Hello folks. This is my first post, but I have found your comments in all the other forums helpful to a novice such as myself. I have a serious problem with my soil. Take in mind I don't own the property but would like a nice green lawn. The ground is hard as concrete and even after I have tilled it to a depth of approx. 10" the landlord was able to (easily) drive through it with his truck w/o getting mired up. I have put lime, Scotts starter fertilizer and Milorganite (sp?) on it and let it set for a couple of weeks to let it blend in. I have Scott's Tall Fescue (supposedly self repairing) and some clover I intend to put down with it. In addiction, there are seriously sunny spots and seriously shady spots. The sunny dries out very fast and leaves the ground hard so the seed (I planted in sections) doesn't come up or dies shortly thereafter) and an ugly green fungus or moss invades the shady spot. Is there an aerator product that someone can suggest (that is reasonably priced) that will help with the hard soil and the moss in the moist (shady) areas? Thank you for your comments and help. Harry

If you live where the summer heat has broken, you can seed any time. The best ways to prevent crabgrass are to 1. Never seed grass in the spring. If you have to seed grass in the spring, then expect to have crabgrass for one season only. 2. Come springtime, never treat your lawn like you were seeding it. This means leave your grass as long as you can stand it and only water once a week. Crabgrass seed needs daily watering to sprout; so does grass seed. Crabgrass seedling needs sunlight to grow once the seed sprouts; so do grass seedlings. If you plant grass in the fall, the crabgrass, being an annual, will not sprout. Planting grass in the fall gives it six months to mature the roots so your grass can survive the heat next summer. If you have tall grass, reasonably dense from lots of seed in the fall, then you should not have any problems with crabgrass next year. Just don't start daily watering next spring. Of course you have to deal with rain as it comes.

Well, you guys have convinced me. I have some crabgrass that is hit and miss in small spots around the yard but I also have some pretty good sized concentrations. Even the smaller spots with just one or two plants, the plants themselves are mature, large and spread out so that it would be fairly easy to spray just that plant and not get too much else around it. Also, the RoundUp I had for another area where I didn't want anything else growing back for a while was the RoundUp Extended Control. Regular RoundUp says you can replant after 3 days. So, I think I'm going to try and hit the worst of the infestation with RoundUp, then I'll go over the whole yard with a light spray of Tenacity for the Yellow Nutsedge. When the crabgrass starts to knock back and die off, I'll rent a dethatcher and go over the yard with that, then rent an aerator, then a power seeder and reseed and fertilize. Oh, and unless we have an unseasonably cold fall or a really fast-coming winter, we can stay in at least the mid-40s at night and mid-60s to mid-70s all the way until Thanksgiving around here. It's really hit or miss and, my luck, we'll have a really cold fall, but I'm really not too worried about sowing grass in mid to late September. I've looked at some of the information from the local county extension agents and they say that as long as the seed is in the ground by the end of September in our area, the grass should have time to be well rooted before winter hits. Sometimes it will still be good when seeding as late as mid-October but, with the way the weather is around here anything past the end of September and I'd really be pushing my luck. Soooo, that gives me a month to kill the worst of the crabgrass, dethatch, aerate, power seed and fertilize. Oh, I need to find the time to close down and winterize my pool too. It looks like September is going to be a really busy month! I may have to cancel my vacation days before Thanksgiving and take a few Fridays off instead to extend a few weekends and get everything in. Thanks for the advice guys. - Byron

I didn't put it together that you lived in the desert. Where do you live? please be sort of specific down to the town. Fescue is not appropriate for deserts, so I'm going to try to talk you out of it, but if you insist I can help you save the fescue. I realize someone has sold the Marathon dwarf fescues all over the desert southwest, but in retrospect, what a crime. The supposed daily watering requirements are ridiculous. About the only place Marathon works is within 3 miles of the Pacific coast. You can have a much nicer lawn with a fraction of the care hassle. You do sacrifice the deep blue-green color of the Marathon along with the slow growth, however. Also please tell me what your watering schedule is - how often do you water and for how long? How high/low are you mowing?