dressed. I’m hoping with adequate watering I can keep the bent alive through the next month when we hit peak temps through August. Regardless, I plan on doing over-seeding again through the fall.

Applied PGR, 3336F fungicide, Bifen, and starter fertilizer prior to overseeing. With the temps high and the amount of moister, fingers crossed this keeps the fungus at bay until watering can be cut back.

Final pulled soil samples and got them in the mail. A little late in the season but I think it will be beneficial insight into the soil quality since I've never done a soil test since we moved in the fall of 2020.

 

Was able to squeeze a mow in last night after putting the kids to bed. Currently holding a HOC of .400 and still very little clippings from the last mow Saturday morning. The PGR has made a world of difference in keeping the height low and only mowing twice a week.

Significant heavy rain yesterday and I was able to spray the backyard with N-ext products and soil conditioner at label rates. This was my first application using the hose end sprayers which was kind of cool. I picked up the sprayer for like $10 at a local Ace Hardware. I watched a video someone shared on here of a guy that walks you through how to use hose-end sprayers for applications. Basically, apply the product individually and fill the rest up with water. A pro tip I learned is to make sure not to have too much pressure when filling the container (product in) with water. Doing so foams up like a poorly drawn beer glass and reduces the amount of time you have to cover 1k sqft. He also suggested the 8oz setting with 2 minutes time to cover 2k/sqft and I just don't see how that's possible.

Snapped a picture of me taking advantage of the headlight on the JD!

I posted in the JD thread but I'm having a few issues with the quality of cut on the JD. Here is the link to the post if anyone has had similar issues with this. In short, I'm getting waves after cutting. I'm thinking it's either because I am unable to maintain the speed because the clutch lever slowly works up slowing travel but not enough to stop the reel or drive... OR it is an issue with the FOC knob. @cnet24 ?

I didn't see any germination on the green yet after overseeding but still watering every hour (less at night). I went out with a flashlight last night and found a few areas with little green heads starting to poke out. Here is where I made mistake after mistake slowly killing off the bent so hopefully I learned from the last go around. Hailmerry seeding bent going into the dead heat of summer..🤞. Bumped up the watering to every 2 hours this morning since we had rain in the forecast.

 

I posted in the JD thread but I'm having a few issues with the quality of cut on the JD. Here is the link to the post if anyone has had similar issues with this. In short, I'm getting waves after cutting. I'm thinking it's either because I am unable to maintain the speed because the clutch lever slowly works up slowing travel but not enough to stop the reel or drive... OR it is an issue with the FOC knob. @cnet24 ?

View attachment 18645

Waves=FOC issue. Could be caused by a variety of things, my normal checklist is:

1) Is reel coming into contact with bedknife anywhere causing speed to slow? You can check this by spinning the reel with the mower off and listening for any “thuds” - you’ll know it when you hear it. Due to reel being out of shape- grind needed to fix.

2) Am I cutting paper across all blades, across the bedknife? If not backlap or grind needed.

3) Is my FOC=HOC? These 220e’s are fantastic- set FOC and the mower adjusts to your walking speed. This could be your issue seeing that your FOC adjustment seems out of alignment… I’m not sure how to fix that.

If the above is true, congratulations. You have super thick Bermuda needing a verticut and or light sanding. It is a good problem to have.

Interested to see your clutch issue- if mower is slowing/starting than the reel is following that pattern and the high point of your waves could be where the reel isn’t spinning fast enough to cut. Can you post a video?

tagging @g-man as well

 

Thanks @cnet24. I figured you would have some advice here. I think the reel may be out of shape. I called Reel Works and they quoted reel, bed knife, and relief grinding for $100. Crazy because I also called a place I found on Google (Mower Medix) that quoted $130 for grinding and $80 for pickup and delivery. The guy runs out of his house and doesn't allow drop-off. He also does not have the ability to relief grind.

I'm wondering if I can just pop off the knob and place it back on at the correct rotation..

The odd part about the clutch is the engine RPM does not change when it starts to fall out. I'm assuming only the tension on the drive belt which slows the drive roller speed. This makes the FOC almost irrelevant since it not maintaining a consistent speed. Do you think the belt needs to be replaced or the clutch cable needs to be adjusted? If you look closely at the pic you can see it's a little bent. I couldn't figure out how to adjust this so need to go through the manual.

Link to other post with the pics:

John Deere greens mower Questions

Do you have a John Deere greens mower and have a question about working on it? Do you have something to share? Ask or share here. The evolution of the JD fixed head walk behind greensmower. The 22 was made from 1987-1994, The 220 from 1995-1996, The 220A from 1997-2002, The 220B from 2002-2006...

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