tamarack Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 12 hours ago, Lava Rock said: 14 hours ago, dendrite said: I bust balls with you, but jesus h. That SW slope must just bake. You probably need irrigation to get the look you want...either that or plant a few trees for extra shade. But I’m sure you don’t want to block the views. It's rather comical at this point. Spend all this money for lawn looks, and have a field to look at. Will need to drill another well to get any real irrigation, but that's a very costly project. I don't think I've seen it look this bad I wouldn't recommend tossing $10K at a new well just for the lawn, especially since that granite block on which you sit may not yield any more for from hole #2 than from #1. Garden explosion. Cukes are sweet as heck. Basil gone wild. BGW. Only fail so far has been green beans. Made a pesto with basil, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts. Off the hook Our garden is about 180° from yours, so far. Cukes haven't even blossomed while last year we were giving them away, while the green beans are in full production. I plant them sequentially over a 5-week period because we much prefer them uncooked, but we sometimes get overwhelmed and blanch a bunch for the freezer - may happen again in the next couple weeks. Cherry tomatoes almost ready for the pick to start, and I've begun nipping off the tops so the fruit already started gets all the plants' efforts. Goal is to ripen all the fruit before frost rather than grow bigger vines and try to do the indoors ripening with hundreds of greenies rather than the couple dozen we get even with top-stopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Yeah Lava. You may want to try the zoysia. Maybe try a little area of it to see how it does in your area but it grows fine here. You don’t radiate well either which helps. The zoysia won’t care about sun and dryness once it starts getting established and it will choke out all of the weeds since it almost acts like a weed itself. You’ll just have to deal with a dormant lawn in the beginning of May and Oct/Nov but it should thrive during the summer when you want it green the most. It’s really no fuss. It just takes awhile to fill in...like a few years if you space the plugs a foot apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 42 minutes ago, tamarack said: I wouldn't recommend tossing $10K at a new well just for the lawn, especially since that granite block on which you sit may not yield any more for from hole #2 than from #1. Garden explosion. Cukes are sweet as heck. Basil gone wild. BGW. Only fail so far has been green beans. Made a pesto with basil, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts. Off the hook Our garden is about 180° from yours, so far. Cukes haven't even blossomed while last year we were giving them away, while the green beans are in full production. I plant them sequentially over a 5-week period because we much prefer them uncooked, but we sometimes get overwhelmed and blanch a bunch for the freezer - may happen again in the next couple weeks. Cherry tomatoes almost ready for the pick to start, and I've begun nipping off the tops so the fruit already started gets all the plants' efforts. Goal is to ripen all the fruit before frost rather than grow bigger vines and try to do the indoors ripening with hundreds of greenies rather than the couple dozen we get even with top-stopping. Explain what you mean nipping off the top. My dogs devour green beans, they wait at the fence for them, alas this year not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 31 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said: Explain what you mean nipping off the top. My dogs devour green beans, they wait at the fence for them, alas this year not so much. All season long I cut off the side stems to keep the plants to a single stem. Over the weekend I cut off the topmost growth shoot so the plants will no longer attempt to lengthen. Will need to do more shoot pruning as the plants keep trying to extend the vine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 27 minutes ago, tamarack said: All season long I cut off the side stems to keep the plants to a single stem. Over the weekend I cut off the topmost growth shoot so the plants will no longer attempt to lengthen. Will need to do more shoot pruning as the plants keep trying to extend the vine. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Ginx snewx said: Thanks I think that practice was a tip (pun intended) from "Crockett's Victory Garden." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 3 hours ago, dendrite said: Yeah Lava. You may want to try the zoysia. Maybe try a little area of it to see how it does in your area but it grows fine here. You don’t radiate well either which helps. The zoysia won’t care about sun and dryness once it starts getting established and it will choke out all of the weeds since it almost acts like a weed itself. You’ll just have to deal with a dormant lawn in the beginning of May and Oct/Nov but it should thrive during the summer when you want it green the most. It’s really no fuss. It just takes awhile to fill in...like a few years if you space the plugs a foot apart. May try the zoysia. I was chatting online with a place and they were a little skeptical about it doing well in maine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Just now, Lava Rock said: May try the zoysia. I was chatting online with a place and they were a little skeptical about it doing well in maine. I don't think you're much different than my location temp wise. Frequent snowcover will help it as well.I'd probably be more worried about zoysia in a frost/torch pocket like CON than up where I am.You could buy a sheet or two of plugs and just let them go. I will say my plugs in the back that I planted in loosened, bare soil took off a lot faster than the ones that I planted in the hard pack front that was already full of grass and weeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 minute ago, dendrite said: I don't think you're much different than my location temp wise. Frequent snowcover will help it as well.I'd probably be more worried about zoysia in a frost/torch pocket like CON than up where I am.You could buy a sheet or two of plugs and just let them go. I will say my plugs in the back that I planted in loosened, bare soil took off a lot faster than the ones that I planted in the hard pack front that was already full of grass and weeds. Found this place online out of Maryland. $29 for box of 50 plugs. https://www.zoysiaplug.com/products/zoysia-grass-plugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 3 minutes ago, Lava Rock said: Found this place online out of Maryland. $29 for box of 50 plugs. https://www.zoysiaplug.com/products/zoysia-grass-plugs I'll have to find the site where I got mine from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backedgeapproaching Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, dendrite said: I'll have to find the site where I got mine from. How quick do those plugs spread in a season? He is going to need A LOT of plugs to get any type of coverage. I know nothing about Zoysia, but at this point for Lava, I wouldn't eliminate anything. Seems like something low input is needed there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, backedgeapproaching said: How quick do those plugs spread in a season? He is going to need A LOT of plugs to get any type of coverage. I know nothing about Zoysia, but at this point for Lava, I wouldn't eliminate anything. Seems like something low input is needed there. Been reading online a bit today. The flat spot out back is 7000sqft. Suggestion is to do one plug for every sqft = 7000. Granted, not every sqft of that area needs fixing, but it's gonna look weird to have a grass species like that next to fescue, KBG until it eventually takes over. IDK what to do. Apparently zoysia seed is difficult to grow, requires a lot of water early on and only works well if starting from topsoil. The more plugs you put in the faster it spreads, but from what I read, 1-3yrs or so. I'm tired of waiting to have a good decent looking lawn, so not sure I want to put in the effort of plugging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, backedgeapproaching said: How quick do those plugs spread in a season? He is going to need A LOT of plugs to get any type of coverage. I know nothing about Zoysia, but at this point for Lava, I wouldn't eliminate anything. Seems like something low input is needed there. I think I went through zoysia farm. Looks like they had trouble with their harvest and are out for the season. But here’s their instructions... https://www1.zoysiafarms.com/plantzoy.jsp I pretty much put mine in bare spots and didn’t have to do a large area. Now that it’s established I can take my own plugs from that if I want. They’d probably take off even faster than the ones I had shipped. This was fall 16 to early fall 18. It’s pretty much full coverage this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 24 minutes ago, Lava Rock said: Been reading online a bit today. The flat spot out back is 7000sqft. Suggestion is to do one plug for every sqft = 7000. Granted, not every sqft of that area needs fixing, but it's gonna look weird to have a grass species like that next to fescue, KBG until it eventually takes over. IDK what to do. Apparently zoysia seed is difficult to grow, requires a lot of water early on and only works well if starting from topsoil. The more plugs you put in the faster it spreads, but from what I read, 1-3yrs or so. I'm tired of waiting to have a good decent looking lawn, so not sure I want to put in the effort of plugging. Definitely looks a little weird during the dormant season without snowcover (April and Nov/Dec). And yeah, it’s not an overnight fix. I’d probably just overseed before the first snow. Come spring it’s ready to go once the glacier is gone. I’d stay away from planting zoysia via seed too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 19 minutes ago, dendrite said: I think I went through zoysia farm. Looks like they had trouble with their harvest and are out for the season. But here’s their instructions... https://www1.zoysiafarms.com/plantzoy.jsp I pretty much put mine in bare spots and didn’t have to do a large area. Now that it’s established I can take my own plugs from that if I want. They’d probably take off even faster than the ones I had shipped. This was fall 16 to early fall 18. It’s pretty much full coverage this summer. those blades look more fescue like. Not like the thick, stiff blade I see online. Are there different varieties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 16 minutes ago, dendrite said: Definitely looks a little weird during the dormant season without snowcover (April and Nov/Dec). And yeah, it’s not an overnight fix. I’d probably just overseed before the first snow. Come spring it’s ready to go once the glacier is gone. I’d stay away from planting zoysia via seed too. I did the overseeding Fall of 2017 and rented a slit seeder and used KYB mix. Obviously I suck badly at lawns cause that didn't take either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostman Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Had my fertilizer guy out today and he confirmed my suspicion of dollar spot in my yard. Fungicide going down next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Did some investigating around my red maple with crown dieback, and discovered at least a half dozen cankers on the trunk. I'm pretty worried that this may be a losing battle. I'm trying to keep it watered enough to fight off the fungus, but it doesn't seem that I can do much else to help it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 4 minutes ago, OceanStWx said: Did some investigating around my red maple with crown dieback, and discovered at least a half dozen cankers on the trunk. I'm pretty worried that this may be a losing battle. I'm trying to keep it watered enough to fight off the fungus, but it doesn't seem that I can do much else to help it. You can try some mud packs on the cankers. That’s what they do to keep american chestnut trees with blight alive. https://www.acf.org/ma-ri/the-project/mudpacking-cankers/ There’s more pics and vids of the process online. I’d assume you’d have a better success rate than that with chestnuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, dendrite said: You can try some mud packs on the cankers. That’s what they do to keep american chestnut trees with blight alive. https://www.acf.org/ma-ri/the-project/mudpacking-cankers/ There’s more pics and vids of the process online. I’d assume you’d have a better success rate than that with chestnuts. Hmm, sounds easy enough to give it a try. I don't want to lose it because it's most likely I effed it up by banging it with the mower before I mulched around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 8 hours ago, OceanStWx said: Hmm, sounds easy enough to give it a try. I don't want to lose it because it's most likely I effed it up by banging it with the mower before I mulched around it. If it's due to injury and not fungal then you may need another treatment. A lot of trees heal over and recover. I know the tree company Gene uses has used a bark sealment around damaged areas of his horsechestnut tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 20 hours ago, Lava Rock said: Been reading online a bit today. The flat spot out back is 7000sqft. Suggestion is to do one plug for every sqft = 7000. Granted, not every sqft of that area needs fixing, but it's gonna look weird to have a grass species like that next to fescue, KBG until it eventually takes over. IDK what to do. Apparently zoysia seed is difficult to grow, requires a lot of water early on and only works well if starting from topsoil. The more plugs you put in the faster it spreads, but from what I read, 1-3yrs or so. I'm tired of waiting to have a good decent looking lawn, so not sure I want to put in the effort of plugging. Several years ago there was an episode of This Old House showing landscaper Roger Cook installing a tall fescue sod called "Black Beauty" at a project in Lexington, Massachusetts. Roger praised "Black Beauty" for its drought tolerance due to its deep roots. https://www.jonathangreen.com/product/black-beauty-blend-grass-seed.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanStWx Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 16 hours ago, dendrite said: If it's due to injury and not fungal then you may need another treatment. A lot of trees heal over and recover. I know the tree company Gene uses has used a bark sealment around damaged areas of his horsechestnut tree. If I had to guess, the mower scuff is where the fungus got in and now there are several other cankers where the tree is trying to fight it off. The crown dieback is what really has me convinced it's something actively trying to kill it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostman Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Had my dollar spot treated with a fungicide. It’s already starting to grow out pretty well. This is the second year in a row this has happened in mid to late July. Next year I may just do a preventative treatment in early July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moneypitmike Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 When do folks seed in the fall? I'm thinking September 1 will allow for 6 weeks before anything more than a surprising frost comes in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostman Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 5 hours ago, moneypitmike said: When do folks seed in the fall? I'm thinking September 1 will allow for 6 weeks before anything more than a surprising frost comes in. My plan is to do my over-seeding on the 7th/8th of September. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 I plan on planting more grass and slice seeding first week of September. My other Azalea bush is now browning as well. I wonder if full sun is too much? Or a soil composition issue? When we bought the house the entire front yard was sand. I added about 4-6” of loam over the entire thing and planted what I did. So it’s 4-6” of loam a layer of sand... maybe 4-6” as well? And then more regular soil below that. Could that layer of sandy garbage be screwing with some plants? I figured the roots would take hold deeper than that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Still sound like a fungal root rot to me, but hard to tell. Got pics? I doubt the layer of sand is much of an issue. Most shrubs gets down into the sandy layer anyway. I think intense sun can burn the leaves, but if the whole thing is wilting and dying back is sounds like overwatering to me. Have you fertilized them? Do you have them mulched with wood chips? That can keep them more consistently moist, but new chips can rob them of nutrients as they initially compost down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJonesWX Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 MPM, I always do my overseeding Labor day weekend. gives several weeks with decent temps for the grass to grow, and several weeks until leaf pickup season begins. Tblizz, azaleas are very sun-friendly. i have a couple that see full sun all day long. they are bedded in about 6" of loam on top of 2-3' of sand. my guess is that either yours are diseased, or they just didn't "take" when they were planted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moneypitmike Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 5 minutes ago, SJonesWX said: MPM, I always do my overseeding Labor day weekend. gives several weeks with decent temps for the grass to grow, and several weeks until leaf pickup season begins. Tblizz, azaleas are very sun-friendly. i have a couple that see full sun all day long. they are bedded in about 6" of loam on top of 2-3' of sand. my guess is that either yours are diseased, or they just didn't "take" when they were planted. Thanks. How do you approach it? Cut low, rake/seed/fertllize and just not mow for the next few weeks (with watering of course)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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