[Ral1121]

Hi new here and wanted to introduce myself and have a place to show my lawn and as questions.

First off, I am a newbie and am just learning about lawncare and second this is the start of the 3rd summer for my lawn which is Bermuda. I am guessing it is Tif 419 which I believe is what most contractors use in new build neighborhoods. House is almost 2 years old. I am located in San Antonio, tx as well.

My goals for my yard are to someday have it look as nice as Ware's yard which I am no where close to. That is long term though.

For this year, I want to be able to maintain my yard at .75" hoc since I just purchased my first reel mower, a 1997 McLane 17" powered reel. As for the mclane, I want to get a front roller and basket for it at some point this year. I am hoping this unit can last for the next few years before I go out and get something nicer. Maybe a greens mower or even the new swardman.

Here is the McLane. I know a lot of people don't like them, especially the 17" model but I am excited and feel it is a good solid starter reel for me that I picked up for $100. All I had to do was rebuild the carb. Reel and bedknife we're already sharp and cutting paper.



As for my yard, I only have around 3000 sq ft to take care of. 1000 in the front and 2000 in the back.
Things I want to accomplish this year
- level front and back ( back more difficult because of dog)
-get the watering down correctly( do not have a sprinkler system and am currently hand watering 2 times a week)
- I want to get rid of all weeds( have put down celcius and certainty as well as Scott's halts)
-. Just want my yard to grow in thick and healthy.( It is currently struggling)

What I have done so far
- sprayed herbacides ( certainty and celcius)
- pre emergent down 1 month ago
- scalped my yard for the first time 6 days ago 3/15/18( front at around .5 and back around .75. back is not as level)
- I put down milorganite at 1 lbs per 1000 as well on 3/15/18
- 3/16/18 I put down molasses and shampoo both at a rate of 3 oz per 1000. Will be repeating the shampoo this weekend.

Now I am just waiting for the lawn to come back strong. A little nervous because I do not see much new growth coming from the front yard.

Here is my front yard scalp 3/15/18


Here is what it looks like 6 days later



I will get pictures of the back tomorrow which is in worse condition.

What do y'all more experienced lawn experts think about what I have done so far and how long does a scalped yard take to come to life. Other yards in my neighborhood have already completely greened up but they all maintain at around 2".

Also here is a pic of what the front looked like before scalp so you can see what kind of condition my yard is in.

 

[Ral1121]

Finally had some time to snap a few more photos of what I am starting with.

Here is a couple picks of my back yard. I am actually surprised at how quickly it seem to be coming back to life. I definitely had problems with weeds and my English pointer wore it real thin while it was dormant running around the back. It needs to be leveled better and was scalped at around .75. I am going to maintain a little higher then the front yard.




Here are a couple of problem areas. This first is my side yard on the north side of my house. Grass does not get enough sun so it is pretty non existent. Not sure what I am going to do but open to suggestions.



Next is also my side yard. I want to level the area around the boxes and cover but not sure how to go about it. They stick out of the ground quite a bit and I don't know if I want to bring the parts around it up or remove some dirt around the boxes.

 

[Mightyquinn]

Sounds like a good plan you have there. Just be patient and don't try to do too much at once and you will be fine. With only 3K of lawn you shouldn't have any issues getting it where you want it.

 

[Killbuzz]

@Ral1121 Looking good. I don't live too far away from you. If you need some assistance I would be happy to stop by and give you some advice/a hand. When you are ready to start leveling you can borrow my drag mat.

 

[Fishnugget]

Good job Ral, I think your on the right track by attacking and killing those weeds. You probably do want to get irrigation down, it will make life a lot easier. I can't imagine watering my lawn by hand. I could never do it.

 

[Ral1121]

@Ral1121 Looking good. I don't live too far away from you. If you need some assistance I would be happy to stop by and give you some advice/a hand. When you are ready to start leveling you can borrow my drag mat.

Thanks for the generous offer. I will pm you when the time gets closer. I am currently trying to get the lawn to completely green up first. My plan is to tackle the leveling first. Once my yard is green and growing,. I am going to do a either one round or two of pgr to help encourage horizontal growth and stimulate the roots. After that I will level the front for sure.

On the back I am thinking about doing it in 2 zones. I have a pointer that loves to run and will quickly undo any work I have put in. Just means I will have to have her on the leash to let her go to the bathroom outside for a few weeks. Not looking forward to that.

 

[Ral1121]

Good job Ral, I think your on the right track by attacking and killing those weeds. You probably do want to get irrigation down, it will make life a lot easier. I can't imagine watering my lawn by hand. I could never do it.

I wish I could do an in ground irrigation system but I do not have money for that right now with a baby on the way, due in May. I am thinking about building a new above ground system, one I would not have to move around as much as the one I have now and got tired of. I don't think I have put enough water down by hand watering.

This is what I have used up until this point

This is 6 heads and several hoses to move around(4 times just to do the back). It covers a 30x15 area and puts down an inch in about 45-50 mins.

 

[Fishnugget]

Nice!! I would keep that for now until your more settled with the baby. I actually thought you were outside watering by hand. That setup looks to be effective the only thing like you stated is you will have to move it around.

Irrigation does cost money. I spent $650 for the labor and probably another $600-800 on parts and that was for a 1700 sq ft. lawn but I also added drains. If your backyard is 1500-2000 sq ft you will probably somewhere around $500-600 or more in irrigation. Then if you add a fancy Rachio Controller it goes up from there. Just giving you an eyeball figure on cost, based on what I paid.

 

[Ral1121]

Nice!! I would keep that for now until your more settled with the baby. I actually thought you were outside watering by hand. That setup looks to be effective the only thing like you stated is you will have to move it around.

Irrigation does cost money. I spent $650 for the labor and probably another $600-800 on parts and that was for a 1700 sq ft. lawn but I also added drains. If your backyard is 1500-2000 sq ft you will probably somewhere around $500-600 or more in irrigation. Then if you add a fancy Rachio Controller it goes up from there. Just giving you and eyeball figure on cost, based on what I paid.

Thanks I will have to keep that in mind. I held off on doing an irrigation system when we built the house a couple years ago because we were going to add an outdoor area at some point so I did not know how much grass we were keeping in the back

 

[Ral1121]

Well hit a snag today. My McLane needs sharpening. Hopefully I can just backlap and it will be good to go but i have to wait for lapping paste to come in. When I got the mower it was cutting paper, now it won't cut paper at all after an adjustment. Reel was not even contacting the bedknife. Anyone ever dealt with a blade going dull that quick after a scalping? If it does not cut paper, it just rips the grass correct?

I did get my watering figured out though and went with Hunter phone adjustable rotors.

 

[Mightyquinn]

Well hit a snag today. My McLane needs sharpening. Hopefully I can just backlap and it will be good to go but i have to wait for lapping paste to come in. When I got the mower it was cutting paper, now it won't cut paper at all after an adjustment. Reel was not even contacting the bedknife. Anyone ever dealt with a blade going dull that quick after a scalping? If it does not cut paper, it just rips the grass correct?

Actually, scalping will dull your blades faster than anything as you are cutting dead, dry grass. You are also cutting the stems of the grass also which are a lot thicker than the leaves of the grass which probably contribute to the dulling of the blades. During scalping though, it isn't that important that the mower is real sharp as you are just chopping off the dead stuff.

 

[Ral1121]

Well tried my hand at backlapping for the first time today. Was able to get my McLane cutting paper again but seemed like I had to adjust the reel and bedknife real close to where they scrape. Do not k ow if that is normal with McLanes. Starting to get the itch to pick up a greens mower now.

Did get 3.5" of rain today and notice a bunch of old clippings collecting on top of the yard. Guess this means I need to verticutter or dethatch? Is it ok to do it while my grass is still recovering from a scalping a couple weeks ago?

Close up of front after I brushed as much as I could off




What I was able to brush off


Backyard examples




Front after I broomed as much as I could off

 

[Ware]

Did get 3.5" of rain today and notice a bunch of old clippings collecting on top of the yard. Guess this means I need to verticutter or dethatch? Is it ok to do it while my grass is still recovering from a scalping a couple weeks ago?

Not necessarily - those are just clippings that didn't get picked up from your scalp. They collect like that on my lawn after a hard rain when I don't catch my clippings. I always run my rotary mower + bag over the lawn at the lowest setting after I scalp to suck up extra clippings left on the ground. :thumbup:

 

[Ral1121]

@Ware I guess I will let it dry out and try running my rotary over it several times more to see if I can pick more clippings up tomorrow.

I really wish I had found this site before I bought my McLane. I might have gone straight greens mower or at least passed on the McLane and waited for one to pop up with a grass catcher. Really do not feel like spending $150 on a catcher when I only paid 100 for the mclane in the first place. I do really need one though.

 

[Ware]

It will help to break them up with a rake once they dry.

 

[Flynt2799]

I really wish I had found this site before I bought my McLane. I might have gone straight greens mower or at least passed on the McLane and waited for one to pop up with a grass catcher. Really do not feel like spending $150 on a catcher when I only paid 100 for the mclane in the first place. I do really need one though.

Shoot let me know if you ever decide to make the change. Be more than happy to give you what you paid

 

[Killbuzz]

It happens to all of us.

 

[Ral1121]

@Flynt2799 how about I save you money so you can just go out and get the greens mower. Because we all know as soon as I sell you my McLane, you will soon want to upgrade. It's an addiction. I am already dreaming of all the other equipment I want and what I can upgrade as well!

 

[Ware]

...I am already dreaming of all the other equipment I want and what I can upgrade as well!

There is no cure for this illness. You can only treat the symptoms by thinking about the dumber stuff you could be spending money on. :lol:

 

[Flynt2799]

Flynt2799 how about I save you money so you can just go out and get the greens mower. Because we all know as soon as I sell you my McLane, you will soon want to upgrade. It's an addiction. I am already dreaming of all the other equipment I want and what I can upgrade as well!

Haha I love it! The plan is to get everything semi leveled out and continue to use the rotary this year. Hopefully next fall I can find a good deal on a better machine.

Crazy amount of rain. I was able to get 3 1/2 here in Austin.