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ShadowGuy's Lawn Journal - Kikuyu

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Discussion starter · #41 ·
SeanBB said:
Can u get a closeup photo...I'm just trying to see the thickness/thatch
Click to expand...
The thatch is not too bad, nothing like my front yard where I have kept it long.



Here I stole a plug for a struggling area. You can really see not much thatch between the canopy and the dirt.

 
Discussion starter · #42 ·
Fixed two cracked sprinkler heads and did a quick mow, trim edge, blow.

This one sprinkler head was way too high, and I always had to go around it with the mower which left a bunch of uncut grass. Since I don't always trim when I mow, this was often long and didn't match. Now with it just below the surface, I can run right over it. It was so easy, I should have fixed it sooner.



 
Discussion starter · #44 ·
2021 might have been the year for me to embrace Kikuyu, but I am tempted to give up on it. It has been a year to see what I can do with the "grass" that was here. I think I have done well, but but I am tempted to to try something else out next year.

In the front yard, I am giving PRG a go. I have hopes of keeping it year round, but in the back I will need something more durable.

I haven't settled on anything for the back yard yet, but looking for something soft under the foot, can be cut reel low, regenerating. Some turf quality variety that is more resistant to disease.

On my list:
  • PLATINUM TE PASPALUM (sod)
  • SANTA ANA BERMUDA(sod)
  • Arden15 (seed)
  • West Coast Native Bentgrass -AGROSTIS PALLENS(seed)

Did a little research on WC Bentgrass. We live adjacent to coastal wetland, so this would be native to my very local area. Normally it is kept long, but I wonder if it could go low. I might have to do a test plot.



 
Discussion starter · #47 ·
Is it too early for a 2022 "Before" Photo?

As I have been focusing on ShadowGuy's Lawn Journal - Kikuyu to PRG (Front Yard), I have let this one get long and weedy. I am only mowing about every 2 weeks. Since my lemon tree is fruiting, I have to clear the dropped fruit before mowing. Its has been impeding my desire to mow. The Kikuyu stayed green, but is barely growing. I have a couple of hoola hoop sized patches of dormant bermuda spotted with poa annua. The bermuda actually went totally dormant for about 4 weeks and how is starting to green up on top as our overnight lows are back in the 50's. The Kik is actually slowly advancing on the bermuda, which is fine by me.

From what I recall last year, I was itching to get going February and scalped with my Rotary down to 1.5" (all I could do at the time). It took a while to recover, I think it was still too early. It didn't really start taking off until April/May where I royally screwed up and sprayed the Kik with Quinclorac and nearly killed off the entire lawn, thinking I had a bermuda lawn. Boy was I wrong. It took nearly all summer to fill in gaps. I have come a long one in just one year!

I have been considering a reno, but I think I will give the Kik another season. I had it really looking good at the end, and I hope with a better start than last year, I can get it looking pristine sooner.

I have a ton of new tools since last Spring, so here I go kicking off the new 2022 season.

Next Steps:
  • Keep mowing with the rotary until its growing quick again (April - May)
  • Scalp down to 1/4 " with the Mclane and verticut with the SunJoe (April - May)
  • Keep it at 1/2 " and use the Proplugger to help fill in the weak spots.

I may not be able to wait until April-May to scalp......we will see.



Here is an angle that really shows my trouble spot. This area is shaded by the ficus and the lemon trees. I sprayed out the weeds this time last year, and it was mostly poa and dirt all year. In October, I spread some PRG to help get some ground cover over the winter, so it doesn't become a complete bog.

I will keep taking pics of this angle too, to track my progress this spring/summer. This will be the real challenge to get looking good.

 
Discussion starter · #48 ·
Update from over the weekend. I cut it down to 1.25" with the rotary. Mostly to remove the dead weeds from the broadcast spraying and to test how quickly it recovers. It has been three days, and the "scalped" spots are still brown.

My father-in-law came over and was ribbing me about being LOTM with a backyard like this. I had to remind him, it's off-season. It will have its time to shine in due time.





Looking back at some photos from last summer, and looking forward to getting it back to reel low, and green again.

 
Discussion starter · #49 ·
I got the itch to try out my SunJoe scarifier. I ran it over the Kikuyu at the deepest setting and cleaned up with the rotary at 1.5". I am trying to hold off on anything more aggressive until I get some quicker growth with longer days and higher temps. I pulled about a 30gallon bag of debris out of the roughly 1500sqft.

When I am ready to go low, I think I will run my rotary at the lowest, scarify two directions, rotary to clean, and then repeat with the reel,

 
Discussion starter · #50 ·
I didn't have to wait until April. It was starting to grow quicker again, so I scalped down below 0.5. Scarified with the SunJoe and cleaned up with the rotary. I also put down 0.5lb of N from a balanced slow release fertilizer. It doesn't look half bad scalped. I think it was ready.



 
Discussion starter · #53 ·
Since the last update we had some rain and a short heat wave. It would say the kikuyu is no longer dormant. I still have some brown spots, but I think it was spring dead spot. Each mow picks up more of the dead debris and the green is starting to spread and fill in.





This shady far side of the yard is a mix of PRG, Poa Annua, and Bermuda. Kikuyu is there too. At this point I am going to keep cutting it the same as the rest of the yard, and hope the kikuyu takes over.

 
Discussion starter · #58 · (Edited)
Having a great start to the season. Put down some single doubles! This is at 3/4”.

There is a lot of poa annua this year, and the seed heads are everywhere in the area back behind the patio. That area gets a lot of filtered shade from the trees, and the Kikuyu is not as strong as the rest of the yard. I don't use pre-emergent back there, because I overseed with PRG to provide coverage during the winter, because the kikuyu does so poorly in the filtered shade.

This is my 3rd Spring/Summer, and the year over year of weeding has really diminished the amount of other weeds. I have a touch of oxalis and crabgrass. The crabgrass has to be hand pulled, because any chemical that harms crabgrass kills the kikuyu.

I am pushing the envelope with fungus risk. I have not yet done any preventative fungus treatment, and in prior years it has been a real setback. One thing I am doing differently is a bi-weekly verticut with the sunjoe. The results are still a thick canopy, but it doesn't seem to be as compacted and I think it is helping with airflow.

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