I would love your advice for reseeding my fescue lawn. Third summer in a row with drought and temperatures exceeding 110 degrees... and my lawn looks terrible.

Issues are:
1. dead spots, especially around pavement
2. spots where neighbor's bermuda is creeping in
3. weeds!

What is the most effective course of action? This was my plan, so tell me what you think.

1. Weed B Gone around weedy areas, and bermuda killer around bermuda areas (is that stuff okay? It is the stuff from Bayer that kills Bermuda, but is supposed to be safe for Fescue).

2. Dethatch dead grass that has collected over the soil.

3. A month after weeding (so late Sept), overseed (brand suggestions?), add lawn soil and fertilizer, and water.

Any suggestions for changes or additions would be greatly appreciated! I am by no means an expert.

Thanks,

Ali

Issues:
1. Your grass dies around the paved areas because the paving absorbs heat all day and releases it all night. That heat dries your soil. All you need there is deeper water, or a soaker hose turned on v-e-r-y slow drip.

2. In zone 6???

3. How often do you water and for how long? How high/low do you mow?

Action Plan
1. Are they grassy weeds like dallis grass or crabgrass? Or are they leafy broad leaf weeds like dandelion, clover, etc.? WBG only works on broad leaf weeds.

2. A dethatcher is fine. Don't let it dig more than 1/8 inch into the soil.

3. Why wait a month? Why add lawn soil - do you have a drainage problem? Water, certainly, but what is your watering plan?

Your answers to these questions may lead to other comments to help you.

I am in Wichita, KS.

There are a small variety of weeds... a little crabgrass, nutgrass, some broadleaf weeds, and there is one in particular that I can't identify, and doesn't seem to die with Weed B Gone. I need to take a picture and post it for suggestions, perhaps. The weeds are not too bad this year, actually. It was so hot and dry, even they fried.

I was just going to dethatch with a dethatching rake... and just in the areas with the densest amounts of dead grass. Would that work?

Waiting a month after Weed B Gone, unless you think it would be safe to seed sooner after than that?

I was thinking about adding soil on top of the seed... I saw that recommended a couple of places... is that not a good idea?

Watering has been a mess... I have a sprinkler system, and it was set to go twice weekly, fairly deep.... I followed your instructions this spring, actually, except doing it in two waterings instead of one. Although to be honest, with the weather we've had, I think it would have taken more water than I could afford to keep the lawn alive over the summer. Even most of the weeds fried, but there were a few survivors.

I have a neighbor who managed to keep a green lawn, which was not small feat. I asked one what he did, and he said a LOT of water. My water bills are too high as it is in the summer, so watering more than the twice weekly just wasn't an option for me. I don't know what I will do if the summers continue like this year and last.

You may consider letting your neighbors bermuda continue to grow onto your lawn. Actually encourage it. Bermuda is better suited for hot weather than fescue. It looks dead in the winter, but it's the winter. Who cares?