[Mark B]

13 DAG

Lots of rain around this week. Still decent temps.



Hope to throw down Maxwell myco 1 (7-2-8 with mycorrhiza) tomorrow at 25g/m².
Near enough to 0.25lb of N.

I have a pic of the Maxwell myco 2 I'm using.



I've plugged some bare areas with some tester pots and replaced the pots with some more kbg seeds. 6 pots with no fert added, 6 pots with the myco2 mycorrhiza fert at bag rate. Just out of interest, I'll be monitoring any differences in root development as mycorrhiza is supposed to form an additional web of roots.

 

[RCUK]

How is the renovation going Mark?

 

[Mark B]

@RCUK
Thanks for asking, some days I'm happy, others not so much :?

Some of the cons.
The main thing that's really bugging me are the non germination areas I have. Partly down to over watering on my part, partly down to over hanging shrubs and bushes catching the rain water and drowning out the seed. It's really peed me off. I should have paid more attention to pruning out some of the branches, so it's my bad.
Weed pressure is as expected seeing as we don't have access to pre-m. It's thankfully not a big area so I'm organic hand weeding as and when I can.
The weather has been really wet for us for the last 2 weeks which has scuppered overseeding. The ground is saturated. Temps are slowly falling.



Some of the pros.
I have some fully germinated areas and whilst being slow to do much past sprouting and pouting, it's there to stay so I'm hopeful for good growth in 2020.
I've given the toddler grass 3 rounds of fert.
Day 7 after germination and day 15 I put down Maxwell Myco1 7-2-8 and myco2 4-6-12, it's mainly organic so I saw no problems with throwing it down at 0.25lbs/M of N.
Day 19 after germination, Sept 29th, I put down urea 46-0-0 at 6g per m². 0.5lb/M of N.

I will grab the laptop to continue editing and see if I can put up some comparison pics

Seed down 29 Aug
DAG 10 Sept

Side view
3rd Aug



14 Aug after glyphosphate



16 Aug. Mown down to 2inches, 2nd glyphosphate app



18 Aug. Scalped at lowest setting on mower.



Seed down 29th Aug, didn't take pics...

14 Sep



16 Sep



18 Sep



24 Sep



1st Oct

 

[Mark B]

Reverse side view

14 Sept



21 Sept



28 Sept

 

[Mark B]

Weed pressure



These must've come from underneath the conifer trees when I was scarifying in preparation to seed. Couldn't help myself drag some of the lovely soft compost from under those trees lol. Weed seeds were probably just sitting there dormant because the rain rarely penetrates through to provide moisture for germination. Didn't think at the time. To pull them out risking pulling grass out or to leave them for post emergent? I'm thinking wait until the ground dries a little before I walk over there to hand pull

 

[Mark B]

Thinking about one or two of my failed reno areas over the last few weeks, I'm thinking how to proceed.



In this picture, on the right, the fig tree has shaded and overhung the failed grass germination area.
Plan A. Prune the fig tree back much more so that it remains tight to the fence behind it, thus making space for light to get to the ground where i can possibly spring seed. I do not like the sound of a spring seeding, I hear there are issues with that?
Plan B. Make the border deeper, maybe 3 feet from the fence.
The ground against the fence line is terrible. I remember having to use a pick axe to remove dense stones the size of footballs, to make enough room to plant the fig tree.
Any ideas chaps?

Front left failed germination area, see pic above, I think I'll plug grass plants into there to help it fill?

Most borders after this reno need recutting sharp and tight, I will reuse that soil elsewhere.

On a side note, I do believe my weather is very similar to the states of Oregon and Washington so its good to follow along with you guys

 

[g-man]

I looked back at your thread speed reading, what it the seed type?

You had grass here before, so I don't think it is the soil. The cold weather and timing would play a factor in germination. When do you normally get a frost? This is a month old grass and it could spread, but it will depend on your weather. One option is to drop 100% ryegrass in these areas to get more coverage.

 

[Mark B]

I looked back at your thread speed reading, what it the seed type?

You had grass here before, so I don't think it is the soil. The cold weather and timing would play a factor in germination. When do you normally get a frost? This is a month old grass and it could spread, but it will depend on your weather. One option is to drop 100% ryegrass in these areas to get more coverage.

Thanks for the reply @g-man
Seed is 85% kbg 15% poa supina. The UK homeowner seed market imo leaves a lot to be desired, there are no options available for 100%, unless you get lucky with a phone call to the big seed companies.

You are right about the timing of my reno, I will live and learn to seed a little earlier.
I don't understand how to work out average first frost, but we can go below 0C or 32F in December occasionally.

Regarding your suggestion of putting quick germination/lower temperature ryegrass for coverage, it could be an option for me, but what's the deal with leaving areas bare over winter? Is it a big problem?
Are you suggesting I cover for winter then kill and reseed in spring?

 

[g-man]

If 0C is in December, then you still have a growing period. The deal with bare areas is that weeds take advantage of them. Do you have more of the same seed to drop in those areas?

 

[Mark B]

@g-man yes i do. I'm starting to feel hope return.
Whats best method, rake lightly and use 3lbs/M rate? higher?

edit.
The past 2 weeks has been soooo wet. Over seeding barely crossed my mind. Monday has high chance of 7 hours of rain, that is the worst period forecast for the week. Rest of week far less wet. Temps of 12-16C / 53-61F

 

[Mark B]

Ran out and grabbed some topsoil. This stuff has to be better than my native soil, looking at the color? shrugs



Sieved it onto the more bare areas and with some hope and a blessing, kbg seed might germinate there this year who knows?

I didn't put the seed just yet, the heavens just opened again :roll:
Did manage to prune that fig tree back a bit tho.

Anyone suggest a seeding rate at this desperate late stage? 3lbs/M or more?

 

[Chris LI]

3 lbs/M sounds about right. I wouldn't go much heavier. I would save some seed, if possible, for a dormant seed at the end of the winter, to hit any bare/thin areas.

 

[Mark B]

3 lbs/M sounds about right. I wouldn't go much heavier. I would save some seed, if possible, for a dormant seed at the end of the winter, to hit any bare/thin areas.

Thanks for the reply Chris. I have plenty of seed. Care to point me in the right direction for some info about dormant seeding?

I have put 3lbs/M of kbg seed on the sieved topsoil I bought, then sieved the other half on top. Just gotta hope at this stage, shrug

 

[Mark B]

25 DAG

Spread 46-0-0 at 0.5lbs/M on the germinated areas.

Some rain around :| but temps are decent. ish 53-60F

 

[RCUK]

Hey Mark, keep going you'll get there

 

[Chris LI]

Thanks for the reply Chris. I have plenty of seed. Care to point me in the right direction for some info about dormant seeding?

Dormant seeding is typically done about a month before spring, around the end of February. The idea behind this particular timing is to not drop it too early, say January-early February, but before spring seeding. This will allow the seed to germinate when the weather allows, but not too early in case there's a warm spell with cold snap afterwards. I'm not sure if you get cold enough for good frost heaves, but the idea is to have the seed work it's way into the ground with the freeze/thaw cycle.

 

[Mark B]

Thanks for the reply Chris. I have plenty of seed. Care to point me in the right direction for some info about dormant seeding?

Dormant seeding is typically done about a month before spring, around the end of February. The idea behind this particular timing is to not drop it too early, say January-early February, but before spring seeding. This will allow the seed to germinate when the weather allows, but not too early in case there's a warm spell with cold snap afterwards. I'm not sure if you get cold enough for good frost heaves, but the idea is to have the seed work it's way into the ground with the freeze/thaw cycle.

Oh I see, very interesting, I understand. Thanks for that.
We often have inconsistent weather wintertime. It also sounds like you need to know exactly what you are doing. :lol:
However, I will bear it in mind in case my latest overseeding fails.

 

[Chris LI]

Don't overthink it. It's kind of like an insurance policy to get your spring seed down extra early, so it has the best chance to develop a root system before the summer heat/drought hits. With your climate, it might not be as important, if your summers aren't as hot and dry. Kbg is slow to develop, so every little bit helps.

 

[social port]

You could give Powhatan 's journal a read for extra notes. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=7188
He did a dormant seeding this year.

Re your weeds: weed pressure in pouting bluegrass is the worst. I put on my socks (no shoes) to pull an enormous amount of grassy weeds from my midnight. No real damage.
But for your broadleaf problem...with that many, I think I would wait for herbicide. But obviously, that is a judgment-call.

 

[Mark B]

You could give Powhatan 's journal a read for extra notes. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=7188
He did a dormant seeding this year.

Re your weeds: weed pressure in pouting bluegrass is the worst. I put on my socks (no shoes) to pull an enormous amount of grassy weeds from my midnight. No real damage.
But for your broadleaf problem...with that many, I think I would wait for herbicide. But obviously, that is a judgment-call.

Hey thanks @social port
I spend a little while hand pulling these when I can, usually until my back is near break point lol, in the denser areas so that the kbg has enough room to grow well. No pain, no gain! It has been interesting to sense the root depth of the kbg, in the first few weeks, the grass was coming up too easily, now I just grab one of the broadleafs and it comes up without too much interference to the kbg. Avoids herbicides for now too. I'm lucky enough to be only caring for a smallish area this time.