[Brent T]

I'm Brent. I'm going to try to keep a journal here.

Front yard. The darker green grass in the front is from last June when I got hooked up to city water. They used a darker sod when they repaired the lawn. It often looks like a larger contrast than this picture shows.

The grass close to the street was all sodded in late 2016 when the water main was put in. It matches the existing grass. I think the front is looking good, but I found some quackgrass near the driveway. I'm not sure if I'll spray it or paint it with Round Up.


Side yard. I started to cut and spray my neighbors side for weeds since she wasn't taking care of it. This area has some challenges with dense shade from her Norway Maple.





Back yard. Some of the grass close to where I was standing came back thinner this year, but I'm satisfied here. There is a lot of shade in the background from burr oaks. I lost a lot of perennials over the winter. I might put annuals in their place this year.

What I've done so far.
April 30 - pre-emergent Hi-Yield crabgrass preventer
May 20 - 3 bags Milorganite (~0.54 lbs N/M)
May 21 - spot spray weeds with Weed B Gon

Last cut was 2.5 inch. The previous cuts were at 3 when it was super hot.

Here is another picture of the front from last week.

 

[Brent T]

My neighbor's lawn chemical company came by yesterday, so that reminded me to apply some fertilizer to thicken up some parts of the lawn. I added about 38 lbs of proscape 25-0-5 fertilizer for just shy of 1 lb N/1000. (That's what I had left in the bag.) I had the spreader setting too low (at 4) so I made 6 or 7 passes on the lawn, the good thing about that is it should be spread out evenly. Writing things down like that in this journal should really help for next time.



Also, this area just in front of the shade on the property line in the front yard was looking very dry. I haven't irrigated in a couple weeks because I was getting just enough rain not to. I noticed it looking dry on Tuesday, but it was going to rain the next morning, and we got 1/4 inch, so I didn't water, but today already it is looking too dry. I'll just have to watch it closer and give it a good soaking tomorrow morning. It is extra dry on my neighbor's side because she doesn't water.



I mowed with my old craftsman mower today to switch things up. First use of the season for it. Started first pull(Sticker next to primer bulb says push 3 times, but I know this mower well and pushed it 23 times. It leaks oil so I had to add a bunch before I started. I finally put down some cardboard under it in the shed to catch the oil. It provides a good cut as long as it's not cutting too long of grass, that causes it to bog down and clump.

 

[social port]

Looks like some very nice color in the backyard.

 

[Brent T]

I was just noticing that today. When I posted the pictures I thought it just looked different due to the angle or something, but it is darker there.

 

[Brent T]

Just got 1.9 inches of rain over the weekend. I think the grass is looking pretty good. I used the dfw_wand for the first time last week with the green XR TeeJet nozzle and then the red one. I was very impressed with the spray. I used Bonide Chickweed oxalis and clover. I also sprayed some roundup around the perimeter fences with a different sprayer to kill weeds and brush.




I planted these and some other flowers in the beds the previous weekend.

 

[Powhatan]

Nice and well maintained.

 

[Brent T]

I think I have some areas in my lawn that have some dollar spot (or other fungal) damage.






I sprayed it today with a Bayer Lawn Fungus hose end sprayer product. Active ingredient propacanizole. I had bought it to have on hand since I've read about so many others and their fungal issues on this website. It was terribly convenient to have on hand and use. I may buy a concentrate now if I need to use more to save a dollar

Overall, I think the yard is looking very nice. I cut the front at 2.5 inches today.


The backyard is at 3 inches since I missed a mow on the weekend.


This seems to have thickened up a little bit

 

[Brent T]

The areas I sprayed herbicide on two weeks ago are almost weed free now. I sprayed the side yard with triclopyr last week and those weeds are looking poorly now too.
Front yard



Back yard



Now the areas that need improvement. The area I painted with round up to get rid of undesirable grasses.



This area is super shady between my shed and the neighbors lilacs. I have reseeded here two years in a row. This is much improved over the bare dirt from before.



Another spot that is deep shade. Also some lighter grass spots.



Last one for today. This strip of grass died last year. I am letting it fill in. The weeds are dying.



I have a few more spots with what I think is Poa annua but I don't have pictures.

 

[Brent T]

I was walking by the garden when I noticed this monarch butterfly caterpillar on a milkweed I had previously sprayed with round up. I moved it to a different plant.

 

[Brent T]

I mowed at 3 inches yesterday morning. It rained 2 inches today. The yard is looking pretty good overall. There are a few stems that are dead, seed stalks maybe? I'm not worried about it. I think my side yard where a strip died last year is either Poa Trivialis or Nimblewill. I find it very hard to identify the grasses with thin stalks. I need a magnifying glass. I also changed mower blades.

 

[bellts02]

Are you going to resod the dark area with the same sod you used? If not you could remove the dark stuff and take plugs from your yard to fill it back in. Itll take a lot of plugs though.

 

[Brent T]

I would like to. Not this year though. I'm just going to wait and see what happens for now. See if it spreads out or the other type spreads in.

 

[Brent T]

Sedges are growing by the street on the neighbors lawns on both sides of me and near what was formerly creeping Charlie heaven, so I mixed up a gallon of sedgehammer plus in a cheap sprayer and sprayed them thoroughly. First time using it.

 

[Brent T]

Soil test results
I will take the recommendation to add N and K in a 2-1 ratio.

 

[g-man]

Yes, one that is not there, use ammonium sulfate (AS 21-0-0) for nitrogen since your pH is above 7. Also use FAS or chelated iron since the pH is above 7. You P is high, so avoid milo.

 

[Brent T]

I appreciate the advice g-man. I have 9 bags of milorganite to get rid of now.

The micronutrients were done with DTPA. From Ridgerunners soul test thread:

Ranges in ppm

Fe: 10-15
Cu: >1
Zn: >2
Mn: 2-5, 5-15, if soil pH >7

 

[Brent T]

I sprayed the parts of the yard I know I won't overseed later with Bonide weed killer yesterday. Today I saw the neighbors lawn chemical company dropped by so I applied 16 lbs 25-0-15 fertilizer to the lawn. Just under 0.5 pounds Nitrogen per thousand square feet.



This is what the lawn looks like. I think it's darker than it was in Spring.


I need to put higher flow nozzles in this area.
It also looks a little bit lighter green in the middle.