Alright, so I think my plan is more firm now after talking things over with my beautiful wife. As I mentioned earlier, most of the traditional step fertilization programs and conventional lawn rehab measures just seem like temporary fixes to me. I'm all for the quick band-aid fix in the right scenario, but this isn't one of those times. So I'm getting to the core issue here. BTW, I do realize that this would've been a lot less hassle had I just trucked in a few loads of quality topsoil before laying sod. Live and learn.

So in order to increase the organic content in the soil I'm going to take some lessons from the organic lawn care disciples. I would love to say that I'm doing this for unselfish reasons like taking care of the environment, but really I just think that this seems like the most scientifically correct way to solve the core problems.

These are the key factors I'll be undertaking for;

Increasing Organic Content

• Mulch mowingI just mentioned on another thread that I recently purchased a Tru-Cut H20 reel mower with the Honda engine. This mower should do a good job of mulching compared to the rotaries that I've been accustomed to.

• Organic material top dressingAs metioned previously, I've used some of the local dairy compost with bad experiences. My wife refuses to let me put that compost on the lawn again. I could use top soil, peat moss, or peat humus.

• Fertilize with organic materialMany organic fertilizers to choose from, but alfalfa pellets are readily available here for cheap and it seems that they will do the best job of increasing organic content.

Leveling the Lawn

• ShovelCertainly any large pits or mounds will need to be fixed with a good shovel and some elbow grease.

• ScalpingThe lawn is currently much too long to get a good top dressing on, so I will hit it once with the rotary mower, and then with the reel mower to get it down to about 1". Then a once over with the rotary again to bag the clippings.

• TopdressingI've read through many different materials used for this; sand, top soil, compost, humus, or any mix of the above. Sand is certainly the most convenient, but I need to be careful to avoid ending up with a layer of sand at the top without altering the soil structure below.

Aeration

• EarthwormsHaven't seen a single earthworm on my property, even during rain storms. This is odd because I am bordered on one side by what used to be farm land and is now empty building lots. I remember seeing worms while we were in construction, but none since we graded and put in the lawn. One of the last steps will certainly be to go buy some worms and introduce them to my lawn.

• Loose materialA jar test indicated that I have far too much clay in many areas, and little sand. When they did the soil test, they just combined my samples. The problem is that the lot has veins of sand running through it. So about 10% of the subsoil has a high sand content, while the rest is just hard pack clay. The front yard...

Alright, so I think my plan is more firm now after talking things over with my beautiful wife. As I mentioned earlier, most of the traditional step fertilization programs and conventional lawn rehab measures just seem like temporary fixes to me. I'm all for the quick band-aid fix in the right scenario, but this isn't one of those times. So I'm getting to the core issue here. BTW, I do realize that this would've been a lot less hassle had I just trucked in a few loads of quality topsoil before laying sod. Live and learn.

So in order to increase the organic content in the soil I'm going to take some lessons from the organic lawn care disciples. I would love to say that I'm doing this for unselfish reasons like taking care of the environment, but really I just think that this seems like the most scientifically correct way to solve the core problems.

These are the key factors I'll be undertaking for;

Increasing Organic Content

• Mulch mowingI just mentioned on another thread that I recently purchased a Tru-Cut H20 reel mower with the Honda engine. This mower should do a good job of mulching compared to the rotaries that I've been accustomed to.

• Organic material top dressingAs metioned previously, I've used some of the local dairy compost with bad experiences. My wife refuses to let me put that compost on the lawn again. I could use top soil, peat moss, or peat humus.

• Fertilize with organic materialMany organic fertilizers to choose from, but alfalfa pellets are readily available here for cheap and it seems that they will do the best job of increasing organic content.

Leveling the Lawn

• ShovelCertainly any large pits or mounds will need to be fixed with a good shovel and some elbow grease.

• ScalpingThe lawn is currently much too long to get a good top dressing on, so I will hit it once with the rotary mower, and then with the reel mower to get it down to about 1". Then a once over with the rotary again to bag the clippings.

• TopdressingI've read through many different materials used for this; sand, top soil, compost, humus, or any mix of the above. Sand is certainly the most convenient, but I need to be careful to avoid ending up with a layer of sand at the top without altering the soil structure below.

Aeration

• EarthwormsHaven't seen a single earthworm on my property, even during rain storms. This is odd because I am bordered on one side by what used to be farm land and is now empty building lots. I remember seeing worms while we were in construction, but none since we graded and put in the lawn. One of the last steps will certainly be to go buy some worms and introduce them to my lawn.

• Loose materialA jar test indicated that I have far too much clay in many areas, and little sand. When they did the soil test, they just combined my samples. The problem is that the lot has veins of sand running through it. So about 10% of the subsoil has a high sand content, while the rest is just hard pack clay. The front yard...

Alright, so I think my plan is more firm now after talking things over with my beautiful wife. As I mentioned earlier, most of the traditional step fertilization programs and conventional lawn rehab measures just seem like temporary fixes to me. I'm all for the quick band-aid fix in the right scenario, but this isn't one of those times. So I'm getting to the core issue here. BTW, I do realize that this would've been a lot less hassle had I just trucked in a few loads of quality topsoil before laying sod. Live and learn.

So in order to increase the organic content in the soil I'm going to take some lessons from the organic lawn care disciples. I would love to say that I'm doing this for unselfish reasons like taking care of the environment, but really I just think that this seems like the most scientifically correct way to solve the core problems.

These are the key factors I'll be undertaking for;

Increasing Organic Content

• Mulch mowingI just mentioned on another thread that I recently purchased a Tru-Cut H20 reel mower with the Honda engine. This mower should do a good job of mulching compared to the rotaries that I've been accustomed to.

• Organic material top dressingAs metioned previously, I've used some of the local dairy compost with bad experiences. My wife refuses to let me put that compost on the lawn again. I could use top soil, peat moss, or peat humus.

• Fertilize with organic materialMany organic fertilizers to choose from, but alfalfa pellets are readily available here for cheap and it seems that they will do the best job of increasing organic content.

Leveling the Lawn

• ShovelCertainly any large pits or mounds will need to be fixed with a good shovel and some elbow grease.

• ScalpingThe lawn is currently much too long to get a good top dressing on, so I will hit it once with the rotary mower, and then with the reel mower to get it down to about 1". Then a once over with the rotary again to bag the clippings.

• TopdressingI've read through many different materials used for this; sand, top soil, compost, humus, or any mix of the above. Sand is certainly the most convenient, but I need to be careful to avoid ending up with a layer of sand at the top without altering the soil structure below.

Aeration

• EarthwormsHaven't seen a single earthworm on my property, even during rain storms. This is odd because I am bordered on one side by what used to be farm land and is now empty building lots. I remember seeing worms while we were in construction, but none since we graded and put in the lawn. One of the last steps will certainly be to go buy some worms and introduce them to my lawn.

• Loose materialA jar test indicated that I have far too much clay in many areas, and little sand. When they did the soil test, they just combined my samples. The problem is that the lot has veins of sand running through it. So about 10% of the subsoil has a high sand content, while the rest is just hard pack clay. The front yard...

Alright, so I think my plan is more firm now after talking things over with my beautiful wife. As I mentioned earlier, most of the traditional step fertilization programs and conventional lawn rehab measures just seem like temporary fixes to me. I'm all for the quick band-aid fix in the right scenario, but this isn't one of those times. So I'm getting to the core issue here. BTW, I do realize that this would've been a lot less hassle had I just trucked in a few loads of quality topsoil before laying sod. Live and learn.

So in order to increase the organic content in the soil I'm going to take some lessons from the organic lawn care disciples. I would love to say that I'm doing this for unselfish reasons like taking care of the environment, but really I just think that this seems like the most scientifically correct way to solve the core problems.

These are the key factors I'll be undertaking for;

Increasing Organic Content

• Mulch mowingI just mentioned on another thread that I recently purchased a Tru-Cut H20 reel mower with the Honda engine. This mower should do a good job of mulching compared to the rotaries that I've been accustomed to.

• Organic material top dressingAs metioned previously, I've used some of the local dairy compost with bad experiences. My wife refuses to let me put that compost on the lawn again. I could use top soil, peat moss, or peat humus.

• Fertilize with organic materialMany organic fertilizers to choose from, but alfalfa pellets are readily available here for cheap and it seems that they will do the best job of increasing organic content.

Leveling the Lawn

• ShovelCertainly any large pits or mounds will need to be fixed with a good shovel and some elbow grease.

• ScalpingThe lawn is currently much too long to get a good top dressing on, so I will hit it once with the rotary mower, and then with the reel mower to get it down to about 1". Then a once over with the rotary again to bag the clippings.

• TopdressingI've read through many different materials used for this; sand, top soil, compost, humus, or any mix of the above. Sand is certainly the most convenient, but I need to be careful to avoid ending up with a layer of sand at the top without altering the soil structure below.

Aeration

• EarthwormsHaven't seen a single earthworm on my property, even during rain storms. This is odd because I am bordered on one side by what used to be farm land and is now empty building lots. I remember seeing worms while we were in construction, but none since we graded and put in the lawn. One of the last steps will certainly be to go buy some worms and introduce them to my lawn.

• Loose materialA jar test indicated that I have far too much clay in many areas, and little sand. When they did the soil test, they just combined my samples. The problem is that the lot has veins of sand running through it. So about 10% of the subsoil has a high sand content, while the rest is just hard pack clay. The front yard...

Alright, so I think my plan is more firm now after talking things over with my beautiful wife. As I mentioned earlier, most of the traditional step fertilization programs and conventional lawn rehab measures just seem like temporary fixes to me. I'm all for the quick band-aid fix in the right scenario, but this isn't one of those times. So I'm getting to the core issue here. BTW, I do realize that this would've been a lot less hassle had I just trucked in a few loads of quality topsoil before laying sod. Live and learn.

So in order to increase the organic content in the soil I'm going to take some lessons from the organic lawn care disciples. I would love to say that I'm doing this for unselfish reasons like taking care of the environment, but really I just think that this seems like the most scientifically correct way to solve the core problems.

These are the key factors I'll be undertaking for;

Increasing Organic Content

• Mulch mowingI just mentioned on another thread that I recently purchased a Tru-Cut H20 reel mower with the Honda engine. This mower should do a good job of mulching compared to the rotaries that I've been accustomed to.

• Organic material top dressingAs metioned previously, I've used some of the local dairy compost with bad experiences. My wife refuses to let me put that compost on the lawn again. I could use top soil, peat moss, or peat humus.

• Fertilize with organic materialMany organic fertilizers to choose from, but alfalfa pellets are readily available here for cheap and it seems that they will do the best job of increasing organic content.

Leveling the Lawn

• ShovelCertainly any large pits or mounds will need to be fixed with a good shovel and some elbow grease.

• ScalpingThe lawn is currently much too long to get a good top dressing on, so I will hit it once with the rotary mower, and then with the reel mower to get it down to about 1". Then a once over with the rotary again to bag the clippings.

• TopdressingI've read through many different materials used for this; sand, top soil, compost, humus, or any mix of the above. Sand is certainly the most convenient, but I need to be careful to avoid ending up with a layer of sand at the top without altering the soil structure below.

Aeration

• EarthwormsHaven't seen a single earthworm on my property, even during rain storms. This is odd because I am bordered on one side by what used to be farm land and is now empty building lots. I remember seeing worms while we were in construction, but none since we graded and put in the lawn. One of the last steps will certainly be to go buy some worms and introduce them to my lawn.

• Loose materialA jar test indicated that I have far too much clay in many areas, and little sand. When they did the soil test, they just combined my samples. The problem is that the lot has veins of sand running through it. So about 10% of the subsoil has a high sand content, while the rest is just hard pack clay. The front yard...

STEP ONE:
Tackle the snow mold issue. Lawn looks like a matted down brown mess with silky textured bluish gray mold all over it. Started to fluff up the grass as recommended by a landscaper to let the lawn naturally get rid of the mold, but that was too much work, so I rented a small power rake. Set it to the highest setting and went across a stripe. Too high, hardly even touched the matted grass. Dropped a couple settings and it was just right. Fluffed the lawn and stripped out a bunch of the dead blades, without cutting into the dirt below. Followed with a bagged mower to collect the dead/moldy grass.

Within days the lawn came to life. A week or so later the mold was completely gone. Neighbor's lawn (installed the same time) was still covered with mold and dead looking. SUCCESS!!!

Now I'm looking at the vole tracks, wondering what to do, and everyone keeps telling me that they will fill in because it is KBG. Little did I know the weed infestation was coming.

Fast forward a few weeks. Grass is growing ok and it is green, but no sign yet of it growing into the vole tracks. PROBLEM, weeds are popping up everywhere. Local nursery identified them as a type of morning glory. Too many to dig them out. Sod farm says to just be patient and the lawn will end up choking them out. Hmmmm.... wife wasn't having that.

STEP TWO:
Found a highly recommended weed spray that would not kill the lawn. Went around a sprayed all the weeds individually. Three days later the sprayed weeds were shriveled and dead. Mowed the lawn and waited for the missed weeds to spring up. Only about 10% remained, and were subsequently slaughtered. The weed spray worked surprisingly well. Dead weeds, and no brown spots on the lawn. SUCCESS!!!

Now I'm back to looking at the vole tracks and dirt patches.

So I've researched plenty and realized that my main problem here is coming from the severely compacted soil. Obviously the light dusting of compost wasn't enough, though the topsoil on the sod did help. I've learned recently what all that data in the soil test actually means. Attention now goes to a major soil structure problem.

pH = 8.1
Organic matter = 1.06%
Magnesium = 6.1 or 37% of CEC

What I didn't know that that high magnesium is a characteristic of compacted soil. So everyone tells me that I need to break up the soil, and that most people use lime. Hmmmm, can't do that, I've already got mass amounts of excess lime and a high pH. So I get some granulated gypsum, and use the old drop spreader. But I do research for a living and problem solving, and it is obvious to me that the gypsum is just a bandaid that helps with compaction in clay soils, but doesn't actually solve the root problem. The main problem is far too little organic matter, and far too much magnesium. I've also never seen a worm on my yard, even after a rain storm. Not a good sign.

I've been contemplating methods/materials for leveling the lawn for weeks and obviously read over the threads in this forum. Problem is that I can't just use sand. That just compounds my organic matter problem. I figure the lawn leveling should accomplish a few things if possible.

(1) Level the lawn, this cannot be done with compost because I'm not willing to handle all those weeds again, and the compost will just break down and the leveling effect will be gone.

(2) Aeration; with soil like this if I core aerate it is just gonna compact again as soon is it gets really wet. The problem will only be solved if I use the aeration to change the soil structure.

(3) Increase Organic Matter. The only way to reduce the magnesium and lower the pH is to increase the organic matter content. Just need to choose the right one, and dairy compost isn't it.

(4) Reseed; it is becoming obvious after a couple months that those vole patches aren't going to fill in because the soil just isn't making it possible.

Side note... very strange year in northern Utah for kentucky blue grass. Gross to about 1-1/2" and flowers. New lawns or mature lawns, doesn't matter. Every lawn I look at is completely to seed right now because they are flowering before reaching the preferred mowing height. Happened once several years ago too from what I hear.

So here we go... my plan, step-by-step. Please let me know if I'm way off base here.

2. Dig up any obvious high or low spots with a shovel and level dirt underneath.

3. Cut Grass to 2" with rotary mower.

4. Cut Grass to 1" with reel mower and then gather clippings.

5. Core Aerate and then remove the cores; only removing the cores because they will make top dressing the lawn very difficult.

6. Make Top Dressing Mix which will consist of 2/3 mason sand, 1/3 sphagnum peat moss, and KBG seed mix. I've got a lot to mix, so I'm gonna rent a mixer. I decided on peat moss mix because it has a very low pH and I need to try to lower the pH of the soil some. It will also help the sand to retain moisture

7. Distribute top dressing with wheel barrow to make spreading easier. Thought about looking to rent a tractor spreader but I've only got 5,000sf to do.

8. Level the top dressing to a depth of no more than 1/2" using a garden lute. I couldn't find anywhere to purchase a lute, so I made one out of angle aluminum. Just tried it out and it works brilliantly. Gets the surface dead flat with little effort.

9. Fertilize with alfalfa pellets. I chose alfalfa over the other organic fertilizers because it has more organic matter (>40%)and very high calcium content relative to magnesium (about 5:1) and a pH that is slightly acidic. All good for me right now.

10. Introduce Worms to the yard once the grass is growing through the top dressing. I should probably be careful to avoid night crawlers as they make a short mowed lawn very uncomfortable to walk on.

11. Mulch Mow the lawn 2-3 times weekly at a height of 1.5 inches with reel mower.

12. Apply Alfalfa every four weeks throughout the remainder of the summer/fall.

13. Top Dress any uneven spots again in the fall to fix settling issues.

I feel that this should make a pretty dramatic difference by the end of the year. Wish me luck or tell me if I'm just plain crazy.

Another success yesterday. I decided that it was just a bit too risky to start top dressing the lawn this early in the summer. After a prolonged spring, the summer heat has finally caught hold and we are getting 85-90F days now. By late July we will approach 100F here in the mountain deserts. All the field weeds are going to seed right now too. Prob not a great time to expose a bunch of bare ground on my lawn. So instead I decided to experiment with some intermediate steps. Mild baby shampoo and molasses mix at a rate of about 4oz/1K feet. My wife is worried that I've lost my mind, but the success was that while I was spraying, a neighbor felt compelled to come out and talk to me. He just had to find out how I got rid of all the morning glory. At least I did something right so far. :D

I only had enough shampoo and molasses to treat the backyard. At my wife's request, I'm gonna postpone the treatment on the front to see what difference it makes, for better or worse.

Well, after spraying the concoction of baby shampoo and molasses on the back, I waited for a few days. Interestingly the first noticeable result was that the seed heads on the KBG turned brown but the ones without flowers grew faster.

So I waited a few days and the grass was good. I then proceeded to spray the front lawn. Got home from work the next day (really windy and 90F) and my two honey locusts were really struggling, where they had previously been thriving. They were right in the middle of producing those little bud clusters that honey locusts do. Suddenly, those bud clusters shriveled and died overnight, and the leaves yellowed and withered the next day. Some even to the point of getting crispy.

As a novice gardener, my best guess is that they were thriving because of the very basic and fungus rich nature of the lawn. In fact, they were actually growing mushrooms below them in the lawn. I think the shampoo killed the fungus and dropped the pH immediately, then starving the trees right in the middle of small heat wave.

I took drastic action and soaked the lawn around the trees to complete saturation to try to get the shampoo to leach through the soil quicker in those spots. This morning many of the leaves that were on death's doorstep have regained their shape and are trying to stage a comeback. I dug a circle in the lawn around each tree (I like that look better anyway)and I'm wondering if there is a way to add fungus back to those areas above the root ball. Any suggestions?

Well, it turns out that it wasn't the shampoo that got the honey locusts. The neighbor's tree died too. They were planted in late October of last year, and we had an early sub zero freeze in mid November. The local Ag College tells me that they appear to have gotten winter frost damage that will only be apparent if there is water stress. They were thriving during the wet 70F spring temps, and then the little 90F dry heat wave hit with hard winds. The damaged cells likely imploded from water stress. He is encouraging me to wait to see if any of the branches try to come back, and then make a decision whether or not to keep the trees.

What I don't understand is how you are the only one writing in this topic? I've never seen it and it's been here for two weeks.

You have made your share of mistakes on this lawn. Unfortunately you made the worst ones right at the start. Digging up the soil was not a good idea. It also sounds like you did not roll the seed down when you started. That's why walking on the ground left impressions.

Adding topsoil or even topdressing with soil or sand for no good reason is usually a bad idea. The best reason for adding soil is that there was a washout and you have tree roots exposed. Another good reason is a washout and your soil is below the grade of surrounding concrete sidewalks. Another good reason is you had a washout that severely changed the flow of drainage so that it flows toward your house or garage. Beyond that, if you are not replacing washed out soil, you probably do not need to add more. Fixing the soil you have is much easier than fixing the problems from having too much soil. I have started a photo gallery of lawns with grossly too much top dressing.

Is there any chance you would be willing to start completely over again? I'm talking about bringing in a tractor with a blade to drag over top of your existing lawn and restore it to a surface perfect for seeding. All the little things you are doing or planning to do are just work-arounds for not having your soil prepped properly the first time. The tractor would be there for half of one morning. He will fix your drainage and bring in or haul out any soil as he sees fit. While he is pulling away you could scatter your seed, roll it down, apply alfalfa, and start watering.

Weekly watering, mowing properly (3 inches high for Kentucky bluegrass), and monthly treatments with alfalfa and molasses will really go a long way to fixing your soil. The microbes in the soil need moisture, shade, and food. In other words, proper care.

First, thanks for commenting. I was curious why I hadn't had any input yet. Admittedly the posts are a long read though. Oops! Devil is always in the details though.

Anyway, just to clear some stuff up. I didn't dig up the soil to start. All landscapers here call in a pre-seeder to level the soil prior to laying sod. That is the only thing I did also. The main problem there is that the dirt was just hard clay. When it gets really wet, a can't step on it without leaving an impression. When dry it is rock hard. That issue is much better now that the roots have grown deeper. The tracks that I talked about are vole tracks and they simply destroyed the lawn over the winter.

I would have liked to seed the lawn, but no dice. The covenants on the lot specify sod only. Unfortunately I didn't have the budget to get a professional crew to install so I was working with free labor. They did such a bad job of it that I ended up pulling up about 2,000sf of sod and fixing the issues that evening. On the plus side, I did actually take the time to get the finish grading right on the lot prior to laying sod, which solved all the drainage problems.

Anyway, prior to laying sod, the soil appeared perfect. Graded correctly, flat, smooth, etc. from the tractor that came in. After the winter I've got rodent tracks, humps, dips, etc from frost heave and really heavy rainfall. I've been told that the clay soil is the main problem. Is that not the case?

I'm trying to get to a weekly watering schedule, but right now it is still twice a week. I'm about 2 weeks in on the molasses and alfalfa regimen.

After another week you should see greening from the alfalfa.

Well, 15-yard penalty for withholding information. Maybe you just didn't know how to present it. Anyway it sounds like the soil was prepped right. Where do you live?

Do this soil test:
1. Fill a straight sided glass jar half full of soil
2. Fill the jar completely with water and 1 drop (no more) of dish soap.
3. Shake up the jar and let it sit.
4. Take pictures with a ruler next to the jar at 2 minutes, 2 hours, and 2 days.

This test will give you an idea of your soil content regarding sand/rubble, silt, clay, and organic material. Sand and rubble sink directly to the bottom and will make up the bulk of the solids at 2 minutes. Silt will settle at 2 hours. Clay will never settle and will remain cloudy in the water even after 2 days. Organic material will float although the microbes in the soil are invisible and will be everywhere.

If you start with 6 inches of dry material and at 2 minutes you have 4 inches of settled stuff, then you have mostly sand. What we find is that most people have very little real clay. There are minerals that cause soil to harden and make it seem like clay. If you are not aware of a brick factory nearby, you likely have mineral issues and not clay.

What we find is that most people have very little real clay. There are minerals that cause soil to harden and make it seem like clay. If you are not aware of a brick factory nearby, you likely have mineral issues and not clay.

That makes sense. I've heard that an abundance of magnesium causes soil to harden and according to the soil test, I've got a huge amount of magnesium. Also, I'm located on what was once near the shoreline of Lake Bonneville that used to completely cover most of Utah. There is actually a sand/gravel pit about six hundred yards behind my house.

What I do know is that much of the soil doesn't drain well. Soaks up water like a sponge and just holds it and remains very sticky and slippery.

So after a bunch of headache, I received my TruCut H20 that I purchased from someone on craigslist. It has been used for a couple seasons and has some wear and paint scuffs, but overall it is in excellent shape. It was obvious that it had just been sitting around for some time though given the way the blades were oxidized. The leading edges of the blades were quite dull and covered in surface rust to an extent that it wasn't possible that the mower was used at all in the last 8-12 months. Especially as it was stored in a warehouse in the middle of the Mohave Desert. A little cleanup and it looked less than a year old.

Being the impatient guy that I am, and the fact that the lawn had been waiting to be mowed for about 3 weeks, I was eager to fire it up and put it to use. It was obvious though, that I wouldn't be able to cut the lawn that was now at >6". Borrowed the neighbor's rotary and cut it down to just under 3" and bagged the clippings. Simply too long to mulch.

Then I went to work with the reel mower on its highest setting, which turned out to barely be about 1 1/4". It was an absolute massacre. Obviously there was an abundance of thick stem because I'd waited so long for the mower to arrive. But I was too impatient to discover exactly how dull the blades were and how far off the bed knife the reel was positioned. For those of you who grew up with the Ninja Turtles, you can now call me "The Shredder". Some of those grass plants, especially the fescue, looked like frayed string cheese when I got done. But in the end I got it down to a manageable height.

Then I cleaned off the mower and went to work in my garage. I adjusted the height lever to be able to get an extra 1/4" HOC. Inspected the blades to determine if there was a decent relief still on them. Yes, but they were very dull. There was also a big enough gap that 3 layers of newspaper would slide through. So I adjusted the reel position and gave them a really nice backlapping. Already had a spanner wrench and lapping compound. Used a variable speed drill to spin the reel slowly. Counting the reel adjusting it took about 45 minutes with 15 minutes of that being actual spinning. I was only spinning them at about 100rpm at first and then got up to about 200rpm at the end with the fine grit compound.

Went out the next day and did a quick pass over some stuff that got missed before. Incredible difference!!! Nice clean sharp cuts and a fine mulch spraying from the front of the mower.

I'll be mowing every other day for the next couple weeks while the scalped lawn returns to health. In the mean time, I'm also going to modify the Trucut front casters to allow for an extra 1/2" HOC. This is KBG and I want to mow closer to 2" during the hottest months if needed.

Not sure if it is the reel mower or if the alfalfa is starting to take effect, but the lawn is looking better each day. I'm sure it is the combination of the two. Still getting the hang of the mower, especially since the ground is still very uneven. I'm looking forward to leveling the lawn in the fall.

My only big disappointment is the sod blend that we used. I'm sure that many people can give numerous reasons why they like to use a blend of KBG, Tall Fescue, and Rye in my area. Personally, I hate it! The rye is just obnoxious and I dig out clumps whenever I get the chance. The Tall Fescue is for those who want to keep their lawn at 4" HOC and reduce water consumption. When mowed short it is a very uncomfortable turf that is full of thick stems. And it is a brighter yellow green if cut less than 3".

When I do my leveling in the fall I will be mixing a blend of KBG only with the top dressing. I've decided on Midnight II and Blue Velvet. Both are the deep green that I want and both are adapted to shorter HOC.

I've decided on a different direction for the modification of the Tru Cut mower. I'll still add some height to the front swivel casters, just in case I want to mow taller in the future, but I'm also going to add 3/4" height to the back wheels. The problem with the design is that simply raising the front casters for height adjustments changes the bed knife angle. This results in an increasingly poor cut as the HOC increases. Increasing the height of the back wheels will allow for the cut angles to remain at optimal settings.

I'm also going to install a short comb to the front of the machine, mounted directly behind the front casters. I noticed that if I rake over the area to be mowed first, then it fluffs the grass and gives me a better cut. I also intend to groove the caster rubber to reduce the tendency of the wheels to flatten the grass prior to cutting.

This is like brettnblog

:( Yeah, maybe I should stop posting.

Not at all! I'm enjoying it. I have something to say about your previous message but am preoccupied with another topic right now.

How high are you mowing? 3 inches is what I hear tell that KBG is supposed to be at. In the heat of summer, grass height is always raised to relieve some of the heat stress. It sounds like your mower is too low. Those reels are great for bermuda, centipede, zoysia, some buffaloes, and bent grass. If you want to mow at 3 inches or higher, they have issues. There are other, better reel mowers that will work, but the really inexpensive ones suffer most.

Did you do that soil jar test? And yes, magnesium is a concern.

I'm actually mowing at about 1.5" right now because that is the highest setting on the mower. The mower itself is actually a good mower. They run about $1500 new. This one was lightly used. It isn't so much that it doesn't cut well, but rather that the lawn is very uneven, even if using a rotary.

The grass looks surprisingly good for such a short HOC though. The only parts that I don't like are the patches of bunched tall fescue. I've since discovered that in this area the only way to get good looking KBG at short heights is to use those varieties that are adapted for golf course fairways, which are almost always KBG here and kept at about 1/2" HOC. They use fairway blends consisting of Midnight II, Blue Velvet, Excursion, and Nu Destiny. All chosen for their performance at low mow heights.

Yes I did the jar test!

-60% SAND
-30% SILT
-I think one of the contributing factors to the high water retention is that the sand is VERY FINE. The entire mixture was a swirling brown soup for a few minutes before I could even start to see some settling. I have a digital micrometer at home, so I measured the sand particles, and the biggest are in the 1/8mm range. So the sand is almost to the point of being silt. Makes sense when I go across the valley and look at the mountains. I live just outside the mouth of a now dry canyon. My house sits right in the middle of what was obviously once a large delta, when the place was covered with water.

Is the OP still following this thread?

Any chance of posting a couple photos of where you are with the lawn?

Also, KBG is not going to like being cut at 1.5 inches. You might need to re-think that one.

Yes, I'm still here. I'm trying to finish building another home, so I've been a bit busy. I'll take a couple pictures of the lawn as it is right now. I'll begin the leveling and reseeding with the "fairway blues" seed blend in late august. I believe that blend of seed is the best I can hope for in getting a KBG grass at a short height. Also, I mentioned before that I'm modifying the reel mower to cut right around 2" during the hot months. The fairway blues blend is chosen for it's ability to be cut as low as 1/2", which is common practice for the golf course fairways around here.

Even with my blend of KBG and tall fescue, cutting every other day at 1.5" the lawn already looks decent. The good thing is that the tall fescue is dying out and the KBG is taking over. I hate that fescue. Just not the type of lawn that I'm going for, but the covenants on the subdivision required sod and that is all that the sod farms have around here.

BTW, water is really cheap here, so it isn't really a big deal to keep the lawn from drying out during the summer months.

Well, I'm not sure what made the difference so far but my lawn has almost completely come out of dormancy while all of the neighbors' are still completely yellow/dormant. The three factors that might have made a difference are;

Cutting at 3/4" with reel mower.
Organic fertilizer (alfalfa pellets)
Overseeding in the fall.

The other good news is that cutting so short with the reel mower has completely eliminated the vole problem. Not a single track in my lawn this year!

Also the lawn is much more level after the rehab work that I did last fall. I don't think I will try to get it any more level overall because I won't be cutting less than 1 1/2" anyway.

It got cold a bit too early last fall and some of the new KBG seed didn't take in the areas that are shaded when the sun goes lower during late fall. I ordered more "fairway blues' seed and will be doing another slit seeding in a couple weeks after the alfalfa pellets have had a chance to fully incorporate.

If that is all you've done, then the alfalfa pellets are likely the cause of the early awakening. Your soil is warmer than the neighbors' soil. Bacterial activity will warm it up.

I'd like to see pictures of KBG mowed that low. What do you have for us????? ;-)

Any pictures of the rehab or comments about what you did right and what you did wrong?

I think you are probably right about the alfalfa making the most difference. Doggie spots on the neighbors lawn are green, which is probably from the same thing.

One thing about the short grass though. It doesn't get matted down or get snow mold. Those two factors seem to delay the green-up in the spring.

In terms of KBG being mowed low, I must specify two things.

1) There are only certain cultivars that flourish at the lower heights. You can't simply go out and get some sod from the local farm. At least around here, the local farms have KBG/Tall Fescue blends. There is not a TF that I'm aware of that will tolerate a low HOC. Fescue is a very harsh turf when cut short, and it is full of stems. I use a KBG mix from Arrow Seed called Fairway Blues. It is a very similar blend to what is used here for golf course fairways, hence the name.

2) You must be prepared to cut more frequently than if it were St Augustine. Frequent watering and cutting no less than every third day. I cut it low to 1/2 inch to start. Then I move up to 1" for a few weeks, then up to 1 1/2" for the hotter months. Also, I have a Tru Cut propelled reel mower. At anything less than 1" HOC during June the grass gets too thick to cut. I have to take two passes. But that is alright, I just make a checker pattern.

I'll take some pictures shortly once the lawn is in full growth mode so that you can get the full effect of a short KBG. The nice thing is that I installed the neighbor's lawn when I did mine. Exact same conditions, so it is easy to get a comparison of what mine would look like without the work that I put in.

Re: the rehab and what I did right or wrong....

1) I would not install sod next time in the first place. I would get the exact seed that I want and call in a hydro-seeder.

2) Really make sure to scalp the lawn. I mean cut it really short! Nothing taller than 1/2". Anything taller than that and it mats down under the top dressing which means the seed won't take because the grass underneath creates an air pocket that kills the new grass, but KBG doesn't grow through like some of the warm season grasses.

3) With KBG I'd do it in May if I had a choice. There are going to be weed problems whenever you expose fertile soil, but it is manageable. Forget about the weed issues because there is an easy solution there with KBG. But KBG takes a LONG time to come in from seed. The one thing that doesn't help is if it starts to get cold before it really starts growing well. IOW, if you wait till Sept to avoid some of the weeds and it starts to drop below 50*F in Oct, it'll be till late next spring before things start to look good again. The important issues with KBG are moisture and soil temp. May/June is best IMO.

4) Do it all in one shot! If there are low spots that will require more than the suggested 1/4" top dressing, just go ahead and fill them in. Don't wait! Have your preferred seed on hand and get that thing level the first time. This work is too strenuous to be doing it more than once. Little touch-ups later are to be expected, but get it 90% done in the first shot.

5) Anything more than 4,000sf you should try to locate a mechanical spreader for the top dressing and drag the lute or chain link around with a lawn tractor.

6) This is a point of debate, but... Currently the Orbit sprinkler heads are much better than the Rainbirds. Make sure that your sprinklers are exactly how you want them before doing anything with the lawn. And yes, sand isn't great for them, but it is pretty easy to fix.

There are probably more that I'll include later.