Hi all, this is my first time on here and I'm fairly new to caring for my lawn so I wanted to get some expert advise! I live in Fairfield County CT and I was planning on aerating & overseeding in the Fall and Spring. Is Mid-October too late for the Fall? When is a good time to do it in the Spring? I am using Scott's products so I will be putting down Crabgrass Weed & Feed in the Spring.
triballeg
Welcome to TLF.
My advice is it is almost too late now for your area to seed. Mid-October is definitely too late. The term "Fall" is a bit of a misnomer for much of the Northeast, including Ontario. Late Summer is a better timeframe for seeding for these areas.
Mid to late August would be the most ideal time for your area - someone from CT would be better equipped to answer. But I am assuming your weather is similar to mine in Ontario. Your average first frost is likely mid to late October. You want to give yourself a minimum of 45 days for new grass to germinate and establish. Ideally you want 60+ days. So even if you seeded today, that doesn't give you much time.
Spring is not the ideal time because weather and soil temps can be wildly inconsistent - warm for 3 days then frost can hit again. But Spring seeding can be done and be successful, although there is higher risk.
You will not be able to use the weed prevent in the Spring if you plan to seed.
Lastly, aerating is not a necessity when seeding. There is a much longer and more in depth answer to this. In short, aerating is beneficial if your soil is severely compacted. Proper irrigation practices can remedy this in a lot of cases.
My advice is it is almost too late now for your area to seed. Mid-October is definitely too late. The term "Fall" is a bit of a misnomer for much of the Northeast, including Ontario. Late Summer is a better timeframe for seeding for these areas.
Mid to late August would be the most ideal time for your area - someone from CT would be better equipped to answer. But I am assuming your weather is similar to mine in Ontario. Your average first frost is likely mid to late October. You want to give yourself a minimum of 45 days for new grass to germinate and establish. Ideally you want 60+ days. So even if you seeded today, that doesn't give you much time.
Spring is not the ideal time because weather and soil temps can be wildly inconsistent - warm for 3 days then frost can hit again. But Spring seeding can be done and be successful, although there is higher risk.
You will not be able to use the weed prevent in the Spring if you plan to seed.
Lastly, aerating is not a necessity when seeding. There is a much longer and more in depth answer to this. In short, aerating is beneficial if your soil is severely compacted. Proper irrigation practices can remedy this in a lot of cases.
@Harts Did you mean to say "aerating is a necessity" or "aerating is not a necessity"?
Spring is not a good time to seed, The grass will not have time to develop deep enough roots before hot weather hits. Also, summer weeds will outcompete the baby grass.
Have you read the maintenance guide?
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1595
Spring is not a good time to seed, The grass will not have time to develop deep enough roots before hot weather hits. Also, summer weeds will outcompete the baby grass.
Have you read the maintenance guide?
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1595
Thanks for the correction. I have edited the post. Appreciate you catching that!Virginiagal said:
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
