Just set up my first putting green of the season

Cool Season Grass Forum
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first-attempt-at-a-putting-green-this-season-v0-1lo96m7fcv1e1
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Looks better than mine. Good job

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Ashton said:
Looks better than mine. Good job

Thanks

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What kind of grass did you use

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Sloane said:
What kind of grass did you use

I used bent grass for the green. I started with pencross and then over seeded with 007 and Crystal Blue links. I like both of those better than Pencross. They germinated faster and handled the heat and drought better. I got the 007 from Hancock seed.

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If you are in the north make sure to top dress heavily and cover the crowns. It helps the green come in faster and protects from ice damage

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Oak said:
If you are in the north make sure to top dress heavily and cover the crowns. It helps the green come in faster and protects from ice damage

Great advice. Thanks

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Does the bent grass spread into other parts of the yard

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Vince said:
Does the bent grass spread into other parts of the yard

So far it has not. We had a very dry late summer and fall. I am not sure if that will change with better growing conditions. I guess I will find out in the spring. I will keep an eye on it since I don’t want it spreading

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Noor said:
Impressive

Thank you

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Looks like a nice neighborhood. Great job on the putting green, love the owl

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Quill said:
Looks like a nice neighborhood. Great job on the putting green, love the owl

Thanks. I put it out to keep birds off the green and stop them from eating the seed. While I was setting it out, a giant owl swooped down at me from across the street. It scared me so much. Meanwhile, the birds sat on the owl when they needed a break from eating my seeds. Useless

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Did you add sand and peat to the soil first

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Dana said:
Did you add sand and peat to the soil first

Yes. Halfway through 2023, I decided I wanted to do it. I started buying sand and peat to slowly level the area. I used a Scott’s reel mower and cut it at 3/4 of an inch for the rest of the 2023 season. By the 4th of July, it was pretty level when I got my greens mower. I scalped the area and then started working in the bent grass. It took several tries and over seeding to get it to this point. There was a lot of trial and error, but I took it like a big science project. It was pretty fun, even with all the work. Once I got it to the point where I mostly just needed to mow, it became really enjoyable.

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@Rin
Peat moss is good for soil but not great as seed cover. It can create long term problems that other options won’t.