First off - great forum and great people. I am a huge lover of internet forums as much as turf and I'd have to say this is one of the best. Very knowledgable and friendly bunch of users. That being said, here is my plan to establish great turf with as much detail as I can provide. I am looking for feedback, comments, suggestions or anything that can improve or get me to where I want to be. Thanks for reading my long post!

Questions I have:

1) Anybody order this seed from Williams or Pawnee Buttes this year? I am under the understanding they are really good, friendly and well priced. Seed Super Store is the closest to me and they carry all of this seed (I'm in Canada by the USA border) but there prices it seems are higher - am I correct? Can you pick up from them directly on location?

2) What do you think about my seed selections?

3) My soil test from the University here (Guelph University) stated all was good but I feel my PH level is high?

4) Shall I apply curative Grub control before or after Aeration?

5) Do I have to wait 5 days after laying carbaryl?

6) Is the secondary treatment of Starter Fertilizer recommended?

7) Any ideas of how to keep birds/squirrels from eating seed? Would Peat prevent them or a seed blanket that I've seen others use?

***Current Condition of Front Lawn***

1. Large Maple tree covering 50% of lawn with shade, 10% shade from the side of the house, 40% Full sun beyond the tree line

2. Consists of 20% PRG 20% Tall Fescue 60% Fine Fescues Eco/Shade Mix (Chewings, hard and Creeping) -box store products

3. Struggling every year with grass beyond tree line in sun - always dying. I reseed and soil it every year. Wrong species? The 20% PRG was layed in the spring to provide some "temporary" grass until the Fall when I reno'd this section beyond the treeline.

4. Soil tested each year(latest attached). Based on test lawn is regularly fertilized, preemergent layed at time our Forsythia blooms and herbicide used when needed. Currently weed-free.

**Note: Lesson learned this year Grub control (imidacloprid) was missed. Grubs now more than 4 per sq/foot at select areas of lawn resulting in brown patches easily being ripped up with hands.

5. Generally looks great under tree and side of house where 60% Fine Fescues Eco/Shade Mix has "taken over" (except this year for the grub incident)

***Front Lawn Plan*** (overseed and half reno beyond tree line):

Seed Mix Chosen based on my Zone, latest NTEP Natural Shade Trials and ensuring 3 way KBG criteria is met (Compact America, Compact Moonlight and compact)

30% Bewitched KBG
30% Bedazzled KBG
20% Award KBG
20% Spartan II Hard Fescue

1. Mow down existing grass gradually every 3 days aprox.
2. Rake and thatch using thatch rake
3. Aerate by using Fiskars Aerator
4. Apply curative grub product carbaryl and wait 5 days
5. Apply starter fertilizer
6. Apply small amount of screened sandy loam and mix with existing soil for transition
7. Apply the remainder of soil and ensure good grade, levelling etc.
8. Lay seed according to required rates
9 Roll it with water roller
10. Mist with water
11. Top dress with Peat moss -1/4 inch
12. Mow at 2.5 -3 inches and cut down to 2 inches
13 After 6 weeks apply another starter fertilizer feeding

For the bare spots beyond tree line which is all soil (I raked and weeded the PRG) I will lossen the soil slightly and carry out steps 3-13

Follow this watering schedule:

water 15-20 minutes twice a day for two weeks
water 20-30 minutes once a day for one week
water 30-45 minutes once a day every other day for one week
water 30-45 minutes once a day twice a week for one week
move into deep irrigation, increasing the time to provide 1 inch of water all over and decreasing the frequency to just once a week.

***Current Factors of Back Lawn***:

1. Some brown and mostly green. Mostly due to drought.

2. Consists of 20% KBG 20% Tall Fescue 60% Fescues (Chewings, hard and Creeping)-box store products

3. Has not been overseed for 3 years.

4. Soil tested each year(latest attached). Based on test lawn is regularly fertilized, preemergent layed at time our Forsythia blooms and herbide used when needed. Currently weed-free.

**Note: Lesson learned this year Grub control (imidacloprid) was missed. Luckliy testing 4 sites I found no grubs in back yard.

5. Looks great in spring and Fall - summer it browns up a bit.

6. 80% sun and 20% Partial shade (birch tree with thin canopy)

***Back Lawn Plan (overseed)***:

Seed Mix Chosen based on my Zone, latest NTEP Natural Shade Trials and ensuring 3 way KBG criteria is met (Compact America, Compact Moonlight and compact)

33.3% Bewitched KBG
33.3% Bedazzled KBG
33.3% Midnight KBG

1. Mow down existing grass gradually every 3 days aprox.
2. Rake and thatch using thatch rake
3. Aerate by using Fiskars Aerator
5. Apply starter fertilizer
6. Apply small amount of screened sandy loam and mix with existing soil for transition
7. Apply the remainder of soil and ensure good grade, levelling etc.
8. Lay seed according to required rates
9 Roll it with water roller
10. Mist with water
11. Top dress with Peat moss -1/4 inch
12. Mow at 2.5 -3 inches and cut down to 2 inches
13 After 6 weeks apply another starter fertilizer feeding

Follow this watering schedule:

water 15-20 minutes twice a day for two weeks
water 20-30 minutes once a day for one week
water 30-45 minutes once a day every other day for one week
water 30-45 minutes once a day twice a week for one week
move into deep irrigation, increasing the time to provide 1 inch of water all over and decreasing the frequency to just once a week.

7) Any ideas of how to keep birds/squirrels from eating seed? Would Peat prevent them or a seed blanket that I've seen others use?

1. N/A for me.
2. Sounds fine to me.
3. How do you get a pH that high? Do you live on a limestone formation? I happen to live on a limestone formation so I know a little bit about it, but I have a warm season grass so it doesn't count.
4. N/A and N/A. You don't need grub control and you don't need aeration. 4 grubs per square foot is at the low end of normal. You must have other issues. And you don't need aeration. If you spray the lawn with at least 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet (100 ml per 100 square meters) with clear shampoo, water it in with a heavy irrigation, and repeat in 2 weeks, your soil will be almost too soft to walk on for the next year or so. You can never get results like that with an aerator.
5. N/A. You don't need carbaryl.
6. I would apply organic fertilizer on the same day you put the starter fertilizer down. It will have kicked in before you wanted to put the second dose of started down. The two fertilizers do not interact, so you should be fine with that.
7. Peat or a blanket might help, but there is a good chance of burying the seed. Grass seed needs to be at the surface.

You say you have added seed and soil every year? How many years? How many inches/centimeters higher have you gone? In my opinion there is only one reason to ever add soil to an existing installation; that would be only if you have standing water that will not drain when it rains. Unfortunately it has become local custom in many places to topdress with soil, sand, or straw every year. Golf courses use sand but for different reasons than you might think. They use machines that apply it perfectly. You cannot ever hope to do it as well as they do. Plus they don't usually have a basement nearby that will fill up with water when it rains because the drainage has changed from repeated apps of soil.

Do you know how long it takes your sprinkler to put out 1 inch of water?