I agree with Malik and Brandon . . . * I have been doing this where necessary for 15 years on Fescue during my FALL RENOVATION ^ Scalp, Aerate, Scarify, Level, *Seed, Fertilize, Rake or Scarify, Water, Water, Water . . . * = I used Barenbrug’s Rhizomatous Blend of Fescue Last Year; the Best Results ever.
I have rhizomatous fescue in my lawn and it spreads quite well. My lawn is bumpy but it looks really flat and I have a beautiful lawn so I'll just live with the bumps. It has naturally flattened out over time from constantly alternation my mowing patterns and making the grass better.
I always hear to level fescue over time- like 1/4 to 1/2" at a time in Spring and Fall until it's level. I did mine last fall and got a bit heavy in places- had some spots like your irrigation trench- intended to seed but life got in the way. Was going to seed this spring and our weather was too crazy and now...life gets in the way again. Oh well. Going to do some more over the summer, probably, and definitely in the fall. Will seed then.
I attempted sand/topsoil mix here in Illinois last September. Too much sand really screwed up the show. Live and learn. Next September I’ll use more topsoil/peat/compost before the overseed with TTTF/KBG.
I thought I had heard that rhizomatous TTTF took 8-12 months to really start expressing that part of the genetics. With that being said, you have some wonderful looking grass.
Hey Pete, I noticed the past couple videos you’ve had specs on the video (there’s a large spec in the middle left side of the video). That means you have some dust or debris on the camera’s sensor. if you take your lens off and use something like a Rocket Air blower to blow it off it will fix the issue. Just do not blow on it with your mouth or use any condensed/compressed air as the sensor is very delicate. Hope this helps!
Well first off, thank you for doing this. Saved me from doing this. I’m wondering if South Central Kansas could handle full on KBG? And I do have irrigation system. Thanks Pete!
Pete, I'm somewhat new to your channel. I'm trying to figure everything out right now and it's hard. Im looking to God for everything. Life can be tough sometimmes. I appreciate all that you bring to the lawn care world and I appreciate all the videos. God bless!
If you have a small area it's fine. That will get expensive quick. Mason sand is preferred since particle size is small. Alternative is wash fill sand that has been screened
Caught it right after it was uploaded!! Edited to add- Pete what was that black car in your garage a handful of videos back?! Like this if it was a COYOTE!
Pete, how long do you think it would have taken for the spreader elite to naturally spread and fill in that area where the irrigation line was if you would have left it without seed?
Hey Pete, I layed some elite tall fescue in a shaded area of my backyard and I went on vacation and had the sprinklers going. Bone headed move because I put down way too much water. Now I Have rust spots on the leaf blades on the sod that’s in the shade. Anyway to dry the sod and recover the color?
I have parts of my Bermuda lawn that border my driveway and the turf is about 2” to 3” below the driveway, its hard to get my mower close to the driveway for fear of blades hitting concrete. Can I add material to bring the lawn up to the driveway height?
Great stuff Pete!! First mow in that new plot is stunning!! I was watching an older video of yours regarding the Triplet herbicide you used and I've got a question...I know the ratio is 1.1-1.5 oz per 1,000sq ft.....but the water is very vague on how much to use. It says from .5 to 5 gallons. What would you recommend for water volume for the rate they suggest? I've got a pretty heavy weed population so should I use more carrier or less carrier for a stronger application? Thank you!!
I’m on old farm land and my side yard wasn’t graded due to not being able to disturb over a acre. It was plowed and diss can it be saved with bringing in a tribaxle topsoil or do I need to take a Harley rake rip it all up
Ive got 3,000 sq ft that I plugged St Augustine, its completely full now however, the plugs have caused it to be very, VERY bumpy to mow...i need A LOT of material to get inbetween "humps", my question is, could i use a 3 pt tractor hopper spreader to evenly spread a sand/dirt mix to keep from just piling on dirt and trying to drag??? Any info will help
Hey Pete. It looks like there’s some dust or something that has made itself in between your camera and lens. I’ve seen it the past few videos you’ve posted.
I understand that in the ditches, the leveling didn’t work as the fescue didn’t pop through. But wouldn’t the rest of the fescue be considered a success? If I were to add 1/4” to an already flat 1 year old sod lawn, would it work? Appreciate y’all.
@@GCITurf thanks for the reply. My fescue looks great (not as good as yours) so I don’t want to reno, but you’d roll your ankle push mowing if you didn’t know where the dips are. I think I’ll try watering and rolling it in the spring and fall each year and see if that helps.
Do I need to really use something like roundup and cover with dirt? What about tilling the turf and grass then laying some dirt and seeding that? Clueless here.
@@UA-camuser1aa this is the best information I know of to provide every detail in one place - gciturfacademy.com/collections/diy-lawn-care-guides/products/cool-season-renovation-guide
So I think it is possible to do this, but you have to rake the grass blades up through dirt. I also think the grass that was buried will rot a lot faster than you think it will.
@@GCITurf my yard is mostly fescue. I found that as long as I get the grass tips standing up and out of the soil, it survives. Even with 3 inches of soil. That's doing a spot leveling though. I also would not recommend just dragging a bunch of soil across a tall fescue yard that is seriously uneven.
Forget smoking it off if you're staying with fescue. Do what Pete did. Cut it short, level it off and then immediately overseed. It will recover a lot sooner, No sense removing the organic matter and carbon content from the soil.
do you have any friends or businesses in the Charlotte, NC area you know of that do this with this machinery at the beginning of the video? I have around 7k square feet of Bermuda that looks really good overall, but need to level it as I have a TON of low spots from the builder and only have a rotarty mower......saving up for the new Allett Reel mower you demo'd a few videos ago. I hand leveled about 2,000 square feet of it two summers ago with a hand leveling rake, but that was an ALL DAY job. Wish you were closer to my house, I would hire you in a heartbeat to help with my leveling project!
Need to seed if you are topdressing heavy. Otherwise you need to do it in lifts. If you don't have green fescue blades showing it will be smothered out
good content here. Nice work. I would like to see someone (maybe you) dig into (excuse the pun) lowering the high spots when leveling vs raising the low spots. I think an aggressive dethatch blade and heavy rollers should do the trick (multiple passes over several days). The process of slowly raising low spots has its place, but is often a pain, as less than 3/4" doesn't really matter, and raising more than 3/4" tends to suffocate KBG cut at 3". I have notice that lawns tend to raise in height over the years, and it would be nice to surgically lower them back down to grade (sidewalk, driveway) over time. Thoughts?
Level lawns are no fun though.... nothing like cruising across the lawn at a good speed on the sit down zero turn, forget about that bump in the lawn and get tossed a foot off the seat....
My man Pete is KICKING OUT THE CONTENT!!! Absolutely love seeing you pop up all weekend!!!
I agree with Malik and Brandon . . .
* I have been doing this where necessary for 15 years on Fescue during my FALL RENOVATION
^ Scalp, Aerate, Scarify, Level, *Seed, Fertilize, Rake or Scarify, Water, Water, Water . . .
* = I used Barenbrug’s Rhizomatous Blend of Fescue Last Year; the Best Results ever.
Just killed mine. Took five weeks. Thanx for your videos. I’m starting all over with Tetradark perennial ryegrass and midnight Kentucky blue.
I did the same thing last fall when I over-seeded. Fantastic results. Going to repeat this year.
I have rhizomatous fescue in my lawn and it spreads quite well. My lawn is bumpy but it looks really flat and I have a beautiful lawn so I'll just live with the bumps. It has naturally flattened out over time from constantly alternation my mowing patterns and making the grass better.
Good video Pete, humble kind and to the point. God bless 🙌 🙏
I appreciate you friend.
I always hear to level fescue over time- like 1/4 to 1/2" at a time in Spring and Fall until it's level.
I did mine last fall and got a bit heavy in places- had some spots like your irrigation trench- intended to seed but life got in the way. Was going to seed this spring and our weather was too crazy and now...life gets in the way again. Oh well. Going to do some more over the summer, probably, and definitely in the fall. Will seed then.
Such a valuable video for us with TTTF wanting to level out the bumps and dips and the hard truth if you want it done right.
I attempted sand/topsoil mix here in Illinois last September. Too much sand really screwed up the show. Live and learn. Next September I’ll use more topsoil/peat/compost before the overseed with TTTF/KBG.
I feel like it did work though! The low spots are filled and the really bad spots required more seed. Its level! I love it. It "worked!"
Tha is for following up - a rare thing anymore. Will be watching with you!
Looking good Pete. 👊🏼
Appreciate your input. I was going to do just sand but the mix looks to be a better choice.
Scalping works too but you essentially have to reseed the whole yard. Quicker than a renovation if you plan on keeping the same grass type
this is the exact reason I do not recomend scalping tall fescue
@@GCITurf yea....if it's a mistake..it's a terrible mistake. Fescue does not like to be scalped. Chances of survival are very low
@@mgriffin12 agreed 100%
I thought I had heard that rhizomatous TTTF took 8-12 months to really start expressing that part of the genetics. With that being said, you have some wonderful looking grass.
I used a heavy roller on a very moist ground to smooth out my lawn. Then aerated.
Did you compact your soil
@@UA-camuser1aa i aerated afterwards, I push mow my lawn, so, it's the same as using a heavy zero turn mower others use on their lawn
Hey Pete, I noticed the past couple videos you’ve had specs on the video (there’s a large spec in the middle left side of the video). That means you have some dust or debris on the camera’s sensor. if you take your lens off and use something like a Rocket Air blower to blow it off it will fix the issue. Just do not blow on it with your mouth or use any condensed/compressed air as the sensor is very delicate. Hope this helps!
Yes sir. I took a minute and cleaned it. Should be gone in the upcoming vids
We have slow creeping fescue up north here and we have the same issue
Well first off, thank you for doing this. Saved me from doing this. I’m wondering if South Central Kansas could handle full on KBG? And I do have irrigation system. Thanks Pete!
I would imagine your weather is similar to mine. If so my vote is yes
Pete, I'm somewhat new to your channel. I'm trying to figure everything out right now and it's hard. Im looking to God for everything. Life can be tough sometimmes. I appreciate all that you bring to the lawn care world and I appreciate all the videos. God bless!
You’re very welcome friend
Hey Pete, can you use play sand from the big box stores to mix with compost for leveling? If not, what kind of sand would you recommend?
If you have a small area it's fine. That will get expensive quick. Mason sand is preferred since particle size is small. Alternative is wash fill sand that has been screened
Looks so good.
Caught it right after it was uploaded!!
Edited to add- Pete what was that black car in your garage a handful of videos back?! Like this if it was a COYOTE!
He has a channel for it. I think it is Sandman, if I’m not mistaken.
Any plans for an update on your Irrigreen system? I'm really interested in that system because the cost of water where I live is expensive. Thanks!
I would just do it at the same time as overseeding in September. Aerate, top dress and then seed.
Pete, how long do you think it would have taken for the spreader elite to naturally spread and fill in that area where the irrigation line was if you would have left it without seed?
That’s a good question. I should have left a spot to see…
Definitely you should have left spot
Hey Pete, I layed some elite tall fescue in a shaded area of my backyard and I went on vacation and had the sprinklers going. Bone headed move because I put down way too much water. Now I Have rust spots on the leaf blades on the sod that’s in the shade. Anyway to dry the sod and recover the color?
I would turn the irrigation off and let it dry out naturally
I have parts of my Bermuda lawn that border my driveway and the turf is about 2” to 3” below the driveway, its hard to get my mower close to the driveway for fear of blades hitting concrete. Can I add material to bring the lawn up to the driveway height?
Great stuff Pete!! First mow in that new plot is stunning!! I was watching an older video of yours regarding the Triplet herbicide you used and I've got a question...I know the ratio is 1.1-1.5 oz per 1,000sq ft.....but the water is very vague on how much to use. It says from .5 to 5 gallons. What would you recommend for water volume for the rate they suggest? I've got a pretty heavy weed population so should I use more carrier or less carrier for a stronger application?
Thank you!!
I’m on old farm land and my side yard wasn’t graded due to not being able to disturb over a acre. It was plowed and diss can it be saved with bringing in a tribaxle topsoil or do I need to take a Harley rake rip it all up
Exactly what I DIDN'T want to hear. lol. Oh well, maybe in the future. Thanks for all your work.
Ive got 3,000 sq ft that I plugged St Augustine, its completely full now however, the plugs have caused it to be very, VERY bumpy to mow...i need A LOT of material to get inbetween "humps", my question is, could i use a 3 pt tractor hopper spreader to evenly spread a sand/dirt mix to keep from just piling on dirt and trying to drag???
Any info will help
Hey Pete. It looks like there’s some dust or something that has made itself in between your camera and lens. I’ve seen it the past few videos you’ve posted.
I cleaned the lenses so it should be there in upcoming videos.
Love the trees! What’s name/type of trees are those?
I understand that in the ditches, the leveling didn’t work as the fescue didn’t pop through. But wouldn’t the rest of the fescue be considered a success? If I were to add 1/4” to an already flat 1 year old sod lawn, would it work?
Appreciate y’all.
Number 3! You caught me while mowing 😂
Pete, would it have better to roll it, then air rate (because of compaction) then do a lighter layer of compost and sand?
posibly but fescue wont pop up through fescue regardless...if you have it covered to deep. there was only >1" sand in the deepest spot here
@@GCITurf thanks for the reply. My fescue looks great (not as good as yours) so I don’t want to reno, but you’d roll your ankle push mowing if you didn’t know where the dips are. I think I’ll try watering and rolling it in the spring and fall each year and see if that helps.
@@notreallyme425 if you use any sand please be very light with it...it does not take much snad to smother a fescue plant
@@GCITurf thanks! I’ll skip the sand and just roll and aerate it.
thank you for this!!
I guess you’re going need to do a video about nuking tttf and renovation for fall :(
Do I need to really use something like roundup and cover with dirt?
What about tilling the turf and grass then laying some dirt and seeding that?
Clueless here.
@@UA-camuser1aa this is the best information I know of to provide every detail in one place - gciturfacademy.com/collections/diy-lawn-care-guides/products/cool-season-renovation-guide
So I think it is possible to do this, but you have to rake the grass blades up through dirt. I also think the grass that was buried will rot a lot faster than you think it will.
Hopefully you have a fescue yard so you can try it for yourself and learn firsthand.
@@GCITurf my yard is mostly fescue. I found that as long as I get the grass tips standing up and out of the soil, it survives. Even with 3 inches of soil. That's doing a spot leveling though. I also would not recommend just dragging a bunch of soil across a tall fescue yard that is seriously uneven.
Did the spreader elite end up spreading into those areas?
Forget smoking it off if you're staying with fescue. Do what Pete did. Cut it short, level it off and then immediately overseed. It will recover a lot sooner, No sense removing the organic matter and carbon content from the soil.
do you have any friends or businesses in the Charlotte, NC area you know of that do this with this machinery at the beginning of the video? I have around 7k square feet of Bermuda that looks really good overall, but need to level it as I have a TON of low spots from the builder and only have a rotarty mower......saving up for the new Allett Reel mower you demo'd a few videos ago. I hand leveled about 2,000 square feet of it two summers ago with a hand leveling rake, but that was an ALL DAY job. Wish you were closer to my house, I would hire you in a heartbeat to help with my leveling project!
Yes I know some folks here and there. Email me and I’ll put you in contact with them - gciturfacademy.com/pages/diy-contact-us
My heart broke when I heard this-but thank you
Would it make sense to make a “spreading” cool blue? With the RTTTF and your blue heat? Maybe with a cool name. Better Spreader blend. Lol
No sir. Probably to much competition for space with a mix like that
Need to seed if you are topdressing heavy. Otherwise you need to do it in lifts. If you don't have green fescue blades showing it will be smothered out
First Aussie 😁. Another great interesting video Pete . 😎
“Bunchy”
(…becomes “Clumpy” if not given the gti-tlc)
Why not seed before putting down your compost material?
Compost applied to deep for that in this example
My guy Pete
When it rots the ‘ditch’ may return again. Be interesting.
good content here. Nice work. I would like to see someone (maybe you) dig into (excuse the pun) lowering the high spots when leveling vs raising the low spots. I think an aggressive dethatch blade and heavy rollers should do the trick (multiple passes over several days). The process of slowly raising low spots has its place, but is often a pain, as less than 3/4" doesn't really matter, and raising more than 3/4" tends to suffocate KBG cut at 3". I have notice that lawns tend to raise in height over the years, and it would be nice to surgically lower them back down to grade (sidewalk, driveway) over time. Thoughts?
Level lawns are no fun though.... nothing like cruising across the lawn at a good speed on the sit down zero turn, forget about that bump in the lawn and get tossed a foot off the seat....
😩😩😩😩I did not want to hear that😤
and i did not want to post this either...
@@GCITurf glad you did. Now I know what needs to be done. 🤦🏾
🇺🇦👍🤝
2nd