[macleod52]

Howdy. So I wanted to make an official lawn restoration journal to keep you guys up to date on my lawn's progress. If you've seen some of my other threads you'll have seen what I'm dealing with. My next two posts will show before photo's and the current state. I'll update periodically with new photos as my lawn starts filling in.

We moved into the house at the end of August in 2017. It was new construction back in 2012 and the front, side and a portion of the back yard was all sod (KBG/TTTF mix). The remainder of the back yard was just seeded with KBG/TTTF but the previous three owners (...yep, 3 owners since it was built) didn't take care of the yard. The front yard wasn't too bad. It had some crabgrass present but the biggest issue with the front was foxtail grass.

In September I over seeded a patch in the middle of the back yard to see how well it filled in (very novice here). In late October I got a pull behind aerator and proceeded to aerate the lawn and apply some weed & feed granular fertilizer. I also applied a full application of Milorginite (a novice move. I was recently introduced to Allyn Hanes's YouTube channel ).

So, it's now spring time and I applied my PreM the day before St. Patty's day. The grass is starting to turn green and I'm itching to get out there and mow. I'll be applying a second app of my PreM in a month or so and get your guys' recommendations on what to do next. I'm starting off with a tier 1 approach until I get the weeds under control and then move up to tier 2.

I will also be getting a soil test done sometime in the future. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the options and am trying to figure out which is the cheapest and easiest to have done.

 

[macleod52]

These were taken July 2017 a little over a month before we took ownership.







This was taken in October 2017 after I did two applications of a hose end weed killer. You can see all the dead brown weeds but still a decent bit of green grass.




And finally this image was November of 2017 once the grass has started to go dormant.

 

[macleod52]

These images were taken in February. You can see the large drainage swale in the back yard. This may be a trouble spot in the back but we'll see.








These were taken today. You can see the grass has started to green up




This was a low spot in the front yard that I filled in with dirt in the fall. I overseeded and put down some starter fert/PreM but I'm hoping the KBG pokes through and spreads enough to where the seeds aren't needed. Time will tell. The outer green edge has been there for a few weeks now. It just makes me even more impatient for spring. haha

 

[macleod52]

Below are some weeds weeds I have in the back yard. Can anyone help me identify them?

 

[Budstl]

Below are some weeds weeds I have in the back yard. Can anyone help me identify them?

Looks like tall fescue. Just dig it out.

 

[macleod52]

Just for fun here's some Google Earth shots.

April 2014

October 2016

September 2017

 

[macleod52]

Just a quick update. We got about 4-6" of snow last Saturday. It was much appreciated as the ground was drying out and needed some moisture. It was mostly melted by Monday and we got a little rain as well. The combination of precip and warmer weather has really greened up the grass. The camera doesn't give a good image of how green the yard is but I can definitely tell. The part of the yard that was already doing well is growing in nicely and the area's where all the crabgrass was is starting to thicken up some.
The nice thing is that my yard has started greening up before all the other yards. I think my aeration and fert apps in the fall has contributed to that. I can't wait for the first mow!

 

[macleod52]

Also, the back yard has several erosion paths created by the runoff from the filed behind my house. What is the best way to fix those? I was thinking of throwing topsoil down and leveling once the grass starts coming in really good. That way it can fill in some without reseeding. Is that a good option or is there something else I should do?

 

[macleod52]

I just thought I'd provide an update. The grass has been greening up for the last month and a half. We had some really nice weather in late March/early April but then was hit with a cold spell and some more snow. We're finally in the clear and we're now averaging in the 60's during the day.

My grass started greening up before any of the neighbors but now they're all catching up to me. My back yard is the greenest out of most of my neighbors but my front yard is slowly growing. It's greened up but it just doesn't want to grow. I'm hoping that's a sign that it's developing a deep root system. I applied a second app of PreM last weekend (a little over a month after my initial application). So far I've just got an issue with clover and dandelions. I've been spot spraying those to hopefully kill them off but they are really fighting my efforts. lol

Fortunately I do have quite a bit of grass that was hidden in all the crabgrass from the prior year. I think with steady fertilization it will thicken up. I plan on doing a soil test in June as the local extension office has kits. Unfortunately it's about a 30 minute drive to get there so I'm putting off until I go on vacation.

I've been toying with the idea of using some starter fert to get some phosphorus down. If I apply it now it will bring me right around 1lb N for a months total. Is there anything wrong with doing that? My reasoning is that perhaps the lack of phosphorus is the reason it's not growing as fast as I'd like. Obviously I don't know for sure without a soil test but since it'll be right around summer when I get my results back there wont' be anything I can do until the fall.

 

[jessehurlburt]

I think you're on the right track and will be in good shape come fall when you reseed. I wouldn't put down P if I were you. A little is better than too much from what I understand. Without testing you have no idea where you're at. I would just focus on going after the remaining weeds, get your soil tested, and make a plan for fall. I would be focused on seeing where Ph is and getting that dialed in prior to your overseed.

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

Not sure you really need much P at all. My state has a .5 lb annual limit on P with a .25 lb max per app, and that's barely anything. All my soil tests read very deficient in P. We still have some really nice grass so I wouldn't worry about what the P level is. My understanding is you can use a little P during seeding and early germination but you don't really need much after that.

 

[macleod52]

It's amazing what two and a half weeks make. We finally got a decent amount of rain last week so the grass has finally started growing. I'm pleased with how the back yard has turned out so far. I'm hoping it will thicken up in some spots but compared to my original post with images from last July I am pleasantly surprised. I thought for sure there was hardly any grass left but a majority is nice and lush.





I did have an infestation of dandelions and henbit that I've been fighting but I think I've got it under control.



My front yard has a ton more weeds than I thought it would and it's not growing nearly as well as the back yard. But I'm hoping it will pick up in the coming week. I cannot wait until all these weeds are killed though.





At least my yard isn't as bad as my neighbors.

 

[g-man]

Awesome! Striking difference from this one.