skip to main content

garden Lawn Care Landscape Design

Help my dead grass (Northern NJ)

4 years ago

I'm in Northern NJ. My lawn is shot. We didn’t do a good job watering it and my lawn got dried out.What can we do to repair it now? I was going to rake out the dead grass and put down a bag we have of Scott’s Turf Builder. Or, do you think we need to do more — like rent an aerator and over seed it? Thx in advance!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

User
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
October is too late to seed, so I'd give up that idea for now. And there's no need to rake, the dead grasses will rot off by themselves--and raking too vigorously will damage the existing grass just as it's starting to recover from the dry spell we just came out of!

If you want to gently rake the dead areas, that's fine, but be careful.

At this point, we work on repair. Feeding your existing lawn--which looks to be a pretty standard northern tri-mix of fescue, bluegrass, and rye--is never a mistake. And an October feeding is a good time to do it, even though you won't see a lot of repair at this point in the season.

The feeding will go to strengthening the lawn for winter, keeping it from being damaged, and encouraging initial growth and repair in spring. Which is exactly what you want. Then feed again when growth stops and you mow for the last time to neaten up--usually around Thanksgiving for most of us, but it could be as early as November first or into December depending on the year!

And hands off at that point in terms of feeding until Memorial Day of 2020. Then feed it normally with any good fertilizer. Or, if you prefer, feed organically on May first instead.

Feeding earlier in spring simply leads to tapping out the sugars in the roots, which will give you faster growth...and result in weaker summer performance, more death when the weather gets hot, and a poor lawn come fall.

If things still don't look great come next August, overseed just as you notice that summer is starting to end--usually August 15th to September 1st. That gives your newly-sprouted grasses sufficient time to sprout and grow in before winter hits. And for bluegrass, it may not sprout until 15-30 days post planting!
Mara333
Original Author
3 years ago
@morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA) Hi! Hope you're well! You were very helpful to me last year with helping me save some sod I put down and my lawn in general.. The Milorganite you recommended was awesome! Could I ask for your opinion again now? -- What should I be doing with my Northern NJ lawn now? We just dethatched it and did a clean up. And the temps are getting high (mid/high 60s) Wondering if I should do pre-emergence now?. We have a puppy, so want to be careful. We could maybe just do some chemicals on the front lawn and keep him off of that. We have some bald spots, so maybe also spot seed those areas? And, then I think you've recommended waiting until May to do Milorganite fertilizer? MANY THANKS in advance!
Related Discussions
Help Identify this grass-like weed-NJ
Q
Comments (4)
Hi, your first photo, the one with a closeup of the seedhead, is kind of blurry. Seeing the seedhead clearly could help a lot in identifying your weed.
...See More
please help, is my pampas grass dead?
Q
Comments (23)
Re: the toe toe. No, not common and I wouldn't expect it to be. Considered an invasive risk 9 plant by APHIS, although a great many plants native to the southern hemisphere and Australia/New Zealand in particular are not considered reliably winter hardy in this climate, only borderline at best. And that includes phormiums, most eucalypts, hebe, acacia, grevillea, pittosporum, coprosma, drimys, dianella, etc. They may live 3 out of 5 winters but that 4th or 5th will be the end of them. The exceptions are the hair sedges and the wind grass (anemanthele), which are very hardy, sometimes to the point of weediness.
...See More
Need help in Northern NJ
Q
Comments (1)
Try Craigs List. The general feeling I ave seen here from my fellow pool guys that contribute is what you are asking is like taking your own steak to The Outback and asking them to cook it. Good Luck; Scott
...See More
Help! What's causing these brown patches of dead grass in my lawn?
Q
Comments (4)
I see you have a hose and oscillator sprinkler. That's an excellent start. What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water? Did you fertilize yet this spring? Whether you did or not, now is the time to apply for the first time (or second if you did it in the early spring...which you should not have). Have you applied any herbicides or insecticides? If so, when, and what were they? As for your picture, we cannot see a thing at this altitude. You need to be 3 inches away, not 10 feet. And 3 inches needs to be in the shade or have someone cast a shadow where you are photographing. Get a picture with both green and gray grass. Rather than tease you, though, if this is a disease, regardless of which one, I would recommend applying corn meal at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get corn meal at a feed store in 50 pound bags for roughly $12 or less this summer. Corn meal is a biological control that seems to work on St Augustine but not on other grasses. Try the corn meal before you try any chemical approach, because the chemicals ruin the biology rendering the corn meal useless as a bio control. Apply to the entire lawn, because you might not realize that the disease has infected the entire lawn. Also do the entire lawn, because corn meal is an organic fertilizer and it will leave deep green spots where you apply, so do the entire lawn. Once you use corn meal to cure St Augustine fungal diseases, you will completely stop worrying about it in the future. It is a complete solution and permanent...until you do something to let it happen again, which I seem to do annually :-( But at least I have a simple, safe, solution. Give the corn meal 3 full weeks to do the job. You will get very anxious about it for 2 weeks thinking nothing is happening. It simply takes 3 weeks, so relax. Between 2 and 3 weeks you will have forgotten about it. Then after about a month you will notice that "suddenly," the yard is perfect and deep green. Also if you are not already doing it, always mulch mow St Augustine at the mower's highest setting. You can let it go 2-3 weeks or longer if your mower can stand it. This will give you a deep rooted grass system that can withstand long periods of heat and go for days without watering. But do, please, tell us about your watering.
...See More

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Backyard Birds: Healthy Home Habitats for Northern Flickers

By Habitat Network

These colorful woodpeckers found across the U.S. and Canada love berries, seeds and ants and often nest in deep burrows in trees

SELLING YOUR HOUSE 10 Low-Cost Tweaks to Help Your Home Sell

By Lurdes Abruscato

Put these inexpensive but invaluable fixes on your to-do list before you put your home on the market

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Great Grasses for a New Lawn

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Learn about maintenance, wear tolerance, ideal climate and more for these top turf choices to pick the right one for you

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Energize Your Landscape With Masses of Grasses

By Donald Pell - Gardens

Create year-round interest with waves of attention-getting grasses for all kinds of yards

GARDENING GUIDES 12 Fire-Wise Plants to Help Protect Your Home and Garden

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

Plant these moisture-rich, fire-resistant plants in your landscape to help prevent fire spread

DECLUTTERING Downsizing Help: How to Edit Your Belongings

By Becky Dietrich, Interior Designer

Learn what to take and what to toss if you're moving to a smaller home

BLUE AND GRAY FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: Blue Oat Grass

By Annie Thornton

For soothing coolness in a garden or container, this evergreen grass is the low-maintenance and hardy choice to know

EARTH DAY The Case for Losing the Traditional Lawn

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Work less, help the environment and foster connections by just saying no to typical turf

EDIBLE GARDENS Natural Ways to Get Rid of Weeds in Your Garden

By Abundant City

Use these techniques to help prevent the spread of weeds and to learn about your soil

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 15 Great Ideas for a Lawn-Free Yard

By Laura Gaskill

End the turf war for good with hardscaping, native grasses and ground covers that save water and are easier to maintain

Sponsored

More Discussions

Backyard patio design help

3

Uncooperative Neighbor…help?!

16

Landscaping the side of the deck skirt

10

Advice for Plants around Patio & Deck?

5

Seeking Garden Design Advice

0