[Llano Estacado]

Thought I'd give one of these things try. I'm not the best at taking pictures along the way so I'll have to work on that.

Little background. Have approximately 4500 sq ft of lawn. It is celebration bermuda, sod was put down in March of 2016. Mowed it the first year with a rotary and was never very happy with it, always thought it was just way too tall. I chose the Celebration because it claimed it was a low height variety. Turns out that is is. As I learned more I realized that I was using the wrong type of mower. Bought a reel mowed with it all last season with much better results. For a while I was mowing 3 times a week and while I do enjoy it, it was getting old. Then I found out about PGR and my life changed. 3 times a week turned into once a week and I had time to do things beside mow. So after a year of reel mowing the turf is thicker and healthier, but it's still not where I want it. My biggest issue at the moment is the unevenness of the turf. At first glance it looks pretty level, but the turf thatch is thicker in some areas than others and is hiding lots of spots that need work.

So far this year I have scalped(sort of) and mowed a couple of times, and applied miloganite once. But my project begins in full this weekend. Tonight I'm going to set my reel as low as it will go and make multiple passes at different angles and get as much remaining thatch as possible, I didn't get near enough off the first time I did it. Then tomorrow I'm going to the rental shop and picking up a overseeder/slicer to verticut the yard, a core aerator, and a billygoat yard vac to remove what is brought up. Hope to have all that done by Friday night. Saturday morning I'm going to begin leveling with sand, had the first two of four yards delivered this morning.

I'll get a few before pictures tonight to post on here.

 

[Ware]

Awesome. Can't wait! :thumbup:

 

[dsbuckle]

Im just down the road in South Lubbock, who did you get your sand from? Is it masonry, or just standard sand?

 

[Iriasj2009]

Following!

 

[gijoe4500]

Every time I see this post pop up, this song pops into my head.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woSW_2H6Mzw[/media]

 

[Llano Estacado]

Im just down the road in South Lubbock, who did you get your sand from? Is it masonry, or just standard sand?

I got it from Toms Tree Place. Probably could have found it cheaper somewhere else, but I really enjoy doing business with them. Great people, great service. At first glance it looks really similar to the sand that was brought out when my house was bricked.

 

[WBrown999]

Good thing about Lubbock is that there is a ton of "fertilizer" just down the road from you. Just look anywhere in the Texas Tech campus

-UT alum

 

[Colonel K0rn]

Talk about coming out with a bang! Looking forward to your sanding work.

 

[Llano Estacado]

Here are some sort of before shots. Started on one side before I remember to take a picture.

Please ignore the spot priming on the house I'm also in the process of painting.

I also picked up the Billy Goat overseeder this morning and took it home. I couldn't help myself and ran a quick test patch in the back yard. Does this look to aggressive? I'd estimate it cut 1/4"-1/2" into the soil. I am going to crosshatch this so I might raise it just a bit was my thinking.

 

[Ware]

Looks okay to me - I'd probably roll with it if it is cutting clean grooves and not turning up a lot of dirt. Use your instinct though. :thumbup:

 

[Spammage]

I would clean that off and inspect closer, but that looks a little deep. Since you aren't putting down seed, I would probably raise it a little to just scratch the soil.

 

[Llano Estacado]

Got a good weekend of work in. Weather on Friday and Saturday was ideal.
Friday I took off work early, first thing got all my sprinkler heads marked.

I then verticut, aerated, and then ran the yard vac over things. After examining I decided to bring the reel out and give it another cut, then ran the yard vac again. I was suprised how much thatch had accumulated. I really should have set the verticuter deeper as very little contact with the soil was made and just in a few areas. I would have run it over again but it was getting late, cold and I had to get it cleaned up so I could return it in the morning. Here was the end result.

Here is another shot of the back and all the equipment I had out that I was using.

This little aerator was easier to use than I had expected. I was expecting it to be a handful, but it wasn't. I plan to rent this thing annually.

Put in a pretty solid 5 hours Friday afternoon. Got finished just after 8pm.

It was little cool Saturday morning, as we had a light freeze Friday night but with a sweatshirt and thermals it was pleasant once I got moving. First section I was making my sand piles too big and too far apart. Spreading with the rake was much more labor intensive than than shoveling and wheelbarrowing. What worked best for me was 7 shovel fulls per load spaced 3-4 feet apart.

Here are some shots of the progress.

I have around 4500 sq ft of lawn and I had 4 yards of sand. I ran short and there is a patch of maybe 200 or so sq ft that didn't get any sand. Could have used another half yard, but I do feel like I got the sand spread evenly and in the right amount.

Overall it was a pretty easy process and was quite enjoyable actually. I'll try to take more pictures and show how things progress from this point forward.

Thanks to all the great advice that is available here.

 

[Llano Estacado]

And I also put down some 29-0-4 fertilizer yesterday afternoon. Wind started to pick up and had to cut off the irrigation, but resumed it this morning.

 

[Ware]

Looks fantastic. Great job!

 

[SGrabs33]

Very nice, what yard vac were you using?

 

[Llano Estacado]

Very nice, what yard vac were you using?

Rented a Billy Goat from Sunbelt Rentals. This unit specifically.

Also the "verticutter" I used was really an overseeder, also a billy goat machine. This one worked like a charm.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Verticutter. Overseeder. You say Toe mot oh, I say Two mate oh. Only real difference is the drop spreader attachment.

 

[SGrabs33]

@Llano Estacado Vary nice, I had thought about giving that vacuum a try before. That's the exact overseeder I used this year and it worked like a charm!

 

[MrMeaner]

Very nice, what yard vac were you using?

Rented a Billy Goat from Sunbelt Rentals. This unit specifically.

Also the "verticutter" I used was really an overseeder, also a billy goat machine. This one worked like a charm.

Llano, are you interested in a Triplex Green mower for your 4500Sq Ft. - I'll load it up and drive it over to you and deliver it to you.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2304

BTW I have a Plugr 800 Aerator I am looking to sell soon as well.

 

[Llano Estacado]

Very nice, what yard vac were you using?

Rented a Billy Goat from Sunbelt Rentals. This unit specifically.

Also the "verticutter" I used was really an overseeder, also a billy goat machine. This one worked like a charm.

Llano, are you interested in a Triplex Green mower for your 4500Sq Ft. - I'll load it up and drive it over to you and deliver it to you.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2304

BTW I have a Plugr 800 Aerator I am looking to sell soon as well.

I thought about it for a few minutes and came up with three reason I can't buy it.

1. My wife would kill me.
2. My wife would kill me.
3. My wife would kill me.