Hello all. I just joined the site and posted background info on the cool grasses forum. So I plan to start my renovation July 4th weekend. Current lawn is about 1200sq ft mostly shaded. Tentative plan;
Week 1: July 3rd,RU lawn - may do 2x applications in one week if needed.
Week 2: July 10th, scalp, Fallow
Week 3: July 17th, Fallow
Week 4: July 24th, Fallow
Week 5: July 31th, Fallow. I want to do whatever it takes to get every weed and unwanted organism out in the open and RU mid week.
Week 6: July 7th Seed (amend soil as per soil test, topdressing, starter fertilizer same day)
Attached are Pics of the current lawn and the soil test results from Rutgers, PDF format.

questions: which RU is best to use?
Please comment on my soil test.

Is there another thread with the soil test on it?

Round Up red cap is what I use--absolutely never, never use the Season Long as it'll keep the grass from sprouting! ON the label, it'll state that it contains glyphosate, and perhaps dicamba. Both are fine. Anything else isn't fine...

soil test will be up in a bit

Here's my soil test. I only did the basic test, but I can call them back if I need more done. The first page is the important stuff. I included their recommendations for us to discuss if needed.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Rutgers soil tests. Sigh.

OK, let's work with it. Lacking soil saturations, we're going to have to wing it a little.

pH: 5.68: Not quite as smokingly acidic as some we see, but well below the optimal levels for grass. 6-7 is tolerable, 6.5 to 6.8 is optimal. This is low enough that grasses will have trouble with it. Most plants will, actually, except acid-lovers.

Andy will have to confirm this, but my response would be calcitic limestone (NOT the cheap dolomitic from the big-box store) at 9 pounds per thousand to start adjusting this. Dolomitic limestone won't do as the magnesium levels in the soil are already out of balance. Making that worse would be bad.

P 28: I'm assuming the M3-ICP test here. It's low, and should just about double, but I don't have a real good feel for how much to add on the M3-ICP test to get it there.

For safety, and with a reno coming, I'd apply bag rate of starter fertilizer (the cheapest one you can find) in July, at seeding, and about six weeks after seeding (probably October). Re-test next year, preferably through Logan Labs.

K 130: Really very low, not just low. We don't have a CEC or EC listed for this soil, so I'm going to be conservative.

One pound of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet in July, August, and October (skip the reno time period on this). Re-test next year through Logan Labs.

Micros: Boron is low, which Andy may or may not want to play with off this test.

Iron is not high. Iron is tolerable. However, let's let it go this year as it's certainly not deficient but probably won't produce the best color possible.

Thanks for the info morpheus. Should I be concerned with lack of sunlight on my lawn for kbg? Those pics were taken at 1pm, From the pic u can see there are areas that get 2 hours or less of direct sun (lawn is north facing). Also after RU, wait till grass gets brown then scalp, do I have to dethatch? I think my thatch is quite thick. Sorry if I have noob questions,

I'd definitely be concerned about the amount of sunlight. Cultivars that tolerate less sun would be best, although you'll want to research that or ask in a new thread. I'm lousy at seed selections.

Post-RU, scalp as soon as the grass goes, and scalp it as low as you can go with your mower. There's no need to dethatch, although if you mow and still see a lot post a photo and we may change our minds on that depending on how thick it is.

Post-mow, I used a dethatcher with the tines set high (so they didn't touch soil) to rip out some more of the dead grasses. Overkill, but I felt better about it.

I have had good luck with the cultivars "Moonlight SLT" and "America" in the shadier areas.

Gregg wrote: Should I be concerned with lack of sunlight on my lawn for kbg? [snip] there are areas that get 2 hours or less of direct sun (lawn is north facing)

Yes, very concerned. Sure, some will grow very thin and sparse but the area will disappoint you very much in a couple of years after all the effort and hard work.

2 hours or less of sunlight will not support elite KBG, much less other turf grass types.

I'm leaning towards moonlight, midnight, and America because of the shade issues. Most of the lawn receives 4-6 hours of sun, the further from the big tree u see in the pic, the better. Close to the driveway gets about 6-8hrs sun. The current lawn is big box "anywhere" seed mix. It's quite disgusting. U can't tell from the pic but the sunnier areas have kbg flourishing, most of the lawn is tall fescue, there's creeping fescue patches mixed in with kbg and tall fescue (in sunny areas). There's even Patches of K31 in there. I can't stand it! Anyway, areas closest to the tree get the least sun, I'm already looking into having branches of the tree removed to let more sun in, but that's an expense I cannot tackle right now. Others have had positive experiences with moonlight, midnight and america in similarly shaded areas so I'm willing to try it and hopefully have vital parts of the big tree removed by next spring.

I'm not so sure Midnight is a good choice. Most of the compact midnights aren't the greatest in shade, but there are some that do better than others. I would look at Beyond, Everest, NuDestiny, and NuGlade. Jglongisland, a forum member, has a shady area where Nuglade is doing well for him. Here are the pdf's.

http://techsheets.simplot.com/Jacklin/beyond.pdf
http://techsheets.simplot.com/Jacklin/everest.pdf
http://techsheets.simplot.com/Jacklin/nudestiny.pdf
http://techsheets.simplot.com/Jacklin/nuglade.pdf

You could also omit the compact midnight, and use a more shade tolerant cultivar from the compact or compact america subgroup, but generally it's recommended to use one from each compact group.

For your low pH and since you are fallowing, you might want to research slaked lime (calcium hydroxide). It is much faster acting than the calcitic but it is pretty hot stuff, so you need to know what you are doing. If not I would use Cal-Turf Pro from Lesco as that dissolves faster than regular calcitic lime and affects pH faster as well.

Thanks everyone for all the info so far. Should I mow before applying RU? Whats the easiest way to apply RU? My local big box store has it as a mix, spray, and pump/spray.

Probably the concentrated mix, then put in a hose-end and use that. 1,200 square feet is still a lot to do with a small sprayer...

Round Up works best if you don't mow 48 hours before application, and the lawn is actively growing. If you can irrigate a bit 2 days before applying, it'll work a lot better.

In addition to what Morpheus said, you will probably have to use a small tank sprayer when you do the grass on the border of your neighbor's yard (if applicable), and near any ornamentals you don't want to die. When doing that border it can be helpful to use a string line to get a nice straight line of kill.

I think you should add Bewitched to the mix, it did great in a NJ shade trial.

I emailed Pawnee about bedazzled, America, and moonlight slt, didnt hear back yet. Also, I just got an ortho dial n spray, what setting do I use to apply roundup?

Gregg wrote:I emailed Pawnee about bedazzled, America, and moonlight slt, didnt hear back yet

So you are omitting the Compact Midnight?

Gregg wrote: Also, I just got an ortho dial n spray, what setting do I use to apply roundup?

It all depends on which concentrate you purchased. In any case it is on the label. I believe regular Round-Up concentrate is 2.5 oz/gallon, but again, always check the label.

Just RU'ed the lawn, used the red cap. Was really quick thanks to dial n spray. I'll have to see how it goes if I need to apply again, I also picked up a bag of calcitic lime from HD. Don't know if I'm still going for the compact midnight. I need cultivators that can tolerate shade. Pawnee hasn't emailed back yet, maybe I'll find out next week

Gregg wrote:I emailed Pawnee about bedazzled, America,

FYI - When ordering, keep in mind that both Bedazzled and America are both from the same family, "Compact-America Type".

didnt hear back yet

PS - you are dealing with farmers, not high tech IT guys. (which is a good thing!)
You'll have better luck and a much more pleasurable experience talking to Glenn personally on the telephone. 800-782-5947

GaryCinChicago wrote:

Gregg wrote:I emailed Pawnee about bedazzled, America,

FYI - When ordering, keep in mind that both Bedazzled and America are both from the same family, "Compact-America Type".

didnt hear back yet

PS - you are dealing with farmers, not high tech IT guys. (which is a good thing!)
You'll have better luck and a much more pleasurable experience talking to Glenn personally on the telephone. 800-782-5947

Thanks for the info, I don't mind cultivators from the same family, I'm more concerned with shade tolerance. I thought with the holiday weekend it would be hard to get in touch with pawnee, if anything I'll call next week. How long does RU take to kill the current lawn? Also, anyone have suggestions on where to get potassium sulfate for lawns? I looked a few places with no success.