After doing a lot of reading and research I am about to renovate the front yard. Of course the best laid plans of mice and men.....

I started applying the "shampoo" treatment to the lawn back in early August. I went with the shampoo as a quick, better do something now approach. I have put down 3 treatments so far. I can see the difference in the soil already. I may put down 1 more before I "roundup" the yard. After the reno I will start with the BL conditioner and Kelp help. Dropped lime, milorganite w/borax, and potassium sulfate in August.

Back to my best laid plans. I was originally planning on rounding up the yard starting Sept. 2, but..... I decide I had 2 area's in the backyard that needed attention first. We put the sprinkler system in about 10 years ago. Things have changed since then. There was a pitchers mound that I had built for the boys to practice on. They have since out grown it. Or should I say I won't squat down and catch teenagers throwing way too fast for me. That was an 8" x 8" area that had to be re-leveled and prepped. I had a couple of trees die a few years ago. Hated them, don't miss them. Had to extend 2 sprinkler runs out another 10' each. Digging in this Georgia cl..... ok ..crap is a pain. Ok, backyard in now ready for Fescue.

On to the front yard. After reading the article on watering, I decided to see exactly how much water the sprinklers were putting down. The front yard is ~100' x 50'. I was only getting 1/4" of water in my 40 minute run time I had set. I was able to add 4 more impact sprinklers. Now I get to 1" in around an hour running time.

The plan was to roundup on the 2nd. Yard repair pushed that to the 3rd. And then along came Lee. It's still raining here today. So.....If the sun comes up and the creek don't rise.... My plan is as follows:

9/7--mulch mow to 2"
9/9--roundup front and side yard
9/13--scalp, bagging
fallow, fallow, fallow
9/16--roundup anything that resembles green.
9/19--milorganite
9/20--seed and 1/2 starter fertilizer
9/30-- other half of starter fertilizer
water, water, water.

Top dressing? Do I need to top dress or will dropping seed in to mulched grass work?

Should I put all of the starter fertilizer down at once or split it up like I planned?
I should be putting down another round of potassium sulfate the first of Oct. Should I wait until later in the month?

Seed that I am going with:
40% Bedazzled
30% NuChicargo
30% Moon Shadow
I am renovating 5425sq f. Will 12 lbs of seed be enough?

SSS shows this seed to be in-stock. Pricey I know but if they have it. Pawnee would be my second choice but they don not carry NuChicargo which did well in the N.C. test.

Just some advice... you are better off SKIPPING a mowing before applying roundup then mowing low beforehand. The more leaf surface area the better.

NOT advising, just asking a question.

Would the compacted clay soil need aerating or dethatching before seeding?

^^and what makes you think the clay is compacted?^^

[ Post made via Android ]

simpson wrote:^^and what makes you think the clay is compacted?^^

[ Post made via Android ]

Clay has a tendency to be compacted.

Type "compacted clay" in the search box on the site and research for your self.

voljack wrote:

simpson wrote:^^and what makes you think the clay is compacted?^^

[ Post made via Android ]

Clay has a tendency to be compacted.

Type "compacted clay" in the search box on the site and research for your self.

In years past I would say yes. But by treating the lawn with the BL Soil Conditioner substitute every 2 weeks for the past 6 weeks has opened the soil up. I did the screwdriver test before I started. Took alot of effort to push it in. Now It takes little effort. I also see less run-off when I run my sprinklers. More water going into the soil than running off as in the past. Untreated, yeah this Georgia crap can be hard as concrete.

That is great to hear. I planned on the soil condition this year, but never got around to it. Wish I had after hearing how well it worked in only 6 weeks.

Anyone have an idea how soon after seeding could I start the soil condition treatments?

snowmanaxp wrote:That is great to hear. I planned on the soil condition this year, but never got around to it. Wish I had after hearing how well it worked in only 6 weeks.

Anyone have an idea how soon after seeding could I start the soil condition treatments?

How much energy will you have after seeding?

No, really, it's that gentle, and may actually help water penetrate the seed coats. Conditioner, kelp, and humates can all go during a renovation.

voljack wrote:

simpson wrote:^^and what makes you think the clay is compacted?^^

[ Post made via Android ]

Clay has a tendency to be compacted.

Type "compacted clay" in the search box on the site and research for your self.

Soil also can get hard with no clay in it at all. I was just asking why you thought you had compacted clay?
I was not looking for a smart answer on telling me to search clay. More or less I was going to help you out.

[ Post made via Android ]

Still looking for a couple of answers:

Top dressing? Do I need to top dress or will dropping seed in to mulched grass work?

Should I put all of the starter fertilizer down at once or split it up like I planned?

I should be putting down another round of potassium sulfate the first of Oct. Should I wait until later in the month?

I am renovating 5425sq f. Will 12 lbs of seed be enough?

You don't need to topdress if you don't want to. Its just a added protection. I like to fertilize every two weeks when doing a Reno. It gives the lawn a nice even feeding while its growing. But that's just me. If you seed at 2 lbs per 1000 sqft. You will be fine but will not have much seed left over incase you need to spot seed.

[ Post made via Android ]

GeorgiaDad wrote:Top dressing? Do I need to top dress or will dropping seed in to mulched grass work?

Adding compost as a top dressing is not needed, but with our kind of soil I think it would help in the long term for better soil.

simpson wrote:

voljack wrote:

simpson wrote:^^and what makes you think the clay is compacted?^^

[ Post made via Android ]

Clay has a tendency to be compacted.

Type "compacted clay" in the search box on the site and research for your self.

Soil also can get hard with no clay in it at all. I was just asking why you thought you had compacted clay?
I was not looking for a smart answer on telling me to search clay. More or less I was going to help you out.

[ Post made via Android ]

+1 I had compacted sand.

BuckeyeChuck wrote:I have family down in GA. Are you near Atlanta? I was just curious because I did not think KBG was really feasible down there? I thought most people had centipede or zoysia.

Up near Buford. There are a few people around here that have KGB. I think it will grow here. Just need the right cultivars. It is going to be an interesting experiment.

Is there any seed vendor that carries Bedazzled, Moon Shadow and NuChicargo? I can find one or two but not all three from any vendor. Will most likely buy 5 lbs each. That way I will have a little left over for spot repairs/dormant seeding.

Roundup is down. Now the doubt starts creeping in. Was this a wise decision? Guess there is no turning back now.

Yep.... you are now fully committed....