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Thread: Lawn People????

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Lawn People????

    OK I decided I am going to try to revive the lawn this year. It has been a very dry summer and the lawn looks like a desert. Here is my idea. I feel I can water the lawn between rains which are few but being it is basically new grass I do not have to water deeply to get it started. Winter will take over and then the grass will go dormant till the spring but it will have a quick start from the fall seeding.

    OK. I am raking the thatch and dry grass out of the lawn and almost done. Lots of bare spots. Here is what I want to do. I want to core aerate the lawn figuring this will give me the best chance to bring the lawn back. Here is what I have. Seed, top soil, and aerator.

    I figured I would seed entire lawn and then cover all bare spots with top soil. Then I will aerate the lawn and then lightly top seed again hoping the seed finds the holes and the cores will break down over time. My question is would this be the way to do this or should I aerate the lawn and then seed and then add top soil??? I am afraid this will cancel the aerating because now I will fill the holes with top soil. Hope this makes sense.

    Looking for suggestions. Thanks.
    John T.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Northern UT
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    Main suggestion I can make is to hydroseed the lawn. That way the seeds go down mixed in a thick goo of fertilizer and peat moss, or something like it. I don't know if you can do it over existing grass or not. I have done both seed with peat moss on top, and hydroseeding, and the hydroseeding works so much better.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    One of the important things to do with a lawn is maintain several varieties of grass. Blue grass is great spring and fall but goes dormant in hot weather. Rescue and rye are better in hot weather.

    It is getting late to seed the yard. I would put down a mix heavy in rye grasses as it will germinate in a week. Blue grass can take a couple of weeks. Also, put down good fall fertilizer. Getting your yard back in shape will take awhile and no real quick fix.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    Bedford, NH
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    I've had similar problems with my lawn this year as it's been very dry, very hot & very little rain. Despite watering, the grass hasn't fared well. I've had to stop watering to protect the source of my well water & that of my neighbor's. We just had a couple of good rains & I've just this week completed overseeding & this is how I did it & would recommend the following.

    I would core aerate the lawn first as this would break up the compactness (my lawn tended to get "crusty") when the air & potential moisture from rain or watering is applied. Then sow the seeds & cover with some top soil & "starter" fertilizer. The fertilizer will dissolve into the top soil to feed the seeds. Do not apply any weed killer until after the seeds have developed into grass, otherwise the weed killer will burn the new seeds. After the grass has developed apply a longer term fertilizer.

    Also, as stated above by Larry, apply perennial Rye grass as it will allow early germination that will establish a root system & that will not only help the rest of the seeds, it will prevent washout from heavy rains. I believe annual Rye grass will germinate faster than the perennial, so some mix of the annual will help sooner.

    It's been my experience that Rye grass is hardier than Blue grass & some others, standing up better to traffic. I would consult the description on the bag of the seeds to confirm its particular performance to your area. In my area (New England), the preferred grass mixture types are Rye, Fescue and some Bluegrass.

    Good luck with your lawn.
    Last edited by Al Launier; 09-25-2016 at 9:16 AM.
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  5. #5
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    The best results come from core aeration followed by seeding and top dressing with compost. I live not far from our local recycling facility and good leaf/grass compost is available at a reasonable price. A couple of yards will do my entire lawn with 1/4" of nice organic material. It will settle in the core voids and helps deep condition the soil as well as provide a good start for the new seeds.
    http://www.lawn-care-academy.com/top...ing-lawns.html

  6. #6
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    Mar 2012
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    From what the local specialist says, Ted offers great advice. He also says this is a great time of year for seeding grass and planting trees and shrubs.

  7. #7
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    Apr 2013
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    Kansas City
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    Yes what Ted says is normal practice here.

  8. #8
    two stories:
    The house I'm sitting in, my parents bought in 1969, it was 3 years old. It had been vacant for 12 months. The entire lawn was nothing but bone dry sheet grass about 3' high. Everyone asked my mom her plan for bringing the grass back- Till it up? Aerate it? Re-seed? Sod? "I'm going to mow down the weeds and water it." That's all she did, and the lawn came back just fine----

    My wife's parents back in the early 90's decided to move into a motorhome for nearly 10 years. They basically abandoned their house. Between zero upkeep and vandals, when they decided they had enough of motorhome living, the entire house had to be gutted and rebuilt. When the workers and familiy were discussing what to do about the lawn, and I told them how my mom did nothing but water it. So that's all we did, and that lawn came back just fine too.
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  9. #9
    "Friends are flying in from all over!" Soil varys a lot,and grass needs "sweet" soil. Around here that means putting down lime often.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ted Calver View Post
    The best results come from core aeration followed by seeding and top dressing with compost. I live not far from our local recycling facility and good leaf/grass compost is available at a reasonable price. A couple of yards will do my entire lawn with 1/4" of nice organic material. It will settle in the core voids and helps deep condition the soil as well as provide a good start for the new seeds.
    http://www.lawn-care-academy.com/top...ing-lawns.html
    Exactly! Aerate first, thatch (roughens the soil so it accepts the seed better), overseed, top dress with mulch/compost and water. most grass seed does not germinate well if the temp drops below 40 degrees.
    Last edited by Bill McNiel; 09-25-2016 at 1:43 PM.

  11. #11
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    I went with the core aerator because I am more familiar with it and being that slicer require more work because it is not power driven and I have an uneven lawn. Too many dips and hills. They have a new aerator that is more friendly to use. It can actually be turned as you are coring. Not a tight radius but definitely easier than the older models. I then seeded and the seed fell in the holes very nicely. Have done it this way before and I have had good success. Then threw some top soil on top just to keep from washing away. I will get things going by the end of OCT and then in the spring have a lushes lawn once again. Come fall start all over. There is definitely is climate change happening. Thanks all for the replys.
    John T.

  12. #12
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    I think that any seed that goes down the core holes is lost. Directions for planting grass seed say to plant the seed about 1/4" deep.

    The best way to plant grass seed is to rough the surface a quarter inch or so, seed, rake lightly and then tamp down. Seed that is too deep will not grow.

  13. #13
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    i actually dont know any thing about lawns because my father is a retired army officer and you know that army people took great care of plants and lawns.....so my father look after our lawn but i actually like your idea for bringing up your lawn and thats great thinking ....due to lawn houses looks better.......

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Frank View Post
    I think that any seed that goes down the core holes is lost. Directions for planting grass seed say to plant the seed about 1/4" deep.

    The best way to plant grass seed is to rough the surface a quarter inch or so, seed, rake lightly and then tamp down. Seed that is too deep will not grow.
    I am sorry but this is not true. Have done this before and actually have seed growing out of the holes and it continued to fill in the lawn. Seed does not fall to the bottom because it is not a flat bottom hole like you would drill in wood. Loose soil around the hole usualy falls back in when aerator is removed. Will see what happens. I have done my part and now Mother Nature has to step in.
    John T.

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