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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
This will be my first full season with this lawn. Tifway 419 laid down last June in 7B, NC. Watered it heavily through to the fall and it took decently well. I've had some troubled spots where I found half cinder blocks right underneath. Also some poorly draining areas and general un-eveness where I will scalp if set below 1". North side of house gets only morning sun and my AC condenser drains there :|

Last year:
Mowed at 2-2.5" with a Toro Recycler. TruGreen did regular applications of herbicides (pre/post), fert, lime, 1 app of Talstar P for mosquitos at $50 (then realized I could do it myself for ~$4 an app; this is where my research/addiction began).

Winter:
Pondered life/did a lot of lawn research/debated a reel. Soil test from various spots early Apr (photo attached)

This year:
Bought a Caltrimmer20 with front roller and 4" extension (well worth it). Continued Trugreen as I was happy with them having minimal weeds this year. Scalped/bagged with the Toro recycler on the lowest setting ~13Apr (50% greenup). Threw down Milo @ bag rate ~21Apr. Been Calitrimming every 3-4 days since. Watering 0.5" twice weekly (tuna can calibrated). Sprayed my Talstar P ~1May. Leveled some soil around where we had our fence installed.

Within the next week:
-Aerate (Waiting on paint lines from 811. Remember Time Warner barely burying their line)
-Air8
-Penterra

Upcoming:
-T-Nex once it arrives (ordered TeejetXR). Backordered from DoMyOwn.
-Imidacloprid mid June

Considering:
-Milo at some frequency to supplement Trugreen.

Questions/comments/spears welcome.

 

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My only feedback would be to not use imidicloprid. It's absolutely devastating to the bee and pollinator population, and there are many alternatives that are not. I use Bifenthrin granules on the lawn and have no bugs. It's not exactly good for bees either but neonicotinoids are absolutely terrible.

Ok off my soapbox :)

The rest sounds great, you're doing all the right things. I hear you on the cinder block. While I haven't had that issue in my yard, my neighborhood was built on a dumping site for hurricane Hugo debris so people are always finding fun things coming out of the ground :)

Anyhow, welcome!
 

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Spammage said:
SCGrassMan said:
My only feedback would be to not use imidicloprid
I understand your concern about using imidacloprid for a "go to" insecticide, but if applying in June, he may be targeting grubs, which bifenthrin will not control.
‭chlorantraniliprole
Munching on grass roots, grubs live underground as the larval stages of insects such as beetles and moths. The active ingredient in GrubEx pesticide, chlorantraniliprole, mitigates grub damage by killing the emerging larvae and breaking the life cycle of these insects.

Not sure why people would use Imidicloprid instead of GrubEx.
 

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SCGrassMan said:
Spammage said:
SCGrassMan said:
My only feedback would be to not use imidicloprid
I understand your concern about using imidacloprid for a "go to" insecticide, but if applying in June, he may be targeting grubs, which bifenthrin will not control.
‭chlorantraniliprole
Munching on grass roots, grubs live underground as the larval stages of insects such as beetles and moths. The active ingredient in GrubEx pesticide, chlorantraniliprole, mitigates grub damage by killing the emerging larvae and breaking the life cycle of these insects.

Not sure why people would use Imidicloprid instead of GrubEx.
They might if they didn't get the chlorantraniliprole applied in time for it to be effective.
 

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Discussion Starter · #7 ·
Put out 1000sqft of Penterra yesterday. Took about an hour with a Chapin end hose sprayer. The stuff is thick... Picked up an Ortho end hose today that I'll probably try tomorrow. Hoping for better flow.

Had about 5 burn spots from Trugreen's granular fert app a few days back ( found piles of granular fert on top even after watering in with 1" day of and intermittent rain the last two days). Tore up the dead spots and did a mini soil amendment. Hopefully it grows back quickly. The disappointing part is the guy used what looked to be the cheapest Scott's spreader they could find. I guess it's coming to the point to where I do it all on my own.
 

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love the profile pic ...is that a F15?

tru-green "minimal weeds" - i got to believe there are better options out there in your area. the only weeds i see are the occasional ones in the hedges / azaleas. #donotsettle :)
 

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Discussion Starter · #9 ·
jayhawk said:
love the profile pic ...is that a F15?

tru-green "minimal weeds" - i got to believe there are better options out there in your area. the only weeds i see are the occasional ones in the hedges / azaleas. #donotsettle :)
F15-E twin tailed, twin engined, dual aircrew, multi-role, warhorse of justice.

The only reason I have stuck with them is due to the cost I would incur to personally spray Specticle in the fall and Escalade2/Prodiamine in the spring, which I've been pleased with.
 

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Discussion Starter · #10 ·
Just a shot of the backyard after several days of rain. Hoping in dries out enough to get back there and mow today. Have some more mulch work to do along the back fence as well.

 

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Dico112lr4 said:
Put down TNex with FEature for the first time at 2oz/1000. Ended up with half of my body covered in green dye. Hoping for some good results.
Haha, better than blue die I guess. Literal green thumb?

Interested to hear your results on the Feature. I used 1oz per 1k last week and saw a descent result.
 

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Discussion Starter · #13 ·
SGrabs33 said:
Dico112lr4 said:
Put down TNex with FEature for the first time at 2oz/1000. Ended up with half of my body covered in green dye. Hoping for some good results.
Haha, better than blue die I guess. Literal green thumb?

Interested to hear your results on the Feature. I used 1oz per 1k last week and saw a descent result.
Multiple green thumbs, and shoulders, and legs... haha. Yeah I'll let you know.

The PGR has worked wonders as far as cutting frequency. Even at 5 days there's been virtually nothing coming off except for spots that I missed.
 

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Did you see Domyown had a sqeetor control pkg ...one being talstar. What's your feedback on using talstar ?

I lived in wichita ks we're b1s commonly flew out ....not the prettiest plane but what a badass (and loud)
 
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