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dan_in_nh

same issue going on for years

dan_in_nh
9 years ago

I'm at my wits end with my lawn. I inherited a junk lawn and have spent the last 5 years killing moss, cutting down trees, spreading compost by the yard, installed an irrigation system, raised my PH from 4.5 to 6.8, but I'm baffled by the continues issues of.....I don't even know what to call it.
I have to mow my lawn twice a week, even without using my sprinklers. If I take a dethatcher rake and go against the grain of my lawn, it comes up with nothing but layers of grass with long, long trails of dead roots. I can pull up the grass with ease and quickly have a hole of soil with no grass. I do NOT have grubs. I only watered when necessary, and even then it was twice a week, for 30 min per zone in the early am. I'm so tired of this. There are a million landscapers out there but there isn't a single biz that will come out to your place and really examine your lawn and suggest exactly what you need. I have another 3 yards of compost in the back yard that I can spread, but it's not working.
Any suggestions? I have pics. Thanks for listening.

Comments (12)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    if you have pix.. post them ..

    if you have to mow twice per week... IMHO.. you are fert'g too much ... one way or another ....

    ken

  • dan_in_nh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It's hard to show what's happening, but this is what I get when I pull out some grass. Just a long string of roots that come out easily.
    I'll post another pic of what the lawn looks like.
    BTW, I only used step 1 and 2 this year.

  • dan_in_nh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    You can see the bad spots in the lawn because the it all looks like its 'shredded'.

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    9 years ago

    >>I can pull up the grass with ease and quickly have a hole of soil with no grass.

    Danger, Will Robinson.

    Dan, can you photograph that grass in the lawn itself, and just one plant with a closeup of the point where the leaf joins the stem?

  • timtsb
    9 years ago

    Just a guess, but could it be bentgrass, and what you're seeing is stolons, not roots? I have patches in my yard that I just ripped out to seed TTTF and it pulled up very easily.

  • dan_in_nh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    After googling bentgrass, this def appears to be my issue.
    I'm in the process of overseeding right now. Can I cover this up with loam and seed over it, or does it all have to come out?
    I only have a few days of vacation left to work on this.

    Dan

  • dan_in_nh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Well I'm really in a pickle now. I wish I had discovered this 3 days ago. I would have had time to kill the grass, lay down some loam, and reseed, but for the last 3 days we've been adding loam to low spots and evening things out, basically covering the bentgrass, and the plan was to start overseeding today. I don't have enough time, (back to work on Mon) to change plans, so I'm just going to go ahead with reseeding and tackle this in the spring, unless anyone has a better idea. Thanks all.

  • timtsb
    9 years ago

    Fortunately for me, I identified my bentgrass with plenty of time to spray it with Tenacity. I then scalped it (cut it on my mowers lowest setting then hit it hard with my weedwacker), to expose soil and slit seeded.

    I'm not knowledgable enough to say for sure if you could do the above without the Tenacity step without it coming back. Hopefully one of the pros here will weigh in.

    I would think simply covering with loam isn't the best option.

  • dan_in_nh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Well, I had to go ahead and finish spreading the loam/compost/seeding. I know that I'll be starting over next spring, with having to kill all the bentgrass, but at least I'll have some satisfaction knowing that the loam is going to help even out the lawn and the compost I added will still be beneficial for the long run.

    Dan

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    9 years ago

    >>I know that I'll be starting over next spring, with having to kill all the bentgrass

    Sort of. Tenacity will take out the bent while sparing your lawn (although it'll temporarily lighten in color), so all is certainly not lost.

    If the seed you used includes Kentucky bluegrass, that will happily spread to fill the holes if you keep it fed.

  • dan_in_nh
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'd never heard of Tenacity before. Never seen it around here.
    This sounds like it might save me a lot of problems. We'll see how it goes. Now I'm off to find some.
    Thanks for the advice all.

    Dan

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    9 years ago

    It's a specialty herbicide, but available OTC at Lesco. You can also find it online--there are two listings at Amazon, but that's not necessarily the best price (although not completely out of line).

    Don't be put off by 8 oz for $60. The eight ounces I bought when it came out in...2010? 2011?...is still mostly there and still working just fine. You only use a minimal amount per gallon of solution, and it doesn't take much to get the job done in terms of the final mix, either.