Does it need to be watered in after application? Yes Should you apply before rain? Unless you apply when it is raining, it will always be applied before it rains. Never apply any fertilizer or herbicide on wet grass. Is heavy rain going to wash it away or does it have to be a light rain? Yes a heavy rain can wash it down the storm drains. That is why you want to water it in with irrigation.

How often should a New Jersey lawn with clay soil be watered during the summer months ? I am currently watering 3 times a week, 30 minutes each zone. Water should be applied in sufficient quantity to moisten the root zone to a depth of 4 to 6". For "average" soil, this has been estimated to take 1" of water. Soil, water pressure, and watering devices vary, so the amount of time will vary. Roots will grow down to the moisture. Short watering times only wet the top inch or two, so the roots stay close to the surface. Deep, infrequent watering induces the roots to grow deeper. Deeper roots can maintain water to the plant for longer periods between watering. Do the new turf type tall fescues show a pleasing visual turf quality similar to Kentucky bluegrass ? I've seen beautiful fescue loaws, but I personally prefer KB. How many months does it take for overseeded lawns to mature if I overseed in the fall ? I believe it can take 4-6 weeks after the first mow for turf to harden off. Any online lawn seed sellers that sell in small quantities at reasonable prices ? Looking for top quality cultivars not sold in big box stores. Is a 90/10 TTTF/KGB mix good for overseeding ? See below for retailers. Keep in mind that the percentages are weights not seed count. So a 90/10 means the bag contains as many TTTF seeds as KB seeds. Looking to significantly improve my lawn this fall. It is in decent shape...just needs to be thicker and more lush. I have no clue what type of grass I currently have. It appears to be a mix of cool season varieties. See this site: http://turfid.ncsu.edu/ItemID.aspx?orderID=GR&orderDesc=Grass. Proceedure fo overseeding is for another time:) Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Retailers

I believe if you want a low hassle lawn, you should set up the soil to make it easier. For example if your soil is low on iron, you might end up over applying nitrogen fertilizer because the grass is yellow. If you have too much magnesium and not enough calcium, you will end up cursing your clay and adding clay fluffing materials instead of addressing the underlying cause. If your soil is low on organic matter, you can have periodic turf collapse (just made up that term). The grass will seem fine for months and suddenly decline from depletion of the chemical fertilizer. Once you get the soil tuned up and retuned as necessary, then you are left with watering, mowing, and fertilizing. Those are going to be basically the same for the contractor grade versus the Elites. If those are too much hassle, maybe you should mosey over to the mulch forum ;-) I firmly believe organic fertilizer must be used at least once a year if not 10x per year. Chemical fertilizers do nothing but deplete soil organic matter. They do not feed the microbes. Organic fertilizer is microbe food. It is what they need to maintain their own health. A healthy micro herd will help keep your turf from collapsing.

Seeding in the middle of June is a recipe for disaster. The Turf Builder product you purchased should have gone down with the seed. The good news is, cool season grasses aren't affected by the weed preventer in that product so you can seed again. Here's information on lawn renovation: http://lawniac.com/lawn-renovation Start with the fallowing right away and plan on seeding late August. If you need quick establishment stay away from Kentucky Bluegrass or mixes and go for a 100% Tall Fescue lawn. You will need 8-10 lbs of tall fescue seed per thousand sq ft. I would suggest calling The Hogan Company and having them recommend a fescue blend for your area, they sell good quality seed. http://www.thehogancompany.us/home.html Stay away from Kentucky 31 fescue, it's pasture grass. Stay away from big box store seed, it's poor quality and full of weed seed.