I'm Ashamed I Let This Happen // Zoysia Struggles + Freedom Factory Update 

My blog post on epiphytes on the Milo blog www.milorganite.com/blog/garden-landscape/lanais-potted-plants

A vote for option 2 here -- mow and fert. Your "solving a problem" content is solid gold! Looking forward to more fun videos like this one! By the way, i appreciate how you let your guard down about these last 2 years. Not sure of your struggles, and I hope these other comments are false. You have a large audience because you are so real and authentic -- the kind of guy to have a beer and cigar with. Prayers that you see light at the end of the tunnel and that your future is bright!

Thanks for keeping it real and sharing your journey with us! 🌟 Your updates are always a highlight of my day, and I can't wait to see what's next for the Freedom Factory!

I love how your realistic, you don’t expect the best every time you mow…it takes time..very relatable…thank you

You’re the man Alan. You’ve help a lot of us thru harder times than this. 🤟

That spot would be perfect for a Hoselink retractable hose. I have 3 at my house now and will never go back to a normal reel or hose. 3 years in the Texas sun and still going strong.

I have the same hose and no problems with it at all. Spend 30 seconds when you are done and put it away neatly.

Love what you’re doing out at The Freedom Factory. It looks amazing. Also, that pool deck with all those plants looks fantastic. I think my wife and I need to spend a weekend or two doing something similar. Hope you’re well, Allyn.

These are by far your best style of videos!

I'm in Florida also.It's hard getting enough water to keep the Zoysia from going dormant. My St Augustine is struggling, but staying green.

love that these style videos are back

Fert and mow to see it grow!!

I keep a cool head most the time, but I often wonder if my neighbors think im not ok when I unleash the fury on a kinked hose 😂 It happens to all of us Al!

Blast it out with all the things! Need to see how those specific chems work. Interested in Quinclorac and Recognition for Torpedo Grass in St. Aug. also!

This week’s heat in FL has kicked my butt! I had to bring back my lawn care helper to do the cut for me, he 😮 “what are you doing I’ve never seen it look so good” !!! Our neighborhood is getting ATT fiber lines the guys felt bad ripping up my front yard. Your program & soil test REALLY WORK, now I’m going to put it to work in VA.

You'll never be rid of the C. Bermuda. But I'd love to see you hammer it to, hopefully, bolster my confidence to do the same.

Regarding the zero g hoses, when you're finished with the hose leave the water on, then from the faucet end neatly wind the hose so the sprinkler or nozzle is on the top, then turn the water off. The next time you use it turn the water on before unwinding the hose and the hose will be kink free or let's say 95 percent kink free, I still have it kink sometimes. I hope this helps, I think they're the best hoses I've used.

Hey LCN, I thought you would appreciate the Milo call out I had noticed. I was watching Caddy Shack the other day and guess what they had stacked up behind Carl Spackler ( Bill Murray)...a huge stack of Milo. It gave me a chuckle.

I put my moms shrinking hose into a nice big fiberglass flower pot she had lying around. She puts it away every time, and it doesn't seem to get kinked ever. The knots happen when you pull the hose end out through loops. At my house, I prefer a heavy contracotr hose that i coil up on the ground in big loops. If you treat them right, they dont tend to get kinks at all if you can avoid pulling in kinks for the first year or so.

Thanks Allyn, great tips!

Very nice bromeliad. Your video is motivating me to fertilize my lawn. I have the yard mastery sticker on the bottom of one of my gutters.

Spray and pray....I crave any video you put out with that kind of content! Cut and hope for the best is boring 😜 Either way I will watch though haha!

I bought stainless hose , best I've ever bought

I say accept the challenge and push it! The sense of accomplishment will be worth it.

I’m glad you posted this video I thought I was doing something wrong with my lawn. I live in southeast Florida. I will put down the RGS and humid this afternoon

Good tips for the soil prep.

I have to say if you get the black zero g hose they are made 100% better honestly. I have had a 100ft one for over 4 years and used it for pressure washing homes, drug it around the corners of the bricks and really just tried to put it to a good test and it's stood strong even to this day.

Use a reel for that Zero G. I've never had an issue with a kink. I also exclusively stick the black Zero G. Not sure what the difference is though.

Out here in central Texas we have flood warning almost weekly. I have a gorilla 200 Foot hose real and it works great and has held up to the Texas heat and sun very well over the past year. The only issue is that the handle is too short for a normal sized human, but if you don't move it much, it's great. Really easy to pull the hose out and roll it back up.

That drought... No Bueno.. First

Mow and hope for the best. I do not fight my Bermuda in my St Augustine. Areas are very strong with SA so Bermuda is way less.

You can have that warm season grass. I live in Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) transition zone and growing tttf is easy. I can mow it tall and even during a drought I can keep it looking nice. Your crafted fertilizers are great. I also like Greene County products. I think my secret weapon is top dressing using my roller spreader in the spring and fall. For me, the problem with roller spreading (top dressing) is that after a few years of that you really don’t need it anymore. And that’s my favorite part of lawn care except the mow!

I say mow low and often, and fertilize in the zoysia section, it can still look good and correct itself over time, plus zoysia and bermuda look pretty good together

I just applied the same thing in my fescue. Luckily, we've had over an inch of rain here yesterday. Hydretain can fill the drought gaps though!

Saw you when I was leaving the concert Friday night!! Was a good show.

Florida has got Hot these last days!!!

Oh it hurts to hear you bash the zero-g hose. It is by far my favorite hose, I own several, had em for years, gift them and recommend them to people. They are amazing hoses, especially when you break them in. I do have the black version though, and I have to advise you to mount a bracket to train it into a manageable loop. It’s of course going to get tangled when you put it on the ground like that. Mine has no leaking issues, again, not sure if the green ones are maybe the issue there.

chem it up. would be nice to see a full blown Recognition treatment to see what it can do on that scale! WIll be doing that myself next season (dropped 15 trays of Floritam two months ago) and get rid of that leggy crap

Thought i was the only one fighting those dry areas. Finally getting some rain up here in Hernando today

Hey Al in Australia we have a company called hose link that sell these really good retractable hose reels. They're pretty pricey but they're good. Outlasted all the others I've tried. No kinks with mine

I have one of those expanding type lightweight hoses just because it makes it easy to fill my birdbaths and get a little bit of hose out, but for everything else, an old fashioned rubber hose works best and lasts a long time. Also repairable. I have metal hose reels, which are great. If you can find metal ones, get those and skip the plastic, they won't last.

alan, been a lurker for years, luv the channel btw, I have 1/2" 419 bermuda, El Torro Zoysia, and Palisades SA in my yard here in Dallas. As u prob know, we're 95-100 everyday in summer. I've also had Emerald zoysia in my front at my last house, that grass is amazing, but I'm telling ya, bermuda is the alpha in direct full-on hot sun, it will take over everything. My 419 has crowded out the zoysia in the full sun, the zoysia does well in areas with shade and crowds out the 419. Also My 419 gets dry if I dont syringe it about 3pm for 5min, that makes all the difference, keeps the blades from burning. contrary to what everyone thinks, zoysia does NOT like alot of fert, I talked to the superintendent of TPC Craig Ranch re this and he verified they dont do any granular, just spoon feed it a light liquid fert. MY advice, get Tahoma 31, its amazing.

Hey from Palm Harbor...hey Alan, looking at the mowing height of Mike's SA lawn are you possibly rethinking the mower height on SA in general? I have really thick green SA, that I cut a 4"... only because my mower won't go any higher...but it's SO thick it's hard to get my old Honda mower through it! Don't let that hose kick your ass... pull it out straight BEFORE you turn it on, then coil it up neatly. I love those things!

You need a hose reel, bro. All your troubles will be over. The outdoor, enclosed style ones.

I bought a similar hose at Costco recently and returned it after the first use.

Have the same hose and yeah its annoying at times but it works great when its all out lol

I bought 2 of those infomercial hoses sold by the sidekick from Home Improvement, lasted 2 months before they decided to break 😭

Chemicals for sure. Now that you have the reel mower, I’d like to see Frankenlawn 2.0.

Fertilize and hope for the best

Just about an hour south from you. The front lawn is a mix of dead Florida pusley( thankfully), Bahhhhia, St Augustine, and ?... What would you recommend to seed to take over the entire front?

Chemicals. I love a good lawn experiment

If the Bermuda is taking over. Just keep it. It’s harder to get rid of it

Flexilla hose, for water, pressure washer, air. Lighter, mostly kink-free

😊 you did say have fun with the comments in what to do! What Will the lawn rebel do? Probably involve a scalp cut then spray out with a flam burn a week later ten another spray and finely a re seed & saw dust to keep seeds damp 🤔

I use the black hose from Home Depot. I have 3 of them. Never got a kink. I forget the name of it but it’s their expensive one.

Interesting. Neighbor Iawn. And freedom factory. And the plants too.

Hey Allyn I’m in PA most of my life so I’ve only had experience with cool season grasses but am planning on building a house on my property in FLA soon, so without any experience with warm season grasses I’ll be starting with pretty much a blank slate, not sure if I’ll have irrigation or not. What grass type would you recommend for my first foray into warm season grass?

Allen, After 25 + years I invested in a retractable garden hose reel - 5/8" x 100 ft, what a blessing, no more kinks. You need to research and buy one. Bye bye to kinks. I was told Flexzilla were good non kink hoses, recommended by experts.

I’d do chems on the zoysia and fert after

I’m actually trying to get Bermuda to overtake the centipede, st aug, and Dallas grass without soding. Any tips?

Don't turn the water on until you layout how much hose you need off the reel first. No knots !

Nice vid. Mow your yard low and rotate a different Greene County fert spray every week.

Can you do a video about well water rust prevention through a chemical injection/syphon system? Thanks brother ;)

Fert and frequent mow is definitely more enjoyable to see it recover.

Definitely spray and pray chemical to knock the problems out fast. Plus, I love the smell of a freshly sprayed lawn. Hoosier for life!

Chemical to kill bermuda. I'm in the same boat but only use fusilade 2 with a surfactant. It would be nice to see your results vs mine

Here’s what worked for me. Mow low and twice per week. Setting B in the back and A in the front on the toro SR. I went with .25N every other week until blackouts. This regiment allowed me to follow the 1/3 rule on the zoysia while I kept cutting into the legs on the Bermuda. Did I get all of it? No but the zoysia thickened up enough to hide the Bermuda. I would only be able to tell Bermuda was still there from the seed heads. Be patient, but you’ll notice decent results by the end of the growing season. I would recommend against chemical treatment…. There’s a fine line between hurting the Bermuda and stunting the zoysia. (Fussilade + ester) IMHO these thick bladed zoysias don’t belong here in FL. They start to go dormant in our hot summers even on a twice weekly watering schedule if we miss out on summer rains for a week or so. There is a cultivar from Australia I’d be interested in seeing… maybe bethel can hook you up with some icon zoysia to resod your zoysia patch with!

This may be a dumb question but do you have watering restrictions during dry season? The township where I reside in Pennsylvania encourages reduced water use during droughts while this is just a suggestion they do frown on grass watering.

First off, great channel and content. Question: I watch a few lawn channels, and you guys always mention Bermuda grass but never mentioned kentucky blue. I was wondering if one is better than the other?

Number two mow the lawn fertilizer

Bring out the chemicals. I want to see what kind of success is possible pushing back bermuda.

Opposite of what this video is showing, I have a question: Being in NJ how do I kill the zoysia with minimal damage to TTTF. Bought a house which had half zoysia and half cool weather grass. Is there something I can apply in August before over-seeding in the fall?

My St Augustine has dried spots, Can I use that product to recover the dried spots?

Where's the link for the Fourplay homemade?

If you don't have a hose reel you should figure 8 your hose. It's what we do with cables as electricians and it works great.

Wow Allyn that Citra Blue really came in nice. Well done! How's that CitraZoy looking?

I've done the kinky hose challenge. Usually every summer😊

17:19 will LCN join the force at his home yard to CB STA?

The hose probably just needed a better wrapping technique. There's a few videos on YT on how to do it properly, usually it's long cables like used in live events that use the technique, but it works on hoses as well. Do a search for "How Pros Wrap Extension Cords, Cables & Hoses" for a solid tutorial.

I’m really starting to loathe my empire zoysia. It’s a constant chemistry battle. Too much rain, fungus, not enough rain, dormant/dead. Bermuda filled in immediately where I fixed bug problem dead patches, and is now thriving and green. Wish I went with Bermuda instead of the zoysia, it just handles the sun sooo much better.

I have the same hose, looks like yours will at least straighten out. Mine looks like a damn curly fry even at full extension.. pretty annoying.

I break the tab off the hose end sprayers lol.

Is it too late now to put down some Celsius WG on some stubborn weeds that I have? I’m also in Bradenton. I know it is too hot for the Image for Southern Lawns that I typically use and get great results from. The Celsius WG doesn’t have a stated outside high temperature limit

Chem that lawn!

Option 1 Heisenberg!! Chemical guy!!

I have had all three major varieties of warm season grass, and I have to say zoysia is the biggest baby. St Aug is my second fav, except fungus prone. Bermuda all the way…and when it gets thick…it’s a bitch to mow unless you have a level lawn and can reel mow.

Allen,question. I have emerald zoysia in my back yard. Well this year I 😮have a spot that is taken over by wild Bermuda. Please help me get my beloved emrald zoysia back. What can I put down to kill the Bermuda and not hurt my emerald zoysia?

Hey LCN, You need to help Cleetus McFarland with his new airport.

I had the same hose and it kinked also. The only good thing it rolls up nice with a hose reel. I don't think it's possible to make a true kink free hose

I’d like to see you do a new or something interesting to you on how to fix your lawn. Make it your passion project again

I have Hoselink, at least I dont have to wind it up

Vote option #1

Flexzilla hose…. You gotta get one

Divorce, that explains a lot. Much love brother

@thelawncarenut you guys should sell those cheap hose end sprayers! Please!

I actually had to dig through my trash to look for the ZeroG hose packaging to reread if it said guaranteed to kink or guaranteed NOT to kink. It’s absolutely the worst hose.

Yes, you caused those knots.

I want you to get a Bermuda lawn! Redo that Zoysia to Bermuda!

Come to Texas and see what real drought can be months of 100’s without rain

Robert Pavlis talks about this often, but you should NEVER apply dish soap on plants. Dish soaps are detergents, and will strip protective layers off any plants, which is not good. You might want to rethink this.