[Fishnugget]

Hi everyone,

I have been in need of starting my own lawn thread for questions but have not had a chance. My wife and I bought a house 4-5 years ago and all the homes were setup with desert landscaping in the front :| . I dont know if other places do this but here in our community they don't landscape your backyard. This has been the trend the last 4-5 years with new home construction. So my backyard was dirt for 4 years because we focused on the inside of the house.

Also, for some reason, people think that if you have desert landscaping there is no maintenance involved so they allow their yards to be infested with weeds. I never liked the desert landscape look, I much prefer the green look. I hated it more when I spent 1.5 hrs pulling weeds.

So with my son turning 2, I decided to begin adding grass to both the front and backyard. However, the more I moved forward with the project, the more stuff I began adding like lighting, pavers, gas lines for future bbq/fire pit etc.

I first started with the backyard. I hired an irrigation guy because I knew nothing about it but the more I did research, the more I learned. He setup my valves and did all the digging/trenching to my backyard.

I followed up by leveling as (best I could) and adding sod. Here are the pics!

Our home under construction in 2014




Hitch Hiker that came with the house


Trenching


More Trenching


Future BBQ Pit Gas Line/ Fire Pit


Gas Line and PVC


Drain and electrical conduit for future power


Rachio Install



Curbing Install & the little guy






1700sq ft of TifSport Installed by myself




Sprinklers Worked!!!



Little guy prefers dirt


I guess I need to add a sandbox project to my list


Then I started reading this forum and I bought a Greens Mower Everybody was helpful and I learned a lot.



This is Post Greens Mower Cut (JD 220SL) at HOC 3/4". Notice a huge difference in cut quality vs a rotary.











Added drip irrigation to side yard with lighting as well. Blew out sections of the concrete footing to add lights and wall plants along my side wall/yard. Had never used a jackhammer but I became proficient within an hour.





Added much needed Pavers to my side yard in the back, extended it all the way to my driveway.









Front Pavers with a Boxwood Hedge added



So with the backyard complete I began the front. This time I did my own irrigation. I had the irrigation guy set up a valve for the front. Then I watched videos on youtube and decided on using the Hunter MP rotors for nozzles. I think they have a cool factor to them.

First, I removed a tree, removed all the desert plants I had, and also all the DG sand. It was a lot of work. After that, I began trenching, then it was gluing PVC, and lastly adding my sprinklers. It was fun but lots of work.

This was a nice tree but I planted an even nicer one. A flamboyant Tree. It has a bright red flower when it matures.




I thought a boxwood hedge along the concrete border would look good, so I added another hedge. This pic shows all the desert plants and DG removed. I started to level the front learning from the mistakes I made in my backyard.






Added a drain on this side so I had to do more trenching, then I covered with expensive rock the wife picked, about $400/ton . I added a bender board to divide the grass between rock. It was my first time using bender board, I thought I did a pretty good job for a first timer. Also added bender board and mulch to my tree.









Finished the front! Wife worked on the flower bed.


So now, I am about 3 weeks with post sod install in the front. I am watering 3 times daily for 10 minutes with the MP rotors. The sod has already rooted so I may cut today or tomorrow with the rotary. Should I use the rotary or the reel? Highest I can go with reel is 3/4". What does everyone think?

 

[Ware]

Reel!

Wow. Great job!

 

[Fishnugget]

Thanks Ware!! You guys were my inspiration!

Your the reason why I chose the MP Rotors and have not looked back. I did a better irrigation job in the front than the guy who did my back. I used fewer sprinklers too. I was pretty proud of that.

 

[ericgautier]

Amazing stuff! Nice job.

 

[Mightyquinn]

Amazing transformation Fishnugget!!!! You should be VERY proud of yourself but I bet you are happier that the end is near

 

[Fishnugget]

Thanks MQ! Your were instrumental in answering all my questions when I started. So alot of the credit goes to all your help.

Now what do you think, should I cut with the reel at 3/4" or use the rotary at 1"+. Im just afraid that cutting with the reel might be too drastic of a cut and stress the bermuda grass blade. (I watched Ware Conners) You tube video. But you guys are the experts. The reel does cut nicer.

 

[Mightyquinn]

I appreciate the kind words but you did all the work

What is the height of the grass now?

 

[Ware]

I can't get over how good the brand new sod looked.

 

[Colonel K0rn]

Man, those pavers along the side, and those rocks in the front look fantastic. Nice job! That sod looks fantastic.

 

[Spammage]

I can't get over how good the brand new sod looked.

+100

 

[Fishnugget]

I appreciate the kind words but you did all the work

What is the height of the grass now?

The height is about 1" right now. It varies between 3/4 and 1.25 in some areas.

 

[Fishnugget]

Amazing stuff! Nice job.

Thanks for the kind words Eric

 

[Fishnugget]

I can't get over how good the brand new sod looked.

Thanks Ware I bought the sod from West Coast Turf, this shipment for the front had excellent sod rolls. The first time I ordered for the back yard (9 pallets) it was good but i got a few rolls that made me question whether they were the same grass. Amazingly, it has kept its dark green color.

 

[Fishnugget]

Man, those pavers along the side, and those rocks in the front look fantastic. Nice job! That sod looks fantastic.

Thanks Colonol, i plan to do my entire drive way. I did about half the work for pavers by doing all the digging. I saved money that way but got a professional paver installer to do the pavers. The guy really knows how to put down pavers, he did a really good job.

 

[Colonel K0rn]

Man, those pavers along the side, and those rocks in the front look fantastic. Nice job! That sod looks fantastic.

Thanks Colonol, i plan to do my entire drive way. I did about half the work for pavers by doing all the digging. I saved money that way but got a professional paver installer to do the pavers. The guy really knows how to put down pavers, he did a really good job.

After seeing the results you had, I'm seriously considering putting those on the North side of my house. I really like the way they look. Your plants and lighting on that side of the house look great as well.

 

[Fishnugget]

Man, those pavers along the side, and those rocks in the front look fantastic. Nice job! That sod looks fantastic.

Thanks Colonol, i plan to do my entire drive way. I did about half the work for pavers by doing all the digging. I saved money that way but got a professional paver installer to do the pavers. The guy really knows how to put down pavers, he did a really good job.

After seeing the results you had, I'm seriously considering putting those on the North side of my house. I really like the way they look. Your plants and lighting on that side of the house look great as well.

Thanks Colonol, lighting makes a huge difference with the house. I plan to add more to light up the boxwood hedges.

If you decide to go with these same pavers, I got them from ORCO Block they are called Pietra in a textured style with a 50% Tuscany and 50% Chateau color. They are a five piece set.

 

[Fishnugget]

Some night time shots. Showing off the lighting from Volt Lighting...

The lights are more subtle than what the picture show. For some reason the camera picks up the light too well and it overexposes the lights. They are 7 watt LED with a 60 degree beam spread.











Night Shots of Back and Side Yard



I really wanted lighting for the side yard so these canned lights from Volt did the trick. Otherwise my side yard would have been completely dark.



I will add some decorative rock to each plant.


The lights are bright enough to bounce off the block wall and reflect the house!




I still need more lights for the backyard. I will add some more in the future.

 

[Mightyquinn]

I appreciate the kind words but you did all the work

What is the height of the grass now?

The height is about 1" right now. It varies between 3/4 and 1.25 in some areas.

I would try and cut with the reel @ 3/4" as you shouldn't be taking too much off at once and see how it goes from there.

 

[Fishnugget]

Check it out MQ, followed your advice, Ware too!!!

I took the plunge and cut with the reel set at 3/4". I had it initially set at 1/2" because I went lower on my backyard. It was a real breeze to change the HOC with the acu-guage on my JD 220SL.

First cut of my front lawn...I think I am going to cry of happiness. j/k







I did not get the nice striping I imagined, I think I still need practice but the JD 220SL is big and wore me out. I think it might be too big for my small front yard. I found myself wrestling with it. Its easier to use in my backyard because my backyard is bigger. Nevertheless, I am happy with the quality of cut and I will probably get better at maneuvering it around my front yard. Its gave a much better cut than my rotary ever would.

Now, I have to ask, when should I add Prodiamine and at what dosage? My front lawn is only 555 sq ft. I just sprayed my backyard with the 6 month dosage but not sure about newly rooted/cut sod. Any help is appreciated.

Also, what should I fertilize with, Milorganite? FAS? Should I also spray the PGR (Growth Inhibitors) help a newbie out guys.

Thanks!

 

[Mightyquinn]

Looks great and I'm glad the HOC worked out for you!

As far as the Prodiamine, this is all I could find on the label of the stuff I have. " May be used on newly sprigged or plugged Bermudagrass at rates not to exceed 0.80 lb./A (0.30 oz./1,000 sq. ft.). Newly sprigged or plugged Bermudagrass stolon rooting may be temporarily retarded." If it was me, I would wait a few more weeks to let the roots dig a little deeper before applying.

Did you fertilize at all when putting down the sod? Milo is always safe to put down whenever you want, depending on what you already put down already, I would look into something with a high Nitrogen number. If you haven't applied anything yet, you might want to look into something balanced like a 10-10-10 or 20-20-20. You can NEVER go wrong with applying PGR as it will cut down on your mowing and tighten up the turf and give it a deeper green. The FAS is not technically a fertilizer but just a "booster" for your fertilizer and can be added along with the PGR if you would like. You should be a front runner for LOTM!!!