I could really use some instruction

16 years ago

Established - but old -yard. Probably a sun/shade unkown mix. 1/3 was filled in with dirt this spring. Spent a bunch of time pulling weeds. Grass is clumpy. Yard was very rough. I have shoveled and raked 2400 lbs. of compost on it so far. It's smoothing out. I want to plant new stuff in a few weeks.

Eastern Iowa, and it's hot out there.

Aerate first?

What seed? (mostly sun now, but will be some shade when the trees grow).

Starter fertilizer? What kind? (have lots of wide blade grass in there)

I also have 2 bags of TruGreen 27 0 8 w/Trimec.

Should I use it later in the fall?

Any instruction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

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bestlawn
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi, Paul Can I convince you start from scratch?

1. Get a soil test. Contact your nearest county extension service for a test kit and details. It will likely take two weeks for results. If you need to apply sulfur, lime, or any other amendment per test recommendation (that is not applied in Step 6), you can do it after seeding if you don't get results back in time.

2. Apply that "R" word stuff and again one week after the first application. You can seed the lawn one week after the second app.

3. Scalp it down

4. Rake it up

5. Core aerate

6. Fertilize

7. Sow seeds (slit seeding is best)

8. Topdress 1/4 inch layer compost, peat moss, or clean straw (weed-free).

9.
water 15-20 minutes twice a day for two weeks
water 20-30 minutes once a day for one week
water 30-45 minutes once a day every other day for one week
water 30-45 minutes once a day twice a week for one week
move into deep irrigation, increasing the time to provide 1 inch of water all over and decreasing the frequency to just once a week.

Starting off, the schedule supplies roughly 1/4 inch of water, then increases that amount while decreasing frequency of application at the same time. Like practically everything that concerns lawn care, this schedule is a general guideline and should be modified to accomodate your specific conditions. The lengths of time should be modified if you have an automatic sprinkler system since that will not take as long to provide adequate moisture. So, decrease amount of water (time) but maintain frequency as is. The tuna cans test is recommended. If it is still especially warm, you may want to irrigate 3 times a day (10-15 minutes if necessary) for that first couple weeks. Your objective is to keep the upper 1 inch of soil moist and not let the seeds dry out.
Baby the grass for the rest of year. Once the seeds begin to sprout, don't walk on it if at all possible.

To clarify steps 5 & 7, it will be pretty difficult to both core aerate and slit seed, so you want to decide which you prefer. My suggestion is to slit seed (1/4 inch deep) for optimum success. I only say that because you can cheat on aerating with Nitron.

First mowing is when the new grass reaches 2 inches. Cut nor more than 1/3 of that, then gradually raise the mower until you reach desired mowing height. You can mow this lawn at 2.5 inches. Higher if you prefer.

Blue Velvet
Bedazzled
Moonlight

Equal parts by weight
3-4 (no more) pounds/1000
Be sure to ask for sod quality seeds

For purchase, I suggest comparing prices and shipping cost between Williams Lawn Seed wls.com 800-457-9571 and Seedsuperstore.

Starter fertilizer is fine to use, but I wouldn't suggest using the TruGreen you mentioned. Here is a good schedule to maintain your lawn. Pay particular attention to the paragraphs on watering and mowing. Also offers opinion on fertilizer/herbicide combinations.
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I could really use some instruction

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bestlawn

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