I started revitilizing this lawn back in August '11. Last August I aerated, added compost, verti cut, and overseeded.

Program Outline:
March 13: Applied Halts preEm. Did not contain fertilizer

Mid April: Put down one application of liquid weed killer.

Late April: Apply weed/feed.

Late May: Apply one application of Milorganite

Late June: Apply one application of Milorganite

Late June: Apply GrubX

Late August: Core Aerate: Irrigate Immediatley following core aeration(1" of water)

Early Sept: Verti-cut overseed with same TTTF/KBG mix. Apply starter fertilizer

Early Oct:(4 weeks after seeding) apply PreEmerge with fertilizer. Im under the impression that the PreEmerge now will help control henbit in the early spring....

Late November: Apply nitrogen rich fert...Possibly urea.

Few Questions:
1. Does the program make sense. Any recommneded tweeks?
2. Is it unwise to overseed a TTTF lawn every year?
3. Does my preEmerg timing in the fall make sense...Long enough wait time to allow new seed to sprout. But put it down soon enough to provide henbit/poa control.
4. I've thought about putting down a baby shampoo solution in May to help soften my soil...Does this make sense?

Please review my program and provide feedback. Thanks again for your time.

Mike

There are other preemergents that are cheaper and longer acting than Halts. Dimension is one, Barricade, and Stonewall are others. While it might be a bit early for a preemergent, this has been an atypical winter, and weeds are going to be early this year.

"Mid April: Put down one application of liquid weed killer."

How do you plan on doing this, just a blanket spray of Weed-B-Gone? If weed pressure is low I would just spot spray weeds as necessary.

"Late April: Apply weed/feed."

Terrible idea. Weed and Feed products have one purpose, higher profits for Scotts. If you want to fertilize, that's fine, but kill weeds separately, and generally a week or two after fertilizing.

"Late May: Apply one application of Milorganite
Late June: Apply one application of Milorganite"

Fine, you can do it any time.

"Late June: Apply GrubX"

Not sure of the timing on GrubX, but do a little research on when it's best to do so.

"Late August: Core Aerate: Irrigate Immediatley following core aeration(1" of water)"

Core aeration is generally not necessary unless your soil is compacted (rare), or very heavy clay (also rare but some areas do have it). I've done it, but many people feel that you bring up a lot of weed seeds with core aeration.

"Early Sept: Verti-cut overseed with same TTTF/KBG mix.
Apply starter fertilizer."

If you have a healthy lawn, overseeding will probably not be necessary as the KBG will fill in bare areas. If you loose some grass to drought or disease then sure, but you should determine this in late summer.

Early Oct:(4 weeks after seeding) apply PreEmerge with fertilizer. Im under the impression that the PreEmerge now will help control henbit in the early spring....

"If you overseed this can stunt new growth, and besides, you will have probably missed the poa annua window, as well as other winter annuals. You want to get the preemergent down earlier as soil temps fall below 70 degrees.

"Late November: Apply nitrogen rich fert...Possibly urea."

Yes, apply when topgrowth has stopped, but the ground isn't frozen. It should be a quick release source of nitrogen: urea, ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulphate.

Few Questions:
1. Does the program make sense. Any recommneded tweeks?
2. Is it unwise to overseed a TTTF lawn every year? Already answered.
3. Does my preEmerg timing in the fall make sense...Long enough wait time to allow new seed to sprout. But put it down soon enough to provide henbit/poa control. Already answered.
4. I've thought about putting down a baby shampoo solution in May to help soften my soil...Does this make sense? It does, it can't ever hurt, but I think you should do a soil structure test (jar test). It's free and you can do it yourself. It will give you a pretty good idea of your true soil's composition.

Fescue is a bunch grass that grows in clumps. KBG is a sod-forming turf that spreads to form a dense mat. If for any reason you lose fescue, the KBG will fill in. Your lawn in the fall should be pretty dense one way or the other. That will open the door to using the preem in the early fall. If you get a heavy late summer rain, that is the day to apply.

You should not need to verticut every year. That is only for detatching. If your KBG is not watered too frequently, it should not be thatchy every year. Daily, or even 3x per week, watering is too often. This time of year it should be monthly gradually moving toward once every 7 days in the hottest heat of summer. Correcting your watering usually fixes a lot of lawn issues.

P.h. 6.9
Phosphate: 78
Potash: 429

My lawn greened up nicely. I've mowed 3 times. Just yesterday I put down an application of turfbuilder(29-3-3). I plan to spot spray weeds next week. I still plan to put down an application of milorgnite in may and again in June. So far so good.