That looks AMAZING. Nice job!

Very nice! It's great to see a plan work out.

Can you go into some detail about how you did that? We can sit here and dole out suggestions all day long, but it never goes exactly like we suggest. What did you do and what did you not do from the suggestions you got here?

What do you think was the most important thing you did for your success?

Also what varieties of grasses did you use?

Thank you for the compliments...I'll start with the mix I used. My yard is roughly 8,000 square feet. I originally started with 60 LBs of all KBG of midnight, emblem, prosperity, and brilliant all evenly mixed. I kept on digging for more info, then my friend who is a super at a local golf course suggested I mix in some rye. He leaned me towards Lesco 50/50 with has Shamrock and Gladstone KBG, can't remember the rye it contained. It took me a long time to decide to mix as I wanted an all KBG lawn. I bought a 100 LBs of the Lesco 50/50 and mixed with the 60 LBs of KBG I had. There are some people who suggested around 7 LBs per 1000, and some double that. With a slit seeder, I ended up putting down around 150 LBs of the mix.

I started killing my lawn with roundup mid August. I borrowed a zero turn and chopped the lawn as close as possible. After the seed was down my plan was to water 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening. I planted the seed with slit seeder on sept. 15th. I wanted to go a week earlier but it didn't workout that way. After one week I applied starter fertilizer for the ryegrass, then the 3rd week I applied more starter for the KBG. From that point on I could notice a difference daily in the growth of my lawn. The water schedule didn't workout as planned, we had a very abnormal fall here in NW ohio. We had a ton of rain and the temp. was consistantly in the 60s-70s through Nov. I was extremely lucky with the weather and getting a few extra weeks of optimal growing weather. I was worried of there being to much rain, but it sure did help me with my water bill.

My plan for fertilization are a combination of two different kinds. I apply 5 bags of milorganite 4 times a year combined with lesco 12-0-0 liquid every 6 weeks. I know some people don't like milorganite but it sure did make my lawn look good before and can't wait to see what it will make this new lawn look like. The pics above, the only fertilizer applied was the starter and the last pic the lawn was only 6-7 weeks old. I am a big fan of using iron and notice a big difference when using it for green up and haven't used it in this lawn yet.

Everything I've done were suggestions from this sight from reading everyone's post. Some people do things different but I picked what I thought was best. I think the most important things for my success was the amount of seed I used...I applied double than what was suggested, and having a sprinkler system. I'm the only one in my neighborhood that has one and it sure does look nice when everyone elses grass is dormant in the summer and I'm still mowing mine and it's looking good. Can't wait to see what I can get this new yard to look like in the next couple years.

Nice looking lawn, but I will caution others that are reading this: Do not double your seed rate as Chief58 did. He was lucky in that his rate of roughly 19 lbs per thousand didn't result in damping off, or stand loss due to fast spreading diseases like pythium blight. Anyone renovating should stick to the recommended seeding rate given by the seed company.

Yeah I was aware of problems with over seeding to much. I've had just as many people say it matters as many had said it doesn't. It came down to trusting my friend who graduated college in turf grass management and had been planting that type of seed I used for years, but I'm sure there have been problems with over seeding too much or else it wouldn't be documented, but it worked out for me so maybe I am lucky.

Thanks for the details. They are sure to help someone else just like you later on.

I fully agree with the Milorganite. I'm not as hot on the Lesco liquid. At least you don't plan to use the liquid exclusively, twice a year, like some folks. Liquid ferts must be applied frequently to be effective. If this is going to be a serious hobby for you, you can apply Milorganite, or other organics, every week if you can afford it. The difference you would expect from that is a much longer growing season into the winter and earlier green up in the spring. In fact depending on where you are, it might not go dormant.

Its something that I've gotten into as a hobby the last couple years. What are some other organics that you would suggest along with the milorganite to apply weekly? I always like trying out new things.

Go to the Organic Gardening Forum and find the FAQs. I wrote a FAQ for them before the organic lawn care forum started many years ago. I have learned a lot since then but the fundamentals are there. Probably the best of the things I've learned is that you can't use too much organic fertilizer. You can apply 50 pounds per 1,000 square feet per week if you want to. It will get a little stinky the first few weeks but after that, the soil microbes will be able to handle all the organics at once. Two really good fertilizers are soy bean meal and alfalfa pellets (rabbit food). You can get them in 50-pound bags at the feed store. A normal app rate is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet (I have modified that from 10 pounds in the FAQ). Next to corn gluten meal, soy has the most protein in the feed store. CGM is currently just too expensive to make a normal habit out of. And a more normal application schedule is to apply on the federal holidays. Unless you live in the south, that means Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. If you live in the south, then start on Washington's Birthday. As you may already know, it takes 3 full weeks to see the benefit of organic fertilizer. That's because organic fertilizing is a biological process and not a chemical or osmotic process.

The theory behind organic lawn care could fill a long pamphlet or short book. The practicalities can only fill a few pages. If you are looking for a good book or the bigger picture of organics, look for Teaming with Microbes, by Jeff Lowenfels. He's written the first good book on organics since the 1940s when Rodale was writing. Rodale was not privy to modern DNA research. Lowenfels is. I have not read his book but I was on a forum with him about 5 years ago. He is a true guru.

Thanks a lot for the info....I will definitely look into that