Hello all,

I'm a first-time poster here in the Lawn Care forum. I'm an avid gardener but still consider myself a newbie--especially when it comes to lawns. I just got the results from my soil test from my local UT Extension & would appreciate your help with developing my plan for the coming seasons.

The lawn I currently have is maybe 50% common Bermuda, which I hate and would like to eliminate. The remainder is probaby 25% tall fescue which I've overseeded and tried to keep the Bermuda from choking out, and the last 25% is weeds: crabgrass, dandelions, wild strawberries, and an awful lot of purple deadnettle in the winter.

I had great results from overseeding in the fall last year. But I'd like to spread pre-emergent to prevent the forest of purple deadnettle I had last year. So when should I overseed fescue relative to spreading pre-emergent?

Same sort of balancing act goes for spring... I need to spread pre-emergent for general broadleaf weeds, but would also like to try (for the first time) something to suppress the Bermuda. Will fall-seeded fescue be able to stand up to those herbicides in the spring?

And would a fertilization schedule (which has been recommended by my county extension) need to be altered according to these factors?

FYI: Irrigation is not an option outside of extreme circumstances. I don't have the infrastructure in place, nor the funds to put it there. And to be honest, no one around me has it either and (some of) their lawns look fantastic.

I'm in Middle TN, slightly northwest of Nashville, zone 6B. Soil is mostly clay, but getting better as I mulch-mow grass & leaves into the turf. (This year I've been mowing at ~3.75" which has noticeably helped the fescue.)

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Soil Test results: (Note that I selected turf type as "Lawn, Cool Season". My rationale was that I want to know what helps the fescue the most--not what helps the Bermuda the most.)

Water ph - 6.5
Phosphorus - 51 (high)
Potassium - 183 (high)
Calcuim - 1562 (sufficient)
Magnesium - 142 (sufficient

Recommendations:

Lime is not recommended at this time.

II. Medium Level Maintenance of an established lawn. Topdress annually Sept. 1 with 6.2 lbs of 16-4-8 or (other amounts of similar-ratio ferts here... I don't need to type them all out.) per 1000 sq ft. Topdress annually Oct 15 with 3.5 lbs and Mar 1 and Apr 15 with 1.75 lbs of 34-0-0 (or other similar ratio) per 1000 sq ft. If the fertilizer contains at least 30 percent slow-release form of nitrogen, the Mar and Apr applications can be combined as one application in March.

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So, ye masters of all things lawn care... any thoughts regarding the timing of:

Fall overseeding
Fall application of pre-emergent (mainly targeting deadnettle)
Fall applications of fertilizer recommended by my county extension
Spring application of fert recommended by extension
Spring pre-emergent
Spring application of (something like Fusliade or Acclaim?) for Bermuda suppression

And one more noobish question... how can I tell which ferts are slow-release and which are not?

Thanks in advance for answering my million questions. I've already learned so much from you guys; I'm just trying to tie it all together. :-)

--Jon