Mikes 2018 Lawn

8342 Views 50 Replies 12 Participants Last post by social port, Oct 15, 2018

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · Mar 11, 2018

4

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

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g-man

· #21 · Apr 9, 2018

@FlyMike GeorgiaDad kept a kbg lawn in Suwanee, GA. Search in ATY for his username.

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #22 · Apr 9, 2018

That wasn't the one one I was thinking of, but thanks for letting me know about his @g-man I think the one I was thinking of was up in Dalton if I remember correctly. Suwanee is a lot closer and more of the same climate as where I am.

Togo

· #23 · Apr 10, 2018

I have a set of G5's and they've been great. Hope they work well for you too!

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #24 · Apr 11, 2018

2

I was looking at my the little dead patch today, and noticed some green grass in the middle of it. I went back to the old picture, but couldn't tell if it was there before (I don't think it was).

Since I want this grass to spread and have a little self healing properties, I'm going to say that it is spreading and is going to fill in this spot. :lol: :bandit:

The Gator blade came in today, and I was surprised at how much wider it is that the previous blade. It also has more weight to it, probably because of the extra width. I'm excited to go out and mow with it tomorrow.

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ericgautier

· #25 · Apr 11, 2018

FlyMike said:
The Gator blade came in today, and I was surprised at how much wider it is that the previous blade. It also has more weight to it, probably because of the extra width. I'm excited to go out and mow with it tomorrow.

I use the same blades and love them.

Question though, your old one looks to have a "star" bolt pattern while the new one is just a circle.. did/will it work for you?

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #26 · Apr 11, 2018

@ericgautier It fit right up and the bolt is nice and tight. I'm not sure of the significance of the star pattern on the old blade because it's just a regular bolt and washer holding it in. I guess I'll find out if it matters tomorrow when I mow the lawn.

social port

· #27 · Apr 26, 2018

FlyMike said:
Since I want this grass to spread and have a little self healing properties, I'm going to say that it is spreading and is going to fill in this spot.

Thegrassfactor just published a pretty encouraging video on lateral spread in fescue. FYI. I can't remember what cultivar he is using though.

social port

· #28 · Apr 26, 2018

social port said:
I can't remember what cultivar he is using though

Well, I just checked, and he conveniently listed them under the video description.
Valkyrie LS
Dynamite LS
Screamer LS

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #29 · Apr 26, 2018

I just saw that video also, and it was pretty cool to see some rhizomes popping out.

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #30 · Apr 26, 2018

I was walking around the yard today after being gone for 4 days and notice this area of grass that is considerably darker than the rest of the lawn. It definitely wasn't like that before I left.

I'm pretty sure this is from dog pee from people walking their dogs, but it has got me wondering if I am not fertilizing my lawn enough. I have heard a lot of talk about not fertilizing cool season grass in the spring down here in the transition zone because it will lead to increased summer stress and disease so I haven't really put down any fertilizer this year.

I put down about .5lb/N per thousand when I put down my pre-emergent since it was a 19-0-7 with Dimension in February. Last fall was the start of my lawn since it was a renovation and got two applications of starter fertilizer with .75lb/N per thousand each application.

Looking for thoughts/comments/suggestions on this.

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social port

· #31 · Apr 27, 2018

Wow, Mike. I'm not sure. I feel like I am trying to catch the wind on this one. I didn't even know that dog pee would act as a fertilizer; I always thought that dog pee killed grass :lol:

My first thought is that your lawn never struck me as...not green. I mean, dang, you've had a beautiful, deep color to that grass. But I definitely see the contrast in that picture. It is striking.

Has the rest of your lawn 'diminished' in color over the last week or two?

I really don't know -- at all -- but this is where my mind would be if I were you.

Fertilizing in the spring is not a bad idea the year after a reno. I fertilized this spring because I needed to get some parts of my lawn growing better. Mine needed the jumpstart, but I applied a good while ago. Keep in mind that folks as knowledgeable as the LCN used to recommend starter fert in the spring (but he didn't live in the transition zone either).

For you, your lawn looked great right out of the gate of mowing season, right? And you were able to mow several times last fall after your reno, right?
If so, and your grass looks healthy (if not entirely the desired green), then I would err on the side of preserving the health of your grass. 'Hot and humid' season is right around the corner, I would imagine, and that is really not the time to be stressing your grass. I've heard of too many stories (nightmares) about disease taking out young fescue in the transition zone.
I recall that you've got a preventative down, but still...

If you fertilized with your PreM in Feb., then we've had comparable fertilization this year (though I have been supplementing with incredibly light doses of potassium). I'm not going to use N again until Fall. I don't know why your grass would be any 'hungrier' than mine.

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FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #32 · Apr 27, 2018

social port said:
Wow, Mike. I'm not sure. I feel like I am trying to catch the wind on this one. I didn't even know that dog pee would act as a fertilizer; I always thought that dog pee killed grass :lol:

My first thought is that your lawn never struck me as...not green. I mean, dang, you've had a beautiful, deep color to that grass. But I definitely see the contrast in that picture. It is striking.

Has the rest of your lawn 'diminished' in color over the last week or two?

I really don't know -- at all -- but this is where my mind would be if I were you.

Fertilizing in the spring is not a bad idea the year after a reno. I fertilized this spring because I needed to get some parts of my lawn growing better. Mine needed the jumpstart, but I applied a good while ago. Keep in mind that folks as knowledgeable as the LCN used to recommend starter fert in the spring (but he didn't live in the transition zone either).

For you, your lawn looked great right out of the gate of mowing season, right? And you were able to mow several times last fall after your reno, right?
If so, and your grass looks healthy (if not entirely the desired green), then I would err on the side of preserving the health of your grass. 'Hot and humid' season is right around the corner, I would imagine, and that is really not the time to be stressing your grass. I've heard of too many stories (nightmares) about disease taking out young fescue in the transition zone.
I recall that you've got a preventative down, but still...

If you fertilized with your PreM in Feb., then we've had comparable fertilization this year (though I have been supplementing with incredibly light doses of potassium). I'm not going to use N again until Fall. I don't know why your grass would be any 'hungrier' than mine.

Color has pretty much stayed the same all year, and I thought it was pretty good until I noticed this spot.

After thinking about it yesterday maybe some iron will give me that color all over. I was planning on putting down some RGS, AIR-8, and 0-0-7 Microgreen in the next few days, so I'm going to go through with that and see what kind of response I get.

I have been searching locally for some potassium sulfate to put down but haven't had any luck. How has that been working for you?

social port

· #33 · Apr 27, 2018

Local availability of SOP in smaller quantities has been an issue for me as well.
I ended up getting 0-0-60 (called muriate of potash, I believe) simply because no one would sell a small amount of SOP (i.e., one can buy only by the truckload).
The next time I buy a product for K, I will have to drive 1+ hour to get what I want (a mix with Magnesium=KMag).

I'm applying K only to amend a nutritional deficiency in my soil. And I'm applying very small amounts at a time (in fact, I've only done 1 0-0-60 app this year, and I believe it was applied at like .30 lbs of K per M--ridiculously small). With respect to the color of the grass, I can't say whether it has made a difference or not.

Suburban Jungle Life

· #34 · Apr 27, 2018

Iron sounds like a great idea for this time in the transition zone. I'm in the transition with TTTF and I have put down about .7 lbs N over the last 2 months spread out. It's growing a little fast so maybe that was too much. That's it for my N until the fall. I'll be trying out FAS to see what rates work and what results I can get.

As for SOP, my local farmers coop didn't have it but I found it at a landscape supply store. Search on the interwebs and see what the local pros use for their suppliers. You can always order it online from amazon or kelp4less but that's $$$...

GrassDaddy

· #35 · Apr 27, 2018

social port said:
Wow, Mike. I'm not sure. I feel like I am trying to catch the wind on this one. I didn't even know that dog pee would act as a fertilizer; I always thought that dog pee killed grass :lol:

Depends on the size of the dog! The bigger dogs you'll see the center will be dead but the edges will be super thick. It's like over fertilizing in the middle. Makes a lot of people think it's some weird disease but then you ask if they have a large dog and they go ohhhh lol

g-man

· #36 · Apr 27, 2018

Urine has urea in it. It is a fertilizer (around 10-1-2). It could also have high salts. The concentration in a small area often kills it.

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #37 · Apr 28, 2018

I have another theory on the mysterious lush dark patch:
Looking at my soil test from last spring my pH was a 7.2. Looking at the nutrient charts that makes iron and some of the other micro nutrients a little less available. Could the dog pee (if that's whats really causing this) have acidified the soil slightly and made those nutrients more available? Maybe if I bring down my pH slightly for the rest of the lawn I will get this type of response?

desirous

· #38 · Apr 28, 2018

^ Perhaps, but I think the urea is more likely. It would be easy to test, sprinkle a little urea on another spot and see how it reacts.

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #39 · Apr 28, 2018

@desirous why'd you have to go be all simple and smart on me :lol: :thumbup: :thumbup:

FlyMike

Discussion Starter · #40 · May 23, 2018

2

Haven't done much to the lawn except try to keep up with the mowing. I've been real busy with work, starting a new job, and other house projects that the lawn has unfortunately been pushed a little further down the "to do" list.
It has been so wet and humid here lately that I have some sort of fungus moving through my yard

My junk Harbor Freight sprayer has broken again, so I will be dropping a granular fungicide today. At least now I get to buy a battery sprayer soon :thumbup: :nod:

Other than the recent fungus outbreak the lawn has been doing really well.

Side note: This forum has blown up, and its awesome. It's hard keeping up all the new topics and posts, and I'm sure I've missed some good posts.

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