[FlyMike]

I figured I'd start a 2018 journal so that I can keep track of what I do, while getting and potentially giving help where I can. Last fall I renovated my lawn in this thread . Here's what I've done so far up to this point:
2/8: put down some Air-8 and RGS that I had from last yet
2/17: put down Lesco 19-0-7 Dimension pre-emergent

My plan for this year is to:
-maintain/improve the grass. I feel like I have a great reno last year and my grass very thick with just a few spots that are thin due to trees, but not bad enough for me to really worry about

-get rid of the small amount of wees that I have. I've seen a few broad leaf weeds in the yard that I have gone after with some Spectacide Weed Stop (2,4 d, mcppc, dicamba) which seems to have done the trick. I also have some poa and quackgrass that I'm slowly working on with glyphosate.

-in the fall address any weak/bare spots that have come up due to the summer stress.

Here is my lawn after the renovation on 11/8/2017



and then on 2/21/2018

 

[ericgautier]

Mike that looks awesome so far! Can't wait to see how the lawn does this year. :thumbsup:

 

[social port]

Wow, that came out really well. Nice landscaping, too. I'm excited to see how everything looks in late spring.
Are you planning on using a preventive fungicide?

 

[FlyMike]

I am going to do some sort of preventative fungicide program, but still haven't decided on how I want to go about it. Right now I am leaning towards experimenting with just using Serenade and going at around 5-6oz/1000sqft. If I start to see some sort of disease pop up I'll switch to the big guns (azoxystrobin and propiconazole) and stick with that. I think I am willing to take a risk and try the biofungice route first, even though I'm not sure if it's going to work.

I also plan on taming those bushes and and ivy. They have gotten a bit overgrown.

 

[FlyMike]

No real updates to the lawn, just some general thoughts that I've had recently:
- I used to mow my old "lawn" about once a week, and that's no where near enough for this lawn. I have started mowing every 3-4 days recently.

-Never had issues with clumping with mowing the old lawn, but have been fighting clumping issues this year with the new lawn. I think time between cuts and moisture are the culprits. New lawn grows much faster and is much thicker than the old one so I need to mow much more frequently, which is fine by me

-New lawn holds moister very well since it is so long and thick. I don't think we have had any rain in the past 5ish days and the soil is still moist to the touch. I'm hoping that will help out during the summer, but am afraid how big of an impact it will be on fungus issues.

-The neighbors love the lawn. I get compliments from everyone that walks by when I'm outside. I'm not used to that, but it's kind of cool. My next door neighbor joked with me and said "don't let any of your nice grass grow over into all my weeds" :lol:

 

[social port]

Very cool entry. Sounds like we are having similar experiences.

Never had issues with clumping with mowing the old lawn, but have been fighting clumping issues this year with the new lawn

After my first cut this year, I had to spend quite a bit of time to collect all the clumps of grass left on the lawn. I was using a bagger, too. Also, it is astonishing how much buildup there is under the mower's deck after a mow. I spend 30-plus minutes scraping it all out.

The neighbors love the lawn. I get compliments from everyone that walks by when I'm outside

I receive a lot of compliments as well. It is confusing, though: There are several very impressive lawns in the neighborhood. Mine couldn't stand out that much. The only difference I can identify is that my lawn is slightly greener and thicker than others. Must be a TLF thing.

 

[FlyMike]

@social port you're right about the build up. I cleaned out the deck earlier when I first noticed the issue. There was just enough room for the blade to spin and that was about it. My dad gave me the mower after he got a Super Recycler. I'm not sure how much build up was mine vs his, but it obviously performed much better after cleaning it out.

 

[FlyMike]

I just mowed my lawn again today, and I came back here to see when it was that I mowed last. It's been 3 days since the last mow, and it was pretty much clump free this time. Looks like it is a matter of frequency for me to fix that issue.

 

[social port]

Wow, it must be a lot warmer there. We are still having 30 degree lows in my area. Really slows growth.

That grass is looking great. Deep, rich green.

 

[FlyMike]

It's been in the high 30's-low 40's at night and mid 50's during the day. It's supposed to start warming up the next few days. It's blowing my mind how quick the grass is growing. In just 3 days I had nearly an inch cut off.

 

[Budstl]

Grass looks great mike! :thumbup:

 

[FlyMike]

Haven't done anything but mow squiggly lines in the lawn lately.

I really need to replace my blade. The tips are really getting shredded and brown
I had a few Poa spots that I haven't taken care of, but I need to get to them since I have noticed them popping up in a few more spots.

The cultivars of fescue I used last year are "lateral spread" type. I got a little heavy handed with the glyphosate while trying to get rid of some quack grass. Depending on where you're from this spot is about as big around as a pop/soda/coke can. I'm keeping an eye on it to see if the grass will actually spread and fill through the year.

 

[social port]

The cultivars of fescue I used last year are "lateral spread" type.

Yes, I noticed that. I'm definitely interested to see how that goes. It looks like you have a nice test set up for yourself.

 

[Togo]

Your lawn looks like it's off to a great start!

 

[gregonfire]

Looks great so far, jealous that you're cutting so frequently already. We are still having lows in the upper 30s here in NJ. Supposed to be in the 70s by the weekend though!

What HOC were you at in the pictures from last fall? Looks like 3.5-4"?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Wow, it must be a lot warmer there. We are still having 30 degree lows in my area. Really slows growth.

That grass is looking great. Deep, rich green.

Looks as good as KBG. WTHIWT? :roll:

 

[social port]

Wow, it must be a lot warmer there. We are still having 30 degree lows in my area. Really slows growth.

That grass is looking great. Deep, rich green.

Looks as good as KBG. WTHIWT? :roll:

Good decisions bring good payoffs.
Make the righteous decision to grow fescue all the way down in Georgia = Grow fescue that rivals bluegrass.

 

[FlyMike]

Looks great so far, jealous that you're cutting so frequently already. We are still having lows in the upper 30s here in NJ. Supposed to be in the 70s by the weekend though!

What HOC were you at in the pictures from last fall? Looks like 3.5-4"?

I think the mower I was using last fall the HOC was maxed out at 3.5". The one I'm using now is 4" I believe. I haven't really measured. I just set it as high as I can and get to mowing.

 

[FlyMike]

@Togo and @Ridgerunner thanks for the compliments.

I'm trying to do all I can to prep it for the real test, which will be this summer. If I can make it through with minimal issues I'll be happy.

There was a thread on a different forum that I came across that had someone growing KBG about an hour north of where I live. It was an old thread and there wasn't much follow up, but it seemed like his first year was successful. Depending on how well I do maintaining my lawn in the coming seasons I may portion off a small section and try to grow some sort of KBG just for the fun of it and see what happens.

 

[FlyMike]

I also ordered a new blade the other day. My Gator G5 should be here tomorrow and hopefully I'll get to test it out Wednesday or Thursday.