Great post, Egghead. You are, as usual, exactly correct. Lawn season did not start two weeks ago, when the temps first hit sixty. Lawn season may start, and it may not, this weekend, now that the temps have hit sixty for two weeks running (and I have to add "more or less"). Those of us who mowed, or who drove those tractors over the lawn, may have been (again, I have to add 'more or less') losing more to friction damage than we gained from the scouting around. We have been temporarily blessed, here in mid-Michigan, by a full week w/o rain, and with increasing temps and plenty of sunshine. Because of that, but only because of that, the season is starting, or about to start. More cloudy, or more rain, would have dictated that no, it hasn't started yet. Yet I confess that I am as guilty as the rest. I am, like you, just like a seven year old, who now fully appreciates Christmas, far more than a five or six year old ever could. And there it is: Christmas advertising, the day after Thanksgiving. Why can't Christmas get here sooner? It just doesn't seem fair...... And, as you know, it will get here. We just have to wait. We have to appreciate the delay, and recognize that it isn't actually something that we've done 'wrong' and that there's nothing for us, at present, to be doing. We have to be more like fishermen (I'm not one) or poker players (I am one) and let the situation develop, while we are watching, and be ready to toss the bait, yet patient enough not to toss the bait too early.....while knowing, the whole time, that the right opportunity would be here in just a bit. Let's do that.

Today I lightly raked it, seems to have helped the seedlings come up out of the dead grass that had smothered them after the rain flattened everything out. I also reseeded some areas, we could get lucky with the weather (although I don't think I'll get germination in 6 days like I did 2 weeks ago when the highs were 80).

rcnaylor, If you read carefully, I did mention that we (NC) had one of the hottest/driest summers on record. We set record highs every other day during the month of August, rain was MIA. We experienced a Phoenix-like summer, which is VERY unusual for NC. The record highs were in the 100's not 90's. To put this into perspective, our average high during the month of July is 87F, and the average low is 67f. Those temperatures are acceptable for PR to survive. I was also referring to the strip of grass which some of you have seen many pictures. That strip is in nearly full sun. My backyard, about medium shade I will say, is comprised of mostly TTPRG, some KBG, and some Fine and tall Fescue. I only lost about 5% of the entire area. Grubs did NOT eat any of the roots unlike the front yard. Anyway, my point is that Gryd mentioned that PR browned easily during the summer. I said to him/her the soil because despite the hot summer conditions mentioned above, my PRG lasted until the 2nd week of August - that's is 2 weeks again from fall seeding. That tells me how heat and drought tolerant PRG is. BTW, I have decided NOT to overseed my KBG lawn with PR. I figure it's too late anyway. Even for PR to get establish. In other words, it'll have to do until next spring. As far as tall fescue, I personally do not care for its looks too much. It doesn't provide anything that KBG already has. I'm not concern about drought because I water whenever the law needs it. I'm not concern about heat either. The newer elite KBGs have outstanding heat tolerance, not a problem here in Central NC even under Phoenix-like style summers. I'll be willing to bet that KBG can grow further south of here. Anyone from Jacksonville, FL who wants to try KBG? I have extra seeds I can send down there for testing. It's Midnight KBG. Let me know.

Well, your problems only have some chemical relationship. I didn't mention it in the corrections, but magnesium is probably a slight (very slight) culprit in your soil tightness. There's not much you can do about it except wait for it to dispel itself, although the recommended gypsum might help a little bit. I mention a few things below, and recommend a few things to put you into the "perfect" groove, but there's really only one major correction to make--phosphorus. So I rode that to the top. The secondary correction, dispelling the sodium (and also raising the calcium a touch) is just below that, but it's really optional. Phosphorus 116: On the low end, 200 would be the target here. We use starter fertilizer, any brand, to raise this. Just get the cheapest, they're all in the same ballpark. Phosphorus levels have no impact on soil hardness, but do influence overall growth and penetration of grass roots (and growth of the top). Sodium 2.1%: A bit high, which is riding your pH up a bit. Grasses won't have any trouble tolerating this, although other sodium sensitive plants may start having issues here and there. While sodium will harden a soil, this isn't that excessive. Combine that with... Calcium 64.4%: Just fine, really, and it doesn't require adjustment. However, a little more won't hurt, and we have to raise this to dump out some of the sodium. We can use gypsum (calcium sulfate) to lower sodium and raise calcium at the same time, and you don't need much. Gypsum is available at most landscape and gardening stores, and I've seen it at Home Depot. Gypsum won't influence your pH--except perhaps, in this case, to drop it a hair as the sodium dispels. Sodium is an extremely alkaline ion. The rest of the stuff: ME 7.7: This implies a sandy to silty soil, almost certainly a mix of the two with minimal clay. Adjustments can be in decent quantities, and the soil will tend to stay stable for decent periods of time. OM 5.2%: Firmly in the Good range, so you don't need to add organic material on any emergency basis. Certainly I'd always mulch mow, mow your fall leaves, and consider organic feeding, but this is not an emergency. Larger amounts of OM will tend to loosen and lighten your soil. Sulfur 12: Normal, with plenty of margin to accept the gypsum. Magnesium 19.3%: While a significant excess, this isn't a major problem. It can make soils tight and hard, but your amounts really aren't that excessive. Still, no magnesium is required, and avoiding magnesium sources until this drops back into the normal range is a very good idea. So when lime is required, don't use cheap dolomitic (lime with magnesium in it). Avoid Epsom salts on all plants. Potassium 4.9%: Perfect. No potassium is required, although you don't have to specifically avoid minor potassium sources. I actually prefer a slight excess of K. Minor Elements: All fine. I wouldn't mind giving boron a minor tap, but it's so minor I'm not going to bother. I do mention iron below. Iron 163: Fine, really. This certainly isn't deficient, but if you want to raise this (very slowly) for better color, feed with Milorganite. Over the years it'll slowly lift your iron number. Recommendations: September 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. September 15: Apply 10 pounds per thousand square feet of gypsum. October 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. Memorial Day, 2016: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate.