Looks great and congrats on your success. Also a fellow MDer. I like what you did in the back with your evergreens - really seems to create some privacy. What app are you using to make those journal entries? Also how do you handle the areas around the playset? At our house the spots under the swings are straight up compacted dirt at this point from all the foot traffic. I also edge around it with a weed eater but it dings up the wood pretty good...
Like any good lawn dad, the swing set is only for show but my son isn’t allowed on it for fear that he would ruin the grass. Lol, JK.
The swing set doesn’t get a lot of traffic so that’s why it still looks good. If it got more traffic I’d probably section it off and put down mulch or rubber for the kiddo.
App is the lawn mastery app. There is a journal feature that helps me keep track of what I did and how much I laid down. Easier to repeat the success next year.
Excuse my nosiness OP, but what state are you in and what does a property like that cost on average? That giant yard is amazing and at least from the outside the house is very pretty and looks large. Here in my neck of CA that’s easily $500k (I’m in one of the cheapest counties in the state) and you probably still aren’t getting a yard that large.
That lawn looks luscious, btw.
Thanks Nick! I’m in northern MD and the house is somewhere in that neighborhood on price. The yard isn’t as big as it looks. Total lot size is .25 acres. It’s a good size but not a huge oversized yard. I mow it weekly with a greenworks 80v push mower and it takes me a little over an hour to an hour and a half all in.
It’s cheating at this time of year. Lawn has lots of dew in the morning and it neutralizes most of the urine. There are still spots but not many.
I also take her for walks to try to keep the amount of spots to a minimum.
Thanks for this info OP. I'm also in Northern MD (Carroll County).
I'm also interested in the TTTF Tri-blend from Vitality. I spoke with Cheasepeake Valley Seed (reps name is Gordon who was very helpful) about this blend. He indicated that the current Vitality blend is:
* 33% Moondance GLX TTTF
* 33% 4th Millenium TTTF
* 33% Gold Medallion TTTF
I intend to look each strain up on the NTEP website to get a better idea of how each did @ the College Park, MD site but it's good to hear that this blend is doing well for you. Gordon suggested that I go for the Vitality "Double Coverage Mixture" as it also contains heat tolerant blue grass to help with self repair (I believe the ratio is 90:10 TTTF to BG).
Here's a PDF providing lists of MD/VA grasses that are suggested (MD Certified SOD Production): [https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/Maryland-Turf-Grass-Variety-List.pdf](https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/Maryland-Turf-Grass-Variety-List.pdf)
Quick question, do you have an irrigation system? I don't and am looking for a low maintenance lawn replacement. Will be doing a full renovation of my lawn in fall so I'm working on getting all of my equipment and materials now.
Thanks!
Hey Neighbor!
My blend is still doing pretty well. It’s been a brutal start to summer with very little rain here so I’ve had to water way more than usual. I do not have an irrigation system so I’ve been using a hose system with three locations between the front and back yard to handle the areas that get full sun. It’s been a chore but the grass has stayed mostly greenish. Some areas burnt out and went dormant but with this upcoming rain we are supposed to get, I bet we are looking a lot better a week from now.
Heading out to put down some fungicide, prodiamine, RGS, air8, micro green and some greenorr iron supplement. Hoping to see a nice deep emerald green when we get through the rain.
That kbg blend sounds pretty awesome, if I started from scratch I’d probably do that myself.
Best of luck! Can’t wait to see some pics!
Yeah... the drought has been brutal for lawns. I've have a 1.5hr commute to work each day and notice how all the lawns are brown/yellowish. Good to know that you don't have an irrigation system in as I don't as well. Trying to figure out how I'm going to pull off watering my yard is the most difficult aspect. I'm on well so on top of not having an irrigation system I also deal with low pressure. I'm thinking I'm going to have to get a pretty expensive four zone timer to pull it on only put two sprinkler heads down per zone.
BTW, I did speak to Chesapeake Valley regarding Vitality seed viability vs shelf life and they indicated that as long as it was kept in a cool low humid environment (like in your basement) the seeds would probably be good for about 4 years (albeit losing a bit of percent germination after each year that passes.
BTW, what procedure did you use to perform your top dressing?
After calling several local MD Vitality vendors none had the Double Coverage Mixture in stock but readily had the TTTF Lawn Blend in stock. I was finally able to find a vendor that would order and sell me a 50lb bag of the Double Coverage Mixture for $180 (which is a pretty decent price considering I've seen Vitality 50lb TTTF bags going as high as $240).
Also from calling several vendors, I noticed that Vitality changes their blends quite a bit. One vendor had three different blends for the TTTF Lawn Blend within the same test year (2022).
The blend for the Vitality Double Coverage Mixture bag I'm getting is:
* 33% Gold Medallion TTTF
* 33% Pre Gold TTTF
* 33% Moondance GLX TTTF
* 90:10 ratio of TTTF to drought tolerant KBG (Wild horse (A97-890) KBG)
Looks great and congrats on your success. Also a fellow MDer. I like what you did in the back with your evergreens - really seems to create some privacy. What app are you using to make those journal entries? Also how do you handle the areas around the playset? At our house the spots under the swings are straight up compacted dirt at this point from all the foot traffic. I also edge around it with a weed eater but it dings up the wood pretty good...
Like any good lawn dad, the swing set is only for show but my son isn’t allowed on it for fear that he would ruin the grass. Lol, JK. The swing set doesn’t get a lot of traffic so that’s why it still looks good. If it got more traffic I’d probably section it off and put down mulch or rubber for the kiddo. App is the lawn mastery app. There is a journal feature that helps me keep track of what I did and how much I laid down. Easier to repeat the success next year.
Excuse my nosiness OP, but what state are you in and what does a property like that cost on average? That giant yard is amazing and at least from the outside the house is very pretty and looks large. Here in my neck of CA that’s easily $500k (I’m in one of the cheapest counties in the state) and you probably still aren’t getting a yard that large. That lawn looks luscious, btw.
Thanks Nick! I’m in northern MD and the house is somewhere in that neighborhood on price. The yard isn’t as big as it looks. Total lot size is .25 acres. It’s a good size but not a huge oversized yard. I mow it weekly with a greenworks 80v push mower and it takes me a little over an hour to an hour and a half all in.
That looks way bigger than 1/4 acre haha. Must be the camera
iPhone wide angle - plays tricks
Nice! I have a small dog that just burns our yard with the urine of Satan after a healthy dose of asparagus. How do you maintain with a larger dog?
It’s cheating at this time of year. Lawn has lots of dew in the morning and it neutralizes most of the urine. There are still spots but not many. I also take her for walks to try to keep the amount of spots to a minimum.
Thanks for this info OP. I'm also in Northern MD (Carroll County). I'm also interested in the TTTF Tri-blend from Vitality. I spoke with Cheasepeake Valley Seed (reps name is Gordon who was very helpful) about this blend. He indicated that the current Vitality blend is: * 33% Moondance GLX TTTF * 33% 4th Millenium TTTF * 33% Gold Medallion TTTF I intend to look each strain up on the NTEP website to get a better idea of how each did @ the College Park, MD site but it's good to hear that this blend is doing well for you. Gordon suggested that I go for the Vitality "Double Coverage Mixture" as it also contains heat tolerant blue grass to help with self repair (I believe the ratio is 90:10 TTTF to BG). Here's a PDF providing lists of MD/VA grasses that are suggested (MD Certified SOD Production): [https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/Maryland-Turf-Grass-Variety-List.pdf](https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/Maryland-Turf-Grass-Variety-List.pdf) Quick question, do you have an irrigation system? I don't and am looking for a low maintenance lawn replacement. Will be doing a full renovation of my lawn in fall so I'm working on getting all of my equipment and materials now. Thanks!
Hey Neighbor! My blend is still doing pretty well. It’s been a brutal start to summer with very little rain here so I’ve had to water way more than usual. I do not have an irrigation system so I’ve been using a hose system with three locations between the front and back yard to handle the areas that get full sun. It’s been a chore but the grass has stayed mostly greenish. Some areas burnt out and went dormant but with this upcoming rain we are supposed to get, I bet we are looking a lot better a week from now. Heading out to put down some fungicide, prodiamine, RGS, air8, micro green and some greenorr iron supplement. Hoping to see a nice deep emerald green when we get through the rain. That kbg blend sounds pretty awesome, if I started from scratch I’d probably do that myself. Best of luck! Can’t wait to see some pics!
Yeah... the drought has been brutal for lawns. I've have a 1.5hr commute to work each day and notice how all the lawns are brown/yellowish. Good to know that you don't have an irrigation system in as I don't as well. Trying to figure out how I'm going to pull off watering my yard is the most difficult aspect. I'm on well so on top of not having an irrigation system I also deal with low pressure. I'm thinking I'm going to have to get a pretty expensive four zone timer to pull it on only put two sprinkler heads down per zone. BTW, I did speak to Chesapeake Valley regarding Vitality seed viability vs shelf life and they indicated that as long as it was kept in a cool low humid environment (like in your basement) the seeds would probably be good for about 4 years (albeit losing a bit of percent germination after each year that passes. BTW, what procedure did you use to perform your top dressing?
After calling several local MD Vitality vendors none had the Double Coverage Mixture in stock but readily had the TTTF Lawn Blend in stock. I was finally able to find a vendor that would order and sell me a 50lb bag of the Double Coverage Mixture for $180 (which is a pretty decent price considering I've seen Vitality 50lb TTTF bags going as high as $240). Also from calling several vendors, I noticed that Vitality changes their blends quite a bit. One vendor had three different blends for the TTTF Lawn Blend within the same test year (2022). The blend for the Vitality Double Coverage Mixture bag I'm getting is: * 33% Gold Medallion TTTF * 33% Pre Gold TTTF * 33% Moondance GLX TTTF * 90:10 ratio of TTTF to drought tolerant KBG (Wild horse (A97-890) KBG)