Subject: 320sf of hell-strip on my rental dwelling.
Objective: renovate to a 1yr stand of 50/50 KBG/PRG.
Seeding Date: Aug 27th, 2010.
Execution plan:

Stage 1: Nuke with QuickPro, Friday the 13th
Stage 2: Fallow for 2 weeks (1/2 dose of starter+milorganite)
Stage 3: Seed at 85% KBG (still working on cultivars. Have a 50/50 mix of common + Avalanche & Mindnight already), 15% PR(Citation Fore, All*Star3, BrightStarSLT) (to be determined as well).
Stage 4: Mow at 3 weeks with reel mower to 1" to reduce PRG dominance.

I've talked myself into being stupid again. I'll be sure to take pictures and stuff.

Dumb question? If you're worried about the PRG dominance, why use it?

If it's for fast germination to reduce erosion, a top layer of burlap would do that nicely.

I'm not worried about it. I'm overseeding the rest of my existing 30yr front lawn with 100% PRG in the sunny areas. It was a recommendation for a rental from this forum, so I started reading about it. Once I figured out what it was, I started spotting it in the lawn. From my observations in the neighborhood where I live, it has some VERY nice qualities.

Its dark, handles wear better, grows in almost anything, and is very weed resistant. It has survived all of the Minnesota Winters that I've survived, and has done better in the humidity this year. I'm a big fan of it already, without ever putting any seeds down of my own.

Now, the reno is a new idea. The hell-strip is the worst area I have, and gets the most abuse, but its small and I'm not entirely worried about messing it up. I was going to nuke it and throw down 100% PR, and just overseed (it'd be a whole 3lbs to redo it every year) when I needed to until I moved. I'm basically throwing in the KBG for added resistance, and to test some commonly stated opinions that PRG will take over the entire strand. There are numerous reports that show a mixed strand having better density and disease resistance than a pure strand of either variety, so I'm gonna play with that...

Ultimately thats my goal, is education. I've done enough reading since March that I'm ready to play a bit.

plus it gave me an excuse to buy a really old reel mower off of craigslist for $20 bucks.

Gotcha. Not that there's anything wrong with PRG (it's a great grass), but like Bestlawn I'm not a fan of mixing them. The habits and care are just different enough to be an issue. Over time, the KBG will probably dominate, but what the heck.

It has survived all of the Minnesota Winters that I've survived

And it does do well in the Great White North.

duly noted. always appreciate your comments Morph.

I've picked some some KBG seed (thanks to Bombri's excellent tip on JRK Seeds in Eagan!).

They are as follows:

30% Midnight
30% Avalanche
40% Prosperity

I got this mixed 50/50 with Silver Dollar PR but I'm currently sifting it, as I don't want a single cultivar of PR, and 50/50 is too strong of a mix anyway. I figure I'll end up with about 5% PR after sifting, and will add in another 5% or so of Keystone 2 when it arrives.

obligatory pre-reno pics.

QuikPro is um... quick?



Should I start scalping that?

That's a day after pic!?!? Dayemmm... that stuff does work fast.

I mixed it at 1.5oz for 1 gallon, which says it should do 1,000sf. My strip is 320sf.

I got it down to 1/2" with the $20 reel mower. I'm contemplating just leaving it at this point, as a natural topdressing. Someone mentioned "plinko down to the dirt" which I sort of agree with after sifting 25lbs of seed. KBG seed is TINY.

Still watering, and will probably apply some starter tonight to fallow. I have another 2 weeks before I was gonna put down seed.

It looks like yours is a lot lower than mine. A lot of my grass was laid over so I couldn't get the reel mower to cut it all that great.

I don't even want to know what was going through all the heads of people walking by a guy cutting and raking a dead lawn...

248n8 wrote:It looks like yours is a lot lower than mine. A lot of my grass was laid over so I couldn't get the reel mower to cut it all that great.

I don't even want to know what was going through all the heads of people walking by a guy cutting and raking a dead lawn...

I heard lots of people having problems getting it low because it laid down, so I started early. I also went over it from multiple directions with the reel mower, which seemed to help a bit. I have it at its lowest setting, which appears to be about 1/2". I think I'm gonna get this old thing a sharpener though, I can't imagine cutting it if the grass was 3" tall

I have a question regarding seeding, if you wouldn't mind:

I'm on the razors edge with seeding dates if we happen to get an early start to Winter, so I want to do this 320sf as best I can. Here's what I have on hand:

4.4 cu.ft of Peat Moss, 4lbs of seeds, 50lbs of SeedAide (its like PennMulch but with no fert), and some 25lbs of Greenview (siduron).

I also have 10cu.ft of compost, but its wet and clumpy; it hasn't been sifted for 2 years. I put some down when I reseeded last year, and it seemed to smother the seeds but eventually they came in a bit fuller until summer robbed them of their light (neighbors trees).

I just need to make a 320sf "seeding sandwich". Looking for recipe suggestions on what sort of sandwich you'd make given the ingredients I have on hand.

OK, its update time I suppose (warning: weak pics).

Still fallowing. Its been 9 days since I RU'd, and I'm starting to see some (I think) Wood Sorrel come in again. I was gonna spray today, but I got my PR seed in from DLF, and got pre-occupied with my overseeding going on, and fussing with sprinklers.






I didn't pop for the Hunter heads, as the hose cost and the adapters/connectors/etc were gonna really get me in trouble with the mrs. I dropped 30 on cheap Orbit heads, and called it good for the overseed. I managed to squeeze in a 50' goodyear hose that the mrs didn't see.

Anyway...

Planning on re-spraying QuikPro onthe Reno tomorrow probably, and seeding on Sunday... I was contemplating just putting down my rye, but I'm gonna go thru with my original plan of 85% kbg and 15% rye, with a 1" mow at 3 weeks to knock down the rye dominance. Shooting for a 50/50 mix on the strip.





If you think this may be a bit early after spraying QuikPro, let me know. The strip reno is really for you guys after all... I'm dumping premium PR on the existing yard, with some patch-work on grass I hate. The KBG mix is soley for your entertainment, and my education.
I'm putting down the SeedAide on my patchwork pretty heavy; I don't think the kids can be counted on to water consistently during the day while I'm @work. The backyard reseeding has proven this out. I'm hoping the SeedAide can buy me 10hrs in-between waterings... the patches look good anyway so far (will photo tomorrow maybe).

I'm a little distraught over being the last MN resident to get seeds down, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to pulling it off (cuz that would be cool too). If not, its a few lbs of leftover PR in the Spring. I'll let you make that call too, if you'd like.

I'd be worried that the 3 week mow would pull out all the KBG seedlings!

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That's why God created reel mowers.

Seven333 wrote:I'd be worried that the 3 week mow would pull out all the KBG seedlings!

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I bought valve grinding paste (from NAPA) and swithed sides on my wheels and gears. This actually made the blades spin backwards and sharpen if you pushed it in that direction. Its a pretty nice 1/2" ( I haven't raised it yet) cut, even for its age. I think I need to re-adjust a bit, but she cuts pretty nice. My hippy neighbor has a brand new Brille if I don't get it right, but I'm happy with my craigslist reel mower so far.

Stay tuned I guess.... I have no idea really how it'll turn out.