[synergy0852]

@downriverlawn I'm out of the state working right now, but if I remember I'll try to snap a pic when I get home. I'm not sure of the brand name of it but it's the standard SOP 0-0-50. I believe they have locations closer to you, the guy in Grand Ledge said they were moving to your side of the state too.

@Chris LI They sent out a letter earlier this year about having any landscaping changes approved by them and provided a form to fill out. I decided I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission and I'd just pay the damn fine if they ended up choosing to take that route. My neighbor to the east usually let's his grass get to 12-14" before mowing and they don't seem to mind. I actually looked at the by-laws out of curiosity and it says grass can be no longer than 12", that blew my mind!

 

[Chris LI]

It sounds like they're more bark than bite. Hopefully, they won't give you too hard of a time on anything you do. I'm holding back on suggestions to combat them, because it burns my butt, just hearing about "the letter". Good luck!

 

[g-man]

Are jewelry stores deemed essential?

I'm sure you can buy it online and then do a zoom wedding.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed yesterday @ .7"

Got soil tests back today. I wasn't thrilled with the results compared to last year especially considering the inputs I made. However, I know my goals won't happen overnight.

Here are my results:




Slightly surprised how similar the front and back are as they feel much different to me. After seeing the results I will be treating the two slightly different this year.

 

[synergy0852]

Decided to backlap my GM1600 today as I wasn't impressed with the shops work. Ever since I got it back I was able to cut paper on the outer edges but the middle I couldn't get, seemed to mow alright so I let it slide until today. After backlapping and mating the reel to bedknife I got it to cut paper with no contact how I wanted, win for me!

Mowed today @ .65" as it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow and I'm heading out of town for work Monday morning. Weather looks cool for the week so I'm hoping the grass slows down a bit as I'm not quite ready to start the pgr regimen yet. Plan is to fertilize and start pgr in a couple weeks as I'm already having to mow twice a week to keep it looking tidy.

Took the drone up for the first flight of 2020, here's some pics:












Just started training the dog to do it's business on the one side of the patio out back, as you can see she did a number on the back yard last fall and through the winter in front of the patio. Sacrificing a little chunk of grass on that one side of the patio seems like a fair trade.

 

[Pete1313]

Looks great! :thumbsup:
I really like this pic.. like an oversized tee box surrounded by rough.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed on 4/18 @ .65" and spread 2 lbs SOP/M for total of 1 lb K/M.

Mowed on 4/20 @ .65" and double cut, giving me the best looking cut of the year.

The grass has taken a beating from last week's overnight freezes and again this week there were a couple nights. Hoping to get out tomorrow and spray AMS + Feature now that the winds are dying down for the first time in two weeks and we are supposed to get a nice light rain tomorrow evening through Thursday to help wash the leftover AMS off the leaves and get that SOP into the soil. Going to hold off on the PGR until the back fully wakes up. Need to get to the co-op to purchase some MAP or something similar for the backyard since I need P there. I have 2 bags of Milo left but they don't really fit my needs for this year.

 

[synergy0852]

Finally got around to spraying that AMS+Feature today. I also decided to try out these peptides I keep hearing about and since I'm spraying this year I went with Depth 10+. Planning on adding that to my ams/feature/pgr spray every couple weeks this year @.75oz/M until I hit the yearly max.

Not a very nice day outside weather wise, but the winds were non existent I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Weather is supposed to get better from here on out it looks like! Hoping to mow again Sunday.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed @ .65" on 4/26 & again on 4/28 before a few days of rain forecasted. Ended up getting 2.66" over the last 3 days with most of it coming the night of 4/28 and morning of 4/29. Excellent forecast for the weekend and I need to mow again.

Plan for weekend, mow, spray AMS or Urea, some more feature, still thinking of holding off on PGR but may start that, haven't decided. Also debating adding some tenacity to the tank to light up the POA so I can attack it manually as I know there's some hiding that I can't see. I need to head to co-op and get some MAP or phos fert of sorts for the back yard.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed 5/1 @ .625" and spread .84 lbs of 0-45-0.

Mowed today @ .625". Spread my bag of Grub Ex then sprayed two mixes. First one was K4L Extreme Blend @ 20 g/M, Depth10+ @ .8 oz/M, and Air-8 @ 6 oz/M. Second Spray was Urea @ .5 lb/M(.23 lb N/M), T-Nex @ .2 oz/M, Feature @ 1 oz/M, Tenacity @ 5 oz/A rate, Crossbow(for the Triclopyr) @ 1.5 oz/M.

Targeting POA mostly with the Tenacity and using Triclopyr to reduce whitening of other grasses, also had a couple clover plants trying to creep in from the neighbors lawns. Went with a low rate of PGR to start the season, I am planning on going with a lower rate this season as well compared to last season because I enjoy mowing, but also like to do other things so I can't be mowing daily. I realize spraying tenacity and regulating the grass with PGR will take longer for the whitening effects to go away, but it had to be done.

Spent a little time trying to calculate the tenacity rate in my head before mixing and think I got it right, but if someone is bored and wants to double check me I would appreciate it. I used 3.5 tsp for my 5M which should be just a touch over 5 oz/Acre I think. I think it's 6 tsp/1 oz. So 5 oz/Acre is .115 oz/M times my 5M is .575 oz. After this i did 6 tsp/oz * .575oz = 3.45 tsp which I rounded to 3.5 tsp for my 5M.

Haven't posted a pic in awhile and I remembered to snap one quick before running over the lawn 3 times with the lesco which tends to ruin the appearance. Didn't get a pic of the backyard.


Was going to run my special irrigation program tomorrow morning, but Rachio Flex was already set to run so that was nice. Also thinking about raising my bench HOC to .75" in the future as the color has just been drained from the grass at .625" but I love the cut quality and carpet-like appearance at .625" so this is a tough one!

 

[rob13psu]

Looks great. I admire those tight edges.

 

[synergy0852]

@rob13psu Thanks for the compliment! Snapped this right after the mow before I did edges, trimming, blow which I usually do every other mow.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed @ .625" on 5/6 and again today @ .75". The color is nice now at .75" but I hate the appearance, hard to believe 1/8" can make that much of a difference.

Had cold/nasty weather lately. Supposed to warm up towards the end of this week and doesn't look like anymore cold in the forecast. Hopefully this holds true!

 

[Chris LI]

Mowed @ .625" on 5/6 and again today @ .75". The color is nice now at .75" but I hate the appearance, hard to believe 1/8" can make that much of a difference.

Had cold/nasty weather lately. Supposed to warm up towards the end of this week and doesn't look like anymore cold in the forecast. Hopefully this holds true!

I'm curious to hear if your opinion changes after the turf adjusts to the new HOC after a few mows.

 

[synergy0852]

@Chris LI I've had it @ .75" before and always preferred .625" to be honest. I feel like the lower I go the better the mower cuts. The color just hasn't been there this year and I'm thinking it's the weather, but I've changed other things with my program for this year so I can't be sure.

 

[Chris LI]

Thanks! I'm a color junkie, but have really begun to appreciate density over the last couple of years, so I'm still trying to find a balance. I'm always interested in hearing opinions on the subject.

 

[synergy0852]

I bought Mazama seed last week and if all goes as planned I will be renovating this summer/fall in hopes of consistent growth and more even color having a monostand. This may end up allowing me that lower/tighter cut and the color I'm after.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed 5/13 took it back down to .625" and mowed again yesterday before 3 forecasted days of rain. Currently a little over 1" of rain.

Lawn is looking pretty rough from the tenacity app a couple weeks back. Every year I use tenacity to go after the POA annua I am reminded how much fine fescue I have and my hatred for it. Very little annua has been bleached maybe 5 spots total, most of the bleaching is on the FF. Sadly I don't have any pics to show of the lawn as I keep forgetting to take some as I rush off to the next chore.

However, I do have a couple pics of the Mazama I planted in a pot indoors. Had germination at 6 days and more with each passing day. Currently this is day 9 since seeding and 3 days since first germination. I am watching this closely to see the phases of growth (germination, pout and sprout,etc) and know what to expect for the Reno I plan to do this summer. Obviously indoor and outdoor are two different animals, but this should give me an idea.

Pic from today:


The sod I tore out for the new flower bed in the back is going strong where I tossed it in the woods behind my buddies house. Everytime I go there I'm caught off guard that it's still alive and well as I left it for dead.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed 3 times since last post, grass got away from me a little bit and I've raised height to .7" to accommodate. Tenacity bleaching is finally wearing off and seed heads are here, although cutting shorter I don't see as many as years prior. Seed head stalks are beginning to brown and are uncomfortable to walk on. I had some early signs of dollar spot and most likely some leaf spot in a few areas that seem to be doing much better since fungicide app.

Did another app of SOP @ 2lbs/M and have sprayed .2lbs/M AMS, .3oz/M PGR, 1oz/M Main Event, 1oz/M Talstar, 2oz/M PPZ, .4oz/M Azoxy. These weren't all in the same spray, they were split into two separate sprays.

 

[synergy0852]

Mowed front on 5/27 before PGR kicked in, back was too wet to mow. Was able to get out back yesterday, 5/30, and had to go up to .75". Mowed whole yard again today at .7" so its back where I was now before the nearly daily rain last week. Today's mow could have waited, it appears it's finally under regulation.

After the mow today I decided to spread a bag of Milo on a whim. It was the old analysis of 5-4-0, I ended up spreading more in the back than the front as soil test showed more P was needed back there than the front. Used 1 bag, have 1 bag left. Front got around .225 lbs N/M, P would be .18 lbs/M. Back got around .45 lbs N/M, and .36 lbs/M of P.

I've been struggling to get the cut I want with the GM1600 this year after having a spin grind over the winter and new bed knife put on. I've been running the reel with no contact, close enough to cut paper, but maybe not the grass. I've been observing bruising and some frayed tips. So I busted out the feeler gauges and followed the manual for light contact of the reel and bedknife(.0001" if I'm not mistaken.) I think I may have it dialed in now, time will tell.

I really need to get pics, been slacking on that this year. I do however have a picture of my test pot of Mazama that I planted 5/8. As of now I'm planning on moving forward with a full reno, kill in July, seed down beginning of August tentatively.