[chrismar]

Finally got in the first mow, so I figure it's time to start my 2018 lawn journal.

History, moved in January 2015, full renovation on front and back August 2015. KBG in the front, TTTF in the back. Cultivars in my sig. About 22,000 SF of turf, total.

Some pics from this morning:

Front




Side
This was the area was renovated in 2015 with the rest of the yard, however shortly after there was some heavy machinery and patio materials which made it a bit of a nightmare. I've been focusing on the triangle approach and proper feeding to let the kbg take over and fill in. It's the subject of my "side yard rehab" thread.





Back
A nightmare at the moment. Tons of dandelion, clover, annua and triv. Gonna try and knock it out, but might reno in 2019 or 2020 with KBG. We'll see.

 

[chrismar]

Log:

4/1 - Pre-M - Prodiamine @ .75 lb / A rate
4/22 - GrubEx1; 2,4-D, dicamba - Spot sprayed broadleafs in front & side lawns and back beds
4/24 - Lime (Bonide Turf Turbo) @ 9 lb / M across front & side
4/26 - Herbicide cocktail of 2,4-D, dicamba and triclopyr. Full on attack mode of little bit of clover in the front/side and the massive amounts of clover and dandelion in the back.
4/29 - First mow of the front, 2nd of the back. 3.25" HOC.

 

[PHXCobra]

Looks great.

 

[GlennBlake]

Looks good @chrismar for only the early mows of the season.

 

[chrismar]

@PHXCobra @GlennBlake thanks!

5/1 - threw down some OceanGro at bag rate with a few handfuls thrown into the beds for the shrubs and ornamentals.

 

[ericgautier]

Looks good! :thumbsup:

 

[social port]

You should buy a bag of milo and set it on the driveway. Then take a picture for the Milo contest. No one will be able to tell that the green was courtesy of Jersey rather than WI
Looks great.

 

[chrismar]

Spent the last couple of mornings prepping a new bed around the shed. So far I've edged it out and sprayed some glyphosate. I'll take a weed whacker to it in a few days to remove most of the foliage.

 

[Pete1313]

That will make mowing and trimming around the shed alot easier, and make it look finished! :thumbsup:

 

[Jconnelly6b]

That's going to look really good! Don't you feel so evil killing off turf that up until that point you worked so hard to keep lush?? It's like raising a pig for slaughter!

 

[chrismar]

That will make mowing and trimming around the shed alot easier, and make it look finished! :thumbsup:

That's exactly why I'm doing it!

That's going to look really good! Don't you feel so evil killing off turf that up until that point you worked so hard to keep lush?? It's like raising a pig for slaughter!

I do. A little piece of me dies every time I have to rip up or kill some sod.

 

[SJ Lawn]

Hi Chrismar,

Do you think your weed issues in the back are due to the different seed supplier ? I see you have "elite" KBG cultivars in the front. Were these KBG seeds "sod quality" ?

 

[chrismar]

Do you think your weed issues in the back are due to the different seed supplier ? I see you have "elite" KBG cultivars in the front. Were these KBG seeds "sod quality" ?

Hi SJ... yes the front was from sod quality seed. I do have a dandelion or some clover here or there. I think I sprayed 3 spots in the front today.

The back, I attribute to the poor soil conditions. I don't baby it nearly as much as a baby the front. The front is the "showcase" the back is where the kids play and conversely doesn't get the attention (and chemicals) the front does. I didn't have even close to this much weed pressure in the back last year, though, so not exactly sure where my regimen fell short.

I am attacking it hard, though. I went out and spot sprayed more of my 2,4-D and triclopyr cocktail this morning. There was a lot of dead or dying stuff that I sprayed 13 days ago. Slow and steady wins the race (hopefully).

I will say, though, that if I can't turn it around by this time next year, guess what?! A reno (to kbg) is looking VERY likely.

 

[chrismar]

Took the weed whacker to the new bed area. Got most of the (soon to be crispy) grass out of the way. May do another pass in a couple of days. Laid out the new plants in what I think will be their final spots.






For those curious, I've got 3 boxwoods between the back wall and fence (could have probably gone with 4). A knockout rose flanked by two "little lime" hydrangeas. In front of that we have 2 spireas. On the corner we have a Sargent Tina crabapple and a hosta. I'll probably fill in some of the bare areas with some annuals. Or maybe perennials. Not sure yet.

 

[chrismar]

Tackled a low spot in the yard yesterday that would have standing water for days after a storm and be wet constantly. We (not so) affectionately called it "the swamp":



So, I hired a local landscaper to dig a 4x4x4' hole:



I had 1.5 tons of 3/4" gravel delivered and put a foot down at the bottom of the hole:



I then put in my NDS flo well wrapped in landscape fabric. The night before I had also attached the 6" inlet to the flo well with silicone:



I got everything leveled up and then started filling more of the gravel around the sides:



After the gravel I backfilled with the excavated soil, and then put the topsoil back on top, which the landscaper thoughtfully put in a different pile:



According to the calculator on NDS' website this should hold over 150 gallons of water, so I hope this solves my low spot standing water problem and eliminates "The Swamp".

(The extra dirt will go to fill a big low spot in the front, but that's a project and a story for a different day.)

 

[chrismar]

Drainage project appears to be working. Looking into the inlet I can see the water level is about 4 or 5" inches from the grate:



That's 150 gallons of water that would be sitting on top of the soil. Hopefully it drains/recedes enough over the next 24 hours to handle the next onslaught of rain we're about to get!

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

Would you consider adding a pipe underground to a lower area as an overflow with a pop up in case you get an excessive amount of rain?

 

[chrismar]

Would you consider adding a pipe underground to a lower area as an overflow with a pop up in case you get an excessive amount of rain?

Yup, that's phase 2. And phase 2 will be executed if phase 1 isn't cutting it as well as I had hoped. I didn't want to tear up more of the yard and encounter the irrigation lines that I know exist between the swamp and where I'd run the pipe if I didn't have to.

 

[chrismar]

Sunday (5/20):

Finally got the plants around the shed in the ground. All that's left is mulch.



Opened the pool... or should I say pond?



Though, after 24 hours it's already looking much better:

 

[SJ Lawn]

How is your lawn reacting to the all the cloudy days and rain we have seen in NJ the past several days ?