Hi PBX2, Different species of grass "wake up" at different times, so there is a chance that your neighbors have different grass on their lawn. This is a pretty common problem that people have when the snow melts and starts to unveil what has been hiding underneath. We actually wrote a blog about this particular topic about a month ago -- check it out to see more reasons why your neighbors might have "greener grass" on the other side :) Here is a link that might be useful: Common Lawn Problems for the End of Winter

To check for grub damage, see if the truf will pull easily off the soil. Grab a handfull of grass and see if it will pull off like a toupee off a bald man's head. If it does then dig up the soil and look for live grubs. There are a number of insecticides that can be applied that will kill off grubs, but many of them are only effective when applied at certain times of the year/life cycle of the grub. As we approach the end of the growing season, grubs should not be an issue again until next year. Starting from scratch is a realitive term. As you are in Chi-town area, the next few weeks are the time to plant grass. As so little appears left, you might as well use Roundup to kill off any weeds and the small amount of existing grass. Scalp the lawn by bag mowing. You should remove any lose plant matter that is covering the soil to reveal bare soil for seed to soil contact. This can be done by hand raking or power raking then leaf raking the debree up. You do NOT need to remove the dead grass "stumps" or roots. Do not till, if you rent a fixed blade power rake you can lower it to cut into the soil to loosen the top layer if you so desire. A fixed blade can also be used to slitseed. Then reseed using accepted/recommended practices.

No, no thin spots in the grass. In fact this was the first year we didn't have thin spots because of all the rain we had. This year grass has been very green & thick, but unfortunately, the thickness is weeds and not good grass. Also, let me ask, since we have about an acre of property, is it even possible to grow good strong grass without having to rip up the entire lawn and start over? The lawn is 13 yrs. old and wasn't started with a good base. The builder basically threw down a thin layer of top soil (if you could call it that) and then seed. It's been a fighting battle ever since, but this Spring, I really thought we had finally won the battle.

You have a disease from too much water. It appears the new sod knit into that soil quickly and is beyond the point of backing off on the watering frequency and go up on the duration. Don't pay too much attention to the diseased spots when evaluating whether the lawn needs water. You're killing that with kindness right now. You have to clamp down and stretch out your watering. Ideally you would be watering mature turf with 1 inch of water, once per week this time of year. When temps cool off it will be more like once every 2 to 3 weeks. Keep that in mind as you lengthen your watering intervals. You'll need to time how long it takes to apply 1 inch. Do that by placing cat food and/or tuna cans around the yard. Be sure to put some in the bad spots. This might be a bad week to start this with the rain we're getting, but you need to figure it out pretty soon. I would not water again until you see any of the "good" grass starting to wilt. Then water a full inch all at one time. Then watch it to see how long it takes for the good grass to wilt. It should be several days, but not quite a full week. Then water a full inch again. The next time interval may be a full week. Mine usually can go 10 days to 2 weeks without much problem even in the San Antonio heat. So what to do with your dieing grass? That's a disease and the fungicides are not usually good when the temps are above 85 degrees. Since 2002 I have had good luck using corn meal to clear up the disease spots. Corn meal attracts a beneficial fungus which feeds off of the disease fungi. It takes 3 weeks to work, but it works. If you're on the north side of SA go to Mumme's feed store on 281 north and get a bag of ordinary corn meal. If you're on the west side I believe you can get it at Fertile Garden Supply (or any feed store out there). If you live near the main Gardenville, there's a feed store in that little community up Nacogdoches road across the railroad tracks and turn right in there somewhere. Anywhere else go to Ful-O-Pep at the corner of Rigsby and WW White on the SE side of town. Call first to be sure they have it in stock. Cost should be under $10. Apply at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Apply to the entire yard or else you'll have dark green spots where the corn meal went down. It takes 3 full weeks for the new grass to start coming in and remain green with no fungal lesions. You can not overdose with corn meal unless you smother the grass, so don't worry about getting enough. If you feel the need to water it in, just moisten it. It's perfectly okay to leave it dry, though.