Overseeded in Fall, weeds in spring, help?
lccraig
12 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (15)
dchall_san_antonio
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agolccraig
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Spring overseeding
Comments (10)Sounds like you're caught between a rock and a hard place. With the leaves and acorns, fall seeding isn't much of an option, but with the heat, spring seeding doesn't give enough time for the grass to establish to live through the summer. It's too late for this year, but is dormant seeding an option? I'm not sure if your winters are cold enough, but dormant seeding is my best option. We have heat that lasts through September, then snow starting in October, so fall seeding doesn't work. And the time from snow melt to 90 degree days is also short, so spring seeding fails. Dormant seeding works well for me. If winters are mild enough, maybe you could even seed late fall/early winter. If the seed sprouts, maybe enough would last through the winter to get a good start. The cold itself doesn't do cool season grasses much harm. What harms them is when the ground freezes and thaws, disrupting the baby roots before they're established. Maybe with your mild winters that would be less of a concern....See MoreWeed b Gone not working, other suggestions? Also - overseeding ?
Comments (23)Speaking of baptism by fire...I hope the rest of your experiences with GW are better than this one. Y'all got off track early and it went downhill from there. You can have a weed free, low maintenance lawn, and do it without routine use of Weed-B-Gone. It is a matter of 1) growing grass that is suited to the location, 2) proper watering, 3) proper mowing, and 4) regular fertilizer. You are trying to hit todays issues but you have the recent memory of last year's issues weighing you down. I'm going to focus on this year's issues. The current symptom seems to be that your grass is too thin and it is allowing a variety of weeds to come and take over. Can you find the bag of seed you bought and tell us what the Guaranteed Analysis part of the bag says? I'm hoping that will explain the entire block of problems so far this year. I'm also hoping it will suggest a solution to be implemented in the fall. Fall is by far the best time to seed in the north. If you seed in the spring (early or late) there are weed seeds sitting there waiting to germinate. When you put in grass seed, all the weed seeds will germinate, too. You can prevent the summer weed seeds from germinating by seeding in the fall. Then in the spring you will be using a mature turf care program. That involves keeping the soil relatively dry and providing a tall grass to shade the soil. Keeping weed seeds dry in the spring can be hard with Mother Nature helping to water, but if you gain some sort of control over the moisture, then you should water deeply once every 1-2 weeks. Get out the hoses and sprinkler (I like an oscillating sprinkler). Keeping the grass tall seems to be your nature so that's good; however, when you do mow, mow at the highest setting on the mower. Auteck has not explained why he suggested mowing at 2 inches, but over the years the general consensus here at GW is that really tall grass is much better than anything else. Four inches works better for keeping weeds out and reducing your summer watering requirements. In the summer when the heat really hits, you can go without mowing for a month or two, but you should still water every week or two. The second problem with seeding in the spring is the new grass plants cannot tolerate the summer heat. Could that be why your lawn died last summer? Fall seeded grass has all winter and spring to develop deeper roots that can stand the heat and low moisture. Regardless of what the weeds are, you have some and need to get rid of them. The reason you have any weeds at all is your turf is not very dense. I am questioning auteck's idea that you have Kentucky bluegrass, because you should not have that thin a turf with KBG - unless that was what you seeded with this year (need the Guaranteed Analysis). The "dandelion" weed should die with WBG, but since it has not, I'm going to suggest that you fertilize right now, and then in 2 weeks, try the WBG again. Weeds that are not very healthy will not absorb the WBG and can even resist it. I know it seems crazy to fertilize the weeds so you can kill them, but that is exactly what I'm suggesting. Again, this is the consensus of Internet forum users over the ages. If you don't have a favorite fertilizer, look for a fertilizer like plain old Turf Builder that does not have any other additives like herbicide or insecticide - just fertilizer. If you are interested in an inexpensive organic lawn care program, here's a link to one. Also, it looks like you live in the woods. Does your lawn get much sunlight during the day in the summer? It must get enough for "crabgrass" to grow. True crabgrass needs full sun or it won't do well. Whatever your weed is, it acts exactly like crabgrass and looks much the same. I'm okay calling it crabgrass. I've been reading here for years and it always surprises me how early crabgrass appears in various parts of the country. My approach would be to discourage it with proper watering and mowing and to tolerate it (meaning no herbicides) one more season with anticipation and the hope of getting such a dense lawn next year that it will not come back. Yes, it can be done. For the fall, would you consider hiring a landscaper to resurface your entire lawn? In one morning he could fix the spots where the trees were, give you the best drainage possible, and prepare the soil for new seed. It would be a complete renovation which is why I don't suggest you spend a lot of money killing weeds this season. However, I'm not saying you should abdicate lawn care either. Treat the lawn as if it was the perfect lawn (despite the weeds) and it will surprise you. I should say that since you are not lawn people (yet, and I'm optimistic you will be), I have some doubt about the quality of the grass seed you have already purchased. It is very easy to buy a bag full of weed seeds when you are not experienced at reading the bags. It would be a shame to renovate and get the same problems back....See MoreOverseeding and weed preventers (germination preventers)
Comments (1)Assuming you're talking about early fall seeding and not the very late fall/early winter dormant seeding, your grass has been growing for months before the fertilizer goes down. I think the weed and feed product is for existing weeds, though. There's probably something else with a pre emergent....See MoreAny sense in winter/spring overseeding in Northeast?
Comments (6)The concept of frost seeding is to get the seed down so early that if/when you get a few warm days with moisture, the grass seed will sprout before most of the summer annual weeds. It's too late for that. That's why January. Some of the summer annual plants germinate in August and lie nearly dormant until the longer days of spring bring them out of dormancy. Many wildflowers fit in that category. If you don't like them, then they are called weeds. Thistle is another....See Morebrettn_10
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrettn_10
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agotiemco
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrettn_10
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrettn_10
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agodchall_san_antonio
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrettn_10
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agotiemco
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrettn_10
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agolccraig
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrettn_10
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agojohn_in_sc
12 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
Related Stories
EDIBLE GARDENSNatural Ways to Get Rid of Weeds in Your Garden
Use these techniques to help prevent the spread of weeds and to learn about your soil
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESTackle Weeds the Natural Way
Instead of dousing your yard with chemicals to wipe out weeds, let time and nature work their magic via smothering and solarization
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESGreat Design Plant: Bugle Weed, a Quick Ground Cover
It’s highly adaptable, suppresses weeds, reduces erosion and provide weeks of bright flowers. Just watch for invasiveness
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDES5 Weed-Smothering Ground Covers
Let these landscape plants do the dirty work of choking out weeds while you sit back and enjoy the view
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESLet's Weed Out 4 Native Plant Myths
Plant wisely for a garden that supports pollinators and requires less work
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESWhat’s in a Name? See 6 Wildflowers That Aren’t ‘Weeds’ at All
Dispel the stereotypes of weeds and try these wildlife-supporting native wildflowers in your garden
Full StoryHOUZZ TOURSHouzz Tour: From Overgrown Weeds to Picturesque Farmhouse Expanse
This once-neglected 100-acre South Carolina site now features a lake, a wood-filled farmhouse and a far-reaching view
Full StoryLIFEYou Said It: ‘Put It Back’ If It Won’t Help Your House, and More Wisdom
Highlights from the week include stopping clutter from getting past the door, fall planting ideas and a grandfather’s gift of love
Full StoryFALL GARDENINGMake This Fall’s Garden the Best Ever
Learn the most important tip for preventing buyer’s remorse, plus get more valuable buying and planting advice
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHelp Fuel the Monarch Migration With These 6 Prairie Plants
Try these nectar-rich beauties and help autumn monarchs
Full Story
tiemco