Return to the Lawn Care Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Lawn renovation requirements
| | |
Posted by
cpo1 Central Indiana (
My Page) on
Thu, Sep 8, 11 at 15:51
| I have a lawn that is approx. 13,600 sq. ft. in size and I am trying to renovate the front area which is comprised of about 9,300 sq. ft. Virtually all of the 9,300 has an in-ground lawn sprinkling system. I purchased the home this spring and quickly learned that much of the grass is Kentucky 31 (road fescue as I call it) and it had a lot of crabgrass. There is some Kentucky Bluegrass and other Indiana mixtures that looks good and this area comprised about 3,000 sq. ft. of the 9,300 sq. ft. I recently (2-3 weeks ago) applied Roundup to the crabgrass and all of the Kentucky 31, plus some other straggler weeds, leaving only the bluegrass intact. My questions are: 1. Do I need to till up the dead crabgrass and Kentucky 31, remove it and then roll (compact) prior to plug aerating? 2. Or, can I just plug aerate heavily and then apply the appropriate fertilizer and seed? I am under the impression that I need to till up the old dead grass first and remove it. I had the lawn analyzed and the PH, and other nutrients are not bad; needs slight tweaking. Thanks for your help and replies. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Lawn renovation requirements
| | |
| No, you do not need to till the dead grass, just cut it as short as possible with your mower with the bag attachment. It will actually help stabilize the soil and provide organic matter when it rots away. I wouldn't aerate either unless your soil is heavily compacted. If you aerate you will lose some seed in the holes, and you run the risk of bringing up weed seeds. Core aerating is over recommended for home lawns, and in most cases isn't needed. |
RE: Lawn renovation requirements
| | |
- Posted by cpo1 Central Indiana (My Page) on
Fri, Sep 9, 11 at 13:27
| Wow! Can it really be this simple? I'm not sure the mowers that I have (Toro 21" walk-behind, Toro ProLine 52" walk-behind, John Deere 36" commercial walk-behind, and a Cub Cadet zero turn 50" - some of these are in process for being sold) will get low enough to cut the dead crabgrass and fescue. But, if it works, do I need to prepare these areas in any special way, prior to over-seeding and fertilizing? Would criss-cross slicing the yard help the seeding process? Thanks again for your reply. Eye opening. |
RE: Lawn renovation requirements
| | |
| If you can cut it to 1 or 1.5 inches that's good enough. I like to power rake, especially if there is a thatch layer. It gives you better seed to soil contact. Some people don't like to do this because it can bring up weed seeds as well, but not to the extent of core aeration, and most seeds that shallow will have germinated anyway. I also like to topdress my seeds, but it's not necessary as long as you keep them continually moist until germination. |
RE: Lawn renovation requirements
| | |
| By all means, slit seed. Slit seed the rest of the grass area to blind, as cultivars have changed. Aeration even if not needed never will hurt, use a cost analysis to make that dertermination. |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Lawn Care Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
