Lawn has been rather slow coming out of winter this year. Avg highs - mid 50s / avg lows - upper 30s. Hit the back yard with a heavy dethatch last weekend (4/13). After one pass around with the Swardman, this was the results.. Probably could have hit it with another pass and pulled up about the same amount. After I got everything cleaned up I hit it with a bag rate of Lesco Stonewall (granular nitrogen and pre-emergent) before some rainfall.

 

Finally gave the front yard the 41% glypho dose this evening.. This is where the ProVista is going to go, plan right now is to have seed down May 1st. I know a 'spring reno' is against traditional thinking but I'm not overly worried about weed pressure thanks to ProVista being glyphosate tolerant. This area gets partial shade throughout the day plus full irrigation is in place so water won't be an issue. I also wanted to give the KBG a full year to roll and fill in plus I couldn't stand looking at the ugly patches of creeping bent grass and poa triv (a lot of the brown in the pic is this junk)... Worse case, I can always overseed thin areas in the fall.

12 yards of 50/50 screened top soil/sand is being delivered Wednesday to level the whole front out. Going to work on that as my schedule/weather allows once the current turf is fully nuked.

 

Slowly working on the leveling process.. Largely focused on the worst parts and will continue to work on the “easier” areas throughout the week.

PSA - holy hell is this work. I thought I knew what I was signing up for but I severely underestimated it. I salute all those who have done leveling work, especially the folks with larger sized lawns. Unless you have some specialized/sophisticated equipment laying around, there are no shortcuts. Just fling material around and get the job done one shovel full at a time.

 

Leveling work done and ProVista seed officially down on 5/4...now it's up to the turf gods lol Irrigation is providing great coverage and watering needs. For seed cover, I tested out dry spreading Lesco Starter Seed 3 as that's what my local SiteOne had available. Tbh I probably won't go this route again and will just stick to peat moss for a seed covering. Probably user error more than anything lol

Painted some lasers on the side strip with the Swardman (1.25" HOC) and spot seeded one thin spot and the edge where delivery drivers killed off the grass over the winter by continuously driving on that section.... lesson learned there and will be placing some driveway markers to keep them off the lawn. This strip will also need some light leveling work overtime if I ever want to go below 1" HOC.

Up next will be the "front front" section that's now completely dead. Needs some serious leveling work before I even think of reel mowing it. Considered ProVista for that spot as well but ultimately decided on a TCS Obsidian PRG for now (same grass as side strip).

 

Thanks for documenting! Totally feel you on the leveling work. I thought it would be work, but not exhausting...I was very very wrong. I did a much smaller area (with no fancy tools) and I had to call it quits much earlier than I thought I would. I'll be doing it over time as well.

 

Thank you for the comment! Agreed! Leveling work by hand is no joke...this front section is a tad over 8k sq ft and took a few days of sheer will and determination to level out. The wife jumped in to assist with the leveling and I flung soil/sand around but we were both cooked by the end of it.

I wish more rental equipment places offered top dressers or spreaders for this. I looked high and low within a 50-75 mile radius of me and came up empty. I guess leveling must just be that niche that rental companies don't even think about offering equipment for it?

 

That's going to look fantastic and yup, hand leveling is no joke. Nice work!

 

First signs of PRG germination on 5/11 in the repair spots on the side strip. Very excited for this to fill in so I can lay some stripes later in the season. This area is also on Anuew growth regulator (low rate while this germinates. So far so good and highly recommend regulation if you’re overseeding to avoid any unnecessary foot traffic.

The main stage of Pro Vista is now 7 days after seed down. Zero signs of germination but that’s nothing new for KBG… I keep telling myself to trust the process but I’m an impatient man lol

The “front front” is officially leveled and Obsidian PRG seed is down! Now it’s a waiting game!

 

Update on the 9th DAS. Sporadic patches of ProVista germination! Still a LONG way to go but seeing these pop up has provided some initial relief. The KBG germination patience game is a sanity tester lol It has been warmer than usual here for May. Highs in the low-mid 80s and full sun all day. Zero rain. A couple more days of this then some rain in the forecast and highs back down to the normal mid 60s for this time of year here. I’m hoping the rain provides some quality germination support that only true rain can offer.

TBH I have no idea if the warmer than usual temps have helped or hurt. On one hand I’m sure it’s boosted soil temps, but on the other it’s been drying things out much sooner causing the need for more irrigation. Time will tell though as the ProVista continues to germinate. So far, things are looking promising!

 

Obsidian PRG is coming in very nicely up in the “front front” on the 7th DAS. Noticed some initial germination on day 4. Picture doesn’t to it any justice compared to in person. Threw down a touch more seed and peat moss in a thin-looking area for good measure.

Temps have come back down significantly after a week+ in the mid 80s. Solid mid-60s for highs for what looks like the rest of May should provide great conditions for these young grasses to get going without the risk of getting nuked by heat.

 

Quick PV update - the KBG ProVista is coming along nicely. Definitely has been in a state of “sprout and pout” since initial germination. Now on the 20th DAS and about the 11th DAG. Definitely still taking its good ole time but so far, I’m happy with where it’s at. Noticing some actual “green” patches in the yard now where it’s coming in thicker. I did throw down some more seed and peat moss in areas where I didn’t see any signs of germination to hopefully get something going in those spots. Planning to put down some heavy N soon (.75/1#). Based on what a lot of other PV members in here have journaled, N is your friend for this specific cultivar to really feed it and get it going. Scott’s recommends another round of starter fert ~28 days after initial seeding but tbh, I think I’m just going to stick with a SRN 34-0-0 or something similar as I do not have a P or K deficiency in my soil and don’t think I’ll find much value in starter fert. Not much of a fan of throwing down unnecessary things, especially phosphorus.

 

Obisidian PRG Update - holy smokes is she coming in great! This is the 13th DAS and only the 9th DAG. A few minor thin-ish areas but I think they’ll fill in nicely once it starts to tiller out. The color of this combo is insanely dark for brand new baby grass. Much darker than the typical “lime green” shade young grass tends to have initially. I’m very much looking forward to the progress of this area!

 

Obsidian PRG on the 14th DAG. Grass was juuuust over 2” in height and since the plan is to reel mow this section at 1” or lower I gave it a haircut with my manual reel mower set at 1.5”. Hoping to keep it there to encourage tillering rather than top growth.

Side note: all the leveling work was definitely worth it and made this first mow so much more enjoyable! No annoying ruts/divots to deal with. Can’t wait to get the Swardman on it!

 

ProVista update - pictures aren't ready giving it much justice as it looks much more grown in than what the camera picks up. I gave it a solid shot of N (.7#) with some Lesco 34-0-0 and irrigated afterwards. Looking forward to what this will look like as it continues to fill out after a good feeding. So far, I'm very pleased with the progress the ProVista is making. It's definitely a grass that likes to take its time but now that it's past "sprout and pout" it should start spreading.

 

Obsidian PRG update - gave it a small .25# feed of N about 4 days prior right before a good rain and it took off. Have been manually reel mowing it daily since just to keep the HOC low and encourage tillering. Temps are still cooperating (and looking to continue to do so) and getting the occasional rain so I’m feeling really good about this spring renovation spot heading into summer.

 

Provista has been absolutely running since the .75# feeding about a week ago. Top growth has been minimal compared to the amount of spreading and filling in it’s been doing. Still questioning the amount of germination I got in the thin section closest to me (bottom of pic) is an area that gets a lot of sun throughout the day. I think it dried out to often on me and didn’t come in as well as other areas. There’s still some PV in there so I might just let it ride for now and possibly add more seed in the fall if needed. Overall, very happy to see this area taking off and now I’m contemplating mowing it to with the manual reel at 1” to see if that won’t encourage more growth…

 

Looking good. Keep the watering and the feeding going. I had germination for over three months and even seen some the next spring. My biggest issues were the lack of water. Where my sprinklers didn't have double coverage was by far the thinnest and least amount of germination. Once I had 90% percent coverage I toned down the water. I believe that was a huge mistake on my end. I have not been shy with N and the yard has flourished. There have been a few examples of not feeding and watering enough and it just doesn't thrive. We all know there are weed seeds in the bag and already in the ground you don't want any of that taking over, this stuff will smother weeds out once established. From my own experiments I believe letting it get to 3.5 to 4 inches with water produces the most productive plant spreading and tillering. Spend the money on water and feed now to reward you for your time, money, and effort.

 

Thank you for sharing your insights! I can definitely confirm your anecdotal experiences regarding continued germination and thin spots being from a lack of water or poor irrigation coverage. I had fantastic germination in areas that have good overlapping coverage and the thinnest areas are where coverage could have been better, didn't run the zones for long enough, or it simply dried out too fast on me. Also - note taken on the water. I've backed off some but still have given it more than I traditionally would with a different grass type/cultivar. I will continue to stay on top of the water for sure (thank god for an irrigation system lol)!

Based on your own lawn thread and many other ProVista seeded lawns I've read up on they hammered the N to get it established. Definitely goes against most common practices for new lawns but for ProVista; heavy, frequent N is essential imo. Almost makes you feel like you're losing your mind or wasting N haha

 

Good shot of the ProVista on the 26th DAG. I gave it a haircut yesterday with the manual reel mower set at 1” for experimentation. Since my goal is to reel mow this, training for a lower HOC makes sense in my case. If you’re going for a more traditional HOC (2-3”) then I probably wouldn’t recommend a cut down to 1”.

Honestly, I also cut just to whack down the damn weeds as they were driving me nuts lol Plus, I wanted to see the growth response from giving it a cut. I’ve seen a few other ProVista folks have good anecdotal evidence that early cuts have helped it spread and tiller. I could just be losing it (probably the likely scenario) but it looked more grown in this morning compared to just a few days ago.

 

Provista is moving right along. Got a second light mowing in a few days ago, again at 1”. I think it’s been responding well to that. Have a lot of rain in forecast for next 10 days so I decided to take advantage and spot seeded some of the very thin areas. Definitely noticing some weed pressure now but not worried about it, will smoke ‘em in the fall. KBG is a test of patience so there’s still a ways to go but overall I’m happy with the progress!

(also, peep that Obsidian in the front…damn that’s dark lol)

 

Quick Provista update - continuing to fill in nicely with a few minor bare areas that I’ll address in the fall. I do have some patches of noticeable “lime green” and I fear it may be some Annua and/or Triv that I’m going to have to deal with this fall.. I just can’t escape it lol Luckily I have glyphosate at my disposal to handle it.

I’ve backed off on any nitrogen feedings as the temps/humidity and fungus pressure have just been too damn high lately, especially with the above average rain we’ve been getting. Definitely has its fair share of various weeds and the wife and I have been hand pulling here and there to avoid any chemical usage until cooler temps return.

I’ve been maintaining a 1” HOC with a manual reel mower for now and cutting probably every 7-10 days depending on rainfall. Ever since I starting cutting the lateral spreading has been insane. I can’t recommend enough to cut Provista as frequently as you can tolerant to promote lateral spread. I honestly don’t think it would be this filled in had I not started cutting.

 

That’s looking great! My obsidian when it came up took off as well. Are you still keeping it at 1.5” or have you dropped it down yet? I want to be around that 1 inch mark but set my manual about 2”. I’ve mowed the past three days in a row since getting back from a work trip and it’s still pushing .25 or more inches in just a day.

 

This is the Obsidian from just yesterday cut with my Swardman Electra 2.0 at a 1.25” HOC. I pretty much have to cut every other day to maintain that height and keep clippings small/manageable. Still doing 95% of my cutting with the manual reel mower until it matures more but I wanted to lay some quick stripes to get a test view of its true glory lol

Only nitrogen has been starter fert at seeding and the one .25# spoon feeding. No iron. The natural color of this grass is insane! I did get some minor brown patch a few weeks ago but a round of Azoxy cured that. I hope it was just a fluke of some kind and not a reoccurring issue with Obsidian.

 

That is looking great with those stripes down! Mine is on its way but I don’t trust the tracking that it will be all the way up here in Alaska today when last update from yesterday showed it in Salt Lake City. But after seeing yours like that I can’t wait for it. I feel I need to drop my manual reel down one more and get that around 1.5 or so until it comes in.

 

Backyard is officially under renovation! Looking hella crispy after being sprayed out on 6/28 and hit areas that I missed on 7/8. The few “green” spots are just fading marker dye from the 2nd round spot spray.

Scalped everything down over the weekend and started leveling out some of the worst areas. Also got a few passes in the my latest toy - the Earth & Turf Multispread 65PT. Just did a few trial runs to get the feel for it. After doing the 8k sq ft of front lawn by wheelbarrow and shovel (ProVista area) I said never again lol Worth every damn penny. Plan is to use the 65PT to get material down and then use a drag to smooth out and level the area.

 

Just when I think I couldn’t get hit with GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) again, I see a tow-behind soil spreader!

You are looking primed for success!

 

Too damn hot/humid to do anything else so I decided to mess around with some striping patterns. The color of this Hattrick/Fireball PRG combo is absolutely stunning. Only a little over 1# of N so far this year and two low dose iron apps. A few small bouts with some spots of brown patch over the past month or so but I was able to stay on it with 7 day rotating apps of Azoxy and Prop. It recovered very well with no turf loss. Current HOC 1.25in

The Provista has absolutely been running. It’s been filling in very nicely and handling the heat very well. Definitely going to do some spot overseeding in a few weeks. I did hit it with its first blanket glyphosate (.75 oz/1k) and it performed as advertised! I nuked a whole dang patch of Annua along with various other patches of crabgrass/broadleafs. No PV was lost, even some newly emerged blades/runners handled the gly just fine. If anything, the gly just acted as a PGR and really slowed down top growth. Current HOC 1.25in

Couple of older shots of the PV from July 12th, about one week after the gly app. Can easily see the patches of brown that were unwanted grasses. I did give it a small .2# N (AMS) spoon feed around this small time to help with recovery and to get some color back.

 

Got another load of top dressing sand and top soil/compost mix delivered on Friday. Came just in time to get it covered due to incoming storms.

Had some crazy wicked straight line winds whip through early Saturday morning (08/09). It was wild to see in real time, as it only lasted a few minutes, but holy almighty were the tree tops just whippin.

Lost one tree at the front of the driveway. One neighbor had a tree down on their roof and leaning against the house but thankfully no significant damages nor injuries to anyone. Other neighbors had medium size branches down but nothing major. A local, highly skilled tree service was out in no time to assist the neighbor with tree on their house then came over to make quick work of the one down in our driveway.

Crazy day but very thankful no one was harmed and to be surrounded by quality neighbors who all rallied to help each other out with clean up!

 

Getting back at it with more leveling work. Another 10 yards of 50/50 top soil and compost delivered as well as 15 tons of USGA top dressing sand. After dealing with some BS junk “masonry” sand this spring from a landscaping company, I decided to hunt down the supplier of all the local golf courses for sand. 1000000% worth it and honestly not that much more expensive than the other junk.

I’ve also decided to reel mow my entire property…lol So no TTTF in the back, just at lot more PRG! Since I’m now going this route, I wanted the back to be buttery smooth, which caused me to sift my top soil and compost blend through a 1/4” screen… After about one day of doing it with a spare pallet I had laying around, I decided to take the time to quickly frame out an actual DIY screener and that 4x my efficiency. Definitely a lot of up front work but after seeing the about of junk and debris that got filtered out, I’m very glad I took the time to sift.

Once I built that, I was able to ditch the 65pt as well and just use the bucket on the Ventrac and feather out “trails” in the back yard by slowly dumping it out of the bucket while I was driving.

The view from the “office” today lol still have a few spots along the edge of the concrete to hand level but I’m about 98% done with leveling. Ideally I wanted seed down by now but life and weather just got in the way. Hoping the have seed down early next week. That should give me right around 8ish weeks before our typical first frost date. The quick germination time of PRG will be of benefit!