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| My backyard used to have a beautiful lawn but do to the extreme weather we've been having here in Western MA the last 4 years, i.e., severe ice storm, snow storms all winter long, hot dry, humid summer this year and not to leave my chocolate Lab out with his bathroom habits, the lawn is now a mess. I would like to reseed it for starters but I'm curious as to whether or not I can add the seed over the prior lawn or if it should be dug up? Also, would it be best to add it now or wait until the Spring when all the crab grass and such is gone?
I certainly hope I don't sound too lame, but I really don't have a clue about lawns, but I'm hoping to learn as I go along. Below is what my yard use to look like but today, it looks totally different. The arborvitaes are gone, ruined in the ice storm two years ago, the pine tree fell when Irene blew through here 3 weeks ago and my yard also appears to be sinking a little, more uneven than before. Thanks in advance for any help or advice given. Linda
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Hi and welcome to the forums! I have just recently learned a lot about lawn care from posting on this here forum so I am happy to share with you what I have learned. First off lets clarify if you would like to "overseed" your lawn or completely "renovate" it. "Overseeding" involves just scratching the surface and removing dead grass while spreading new grass seed over an existing lawn. "Renovating" involves rototilling your lawn and raking off the sod to start from scratch. This is a very labor intensive process depending on the size of your lawn but will get rid of all unwanted plants and basically gives you a brand new lawn if done correctly. Based on the picture... 1) Get a "thatching rake" or "dethatcher" and rake up all the dead thatch and then dispose of it. 2) Aerate the lawn. There are many methods from sticking a pitchfork in the ground to renting a machine. 3) Rake the bad spots so that you have a good 2"-3" of loose soil on top. 4) Spread new seed using a broadcast spreader across your entire lawn. 5) Lightly rake in the grass seed OR ideally you would spread a thin layer of compost over your lawn. 6) Water! 10 Minutes at a time 3x a day. *This is what I recommend. I am sure others may offer great advice as well! |
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- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Sun, Sep 25, 11 at 1:55
| Renovating a lawn does not involve rototilling. While the process is involved and time consuming, rototilling is never a good step in preparation for grass. |
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| Thank you for your responses, I really appreciate the help. Let me just say this, my lawn doesn't look like it did in the photo above, it used to but not anymore. It's loaded with crab grass and due to that 40-50 foot pine tree falling in our yard 3 weeks ago, thanks to Hurricane Irene, there are now a couple of huge patches of brown grass and also an indentation from where the heavy branch fell and laid for a good week or so. So any advice or help that I can get is very important to me, I'm so distressed right now over this damn lawn. Many thanks.... Linda |
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| It's too late for a renovation and some would say too late for an overseed as well. If you feel you have to get some seed down this year, then perennial rye is your best shot of getting it established before the first hard frost. Tall fescue might work as well, but again, time is not on your side. I would also do a soil test now to see what shape your soil is in. If you do overseed I recommend power raking first, then mowing what you have short (1.5") before spreading seed. |
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- Posted by Lawngeek123 OH (My Page) on Sat, Oct 1, 11 at 21:05
| I agree that it is too late this year to do any fall overseeding. However, I recommend two things. First - dormant seeding. As the lawn gurus continue to state - spread the seed before the first snowfall. The freeze/thaw cycles will work the seed into the ground and ensure soil contact for perfect in time germination in spring. Secondly, once the ground thaws in spring and you mow atleast three times, rent a slice seeder from Home Depot / Lowes and overseed. As long as you have access to a pickup truck, this tends to work out to be the best option. Run the slice seeder in one direction and then go perpendicularly and cover the whole lawn. Some folks even go a third and a fourth pass going diagonally. Once done, just water 3 times a day lightly and watch the grass grow in the next 2 to 4 weeks. As far as the crabgrass - Let it go this year. March 1st - Apply Crabgrass Preventer PLUS STARTER FERTILIZER. Make sure the label CRABGRASS PREVENTER PLUS STARTER FERTILIZER. Any other standard crabgrass preventers will NOT allow the dormant seed to germinate. |
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