[Progress]

Hi guys, I have pretty weedy pathetic looking lawn that I'd like to start fixing. I'd like to work mainly on the front for obvious reasons (everyone sees it!). One of the problems is that I have creeping bent grass that has started to pervade and spread throughout. I also have weeds and bare patches.

The front of the house faces north and gets a fair amount of shade. The 10-15 feet of grass closest to the house is almost always shaded and gets rather mossy

Soil Analysis
I've ordered and received a soil analysis.

Here is the soil analysis: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hqpRWqDg7QmQQYLB6

The company I ordered this from prioritized the following recommendations: 1. Sul-Po-Mag application to raise magnesium; 2. Sulfur to lower PH; and 3. Liquid Aeration to loosen compacted soil.

What say you? Do you agree? Is this stuff I can DIY?

Current Condition

This is the front lawn generally. You can see weeds and bare patches closest to the camera. In the top right is where the bentgrass has taken it's strongest hold. As you can see, it's practically dead in the corner. https://photos.app.goo.gl/24ZhMSpjbkemyDFr7

Here is a closeup of the bent grass that is basically dead. I have to admit, after I took this picture I applied roundup and tried raking it out. It did not come out easily and there is a fair bit more left to get out. Do I need to apply more roundup to really kill it so it rakes out easier? https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y5JVeMJHxJ5rvzD3A

Here is a pic of the dead bent grass next to ???. Is this just more healthy bent grass invaded by weeds? I can't really tell if the grass adjacent the dead patches is also bent grass. https://photos.app.goo.gl/rpCJ4jsJ23MMMSK5A

Here's more pictures for backup:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/k4rrXSohnrP5EyrD9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZLUypp9yN2PoZmpG8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/t8u95VmrYFa1JQE16

Bent Grass

The first question is, the part where I applied roundup, am I to continue to spray and rake to prep the dirt for reseeding? Should I spray more to just kill the big patches and try to rake it out. Is there a better way to do this?

I've read about Tenacity. Is my lawn a candidate for this?

Seeding

Due to the shade and the dry conditions during summer, I'm thinking grass seed with a fair amount of fescue. Do you agree? I think I need something that doesn't need a lot of sun or water.

When I do seed, should I rent a slit seeder or just use a rotary? Is there something in between I could use?

The last question I have is timing. We're approaching the hottest days of summer and I know planting cool season seed doesn't make sense until late summer, early fall. Can I prep the lawn now for reseeding in the fall?

I bought some top soil to fill in patches but should I use it when reseeding?

Am I missing anything?

Also, thank you in advance if you read this whole thing!

 

[Progress]

Bump.

 

[SNOWBOB11]

Here's a thread that was just recently started that talks about killing bent with tenacity. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3968. If you do have lots of bent consider a few low dose apps to see if you can rid of it.

If you have compaction consider core aerating before you seed.

Yes you should do the prep work now to prepare for a late summer overseed. I'd use a mix of ff, p rye and kbg.

 

[pennstater2005]

I don't read soil tests yet so I apologize but someone may come along who does.

I would give this a read if you haven't already......https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1595. Cool season guide.

Your lawn looks like it has good grass. What you've done so far is appropriate. You can continue to spray glyphosate on the bentgrass and raking it out. I would recommend investing in a de thatching rake. I did for creeping bentgrass and it was the best thing I ever did.

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-BDS7127-Thatching-Rake/dp/B075VFNWNN/ref=asc_df_B075VFNWNN/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242015693684&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4975728174679526214&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006313&hvtargid=pla-450944061582&psc=1

That rake is amazing for pulling out dead grass to expose soil for seeding!

You can use Tenacity at seed down in the fall and also for the creeping bentgrass although I would stick with the glyphosate now. For the remaining weeds I would consider following @g-man recommendations with WBG and WBG CCO listed in the cool season guide.

You can prep now for fall. You don't have to use top soil when re seeding. You just need exposed soil to seed into. You could use it to level off any low spots.

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

Based on your soil analysis, you can do all those things they recommend yourself. Most of that is granular so its not hard to do. I weigh my fertilizer and other stuff so I know I am putting the right amount without guessing. Just do the calculation first based on the size of your lawn. Measure your lawn and be sure you are close so you have the right amount of product per lawn size. I broke my lawn into 3 pieces so I can do them separately.

As for fertilizer now, it's not good to use it when it's hot out. The grass is stressed from the heat and trying to get it to grow may kill the grass instead. If you want, you can use a small amount, something like 1/4 the normal amount to get a little growing action but I wouldn't use too much.

When I glyphosate areas, I will mow them a week later at a lower height. 2 weeks after the first spray, I'll spray again. Then a week later I mow at the lowest height. I will water after I mow to encourage any growth if it is dry out. I'll spray a third time if there is any new growth or weeds which grew. Then I'll seed the next day. You can spray glyphosate the same day you seed if you want.

Fine fescues do well in shade. Most other grasses need more sun. You can always do a mix of fine and regular fescue but fine is very thin bladed vs regular fescue is much wider. If you don't mind the difference, then that works. If you want to maintain it at a lower height, fine fescue can be cut lower but regular fescue likes a taller cut. If you choose a low cut, bent and fine fescue is a decent mix but bent tends to be prone to disease. You can do a mix of all the cool season grasses which is common and whatever will do well will survive.

You need to get the seed into the top ¼" of dirt. If you leave it on top, less will germinate. I use a verticutter or dethatcher to loosen the top so the seed can be raked into the surface. You can use a slit seeder which will work well. I then cover with a thin layer of peat moss to help retain moisture. You can also see when the peat turns light brown, it's dry and needs a little water.

As for timing seeding, I start 1 month before the weather cools. Where I am, it cools in mid Sept. So, mid aug, I will glyphosate any areas and repeat again 2 weeks later at the end of aug. Then the day before I seed in mid Sept, I'll spot spray glyphosate to be sure any green is toast. If you are overseeding, skip this except to spot spray any grassy type weeds which you aren't successful in getting rid of with regular herbicides.

I would use the top soil to fill any low spots before you seed. Seed can't be too deep or it won't grow.

I see some broadleaf weeds. I would consider an application of herbicide to clean up the lawn first. If you still have nice weather for a few weeks, I would use it now to remove the weeds. You need to wait 30 days if you use herbicide before you seed so it is harder take care of weeds in the early fall when you seed. You can use tenacity when you seed to reduce weeds while giving the new grass time to grow. Keep in mind, fine fescue has a lower tolerance for herbicides and you can use them but usually at lower rates. Read the label to be sure of the rate.

 

[g-man]

:thumbup:

One option to deal with bent grass is Tenacity. Someone asked about this yesterday in a different thread.

 

[Wolverine]

Tenacity will nuke the crap out of bent grass

 

[Progress]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice and tips. I've stocked up on Tenacity and have the Sul-po-mag scheduled for the fall.

I've also started raking out the bent grass I can and mowing down the rest.

That said, I've made what I believe to be a massive error. I have about a 15' x 15' piece of basically all bent grass in the front left corner of my front lawn and I planned on hitting it with glyphosate. Earlier this month I did just that but I wasn't careful in what I actually applied. Thinking it was just a more potent type of Roundup, I sprayed Roundup Extended Control. I've since learned that this stuff basically prevents growth of new seeds for up to 4 months! Ugh. I planned I digging/raking out the bent and reseeding the small plot in the beginning of September. That will be only two months since the application of RUEC. I didn't spray a lot, just used the consumer sprayer that it came with and sprayed to wet the bent.

The question is, do I even try reseeding this piece of the lawn? If I do, I'd do it in September but it might just be a waste of seed and water. Should I instead just wait and try to do a risky reseed in April or is that a bad idea? If I don't do that then I basically need to wait for over year which stinks but it might just be the reality I suppose.

 

[g-man]

I would rent a sod cutter and remove the soil and grass. Add new soil and seed it.

For bent, you could use tenacity.

 

[Jconnelly6b]

If you rake up the existing soil and disturb the barrier from the roundup, as well as adding some new soil you have a pretty good chance of the seed germinating.

It's not a huge area (225 sq ft) so if the seed doesn't take it not an expensive experiment, and you can lay seed down again in the spring.

I would get the Tenacity down soon, it should knock out the clover too and open up space for more good grass to grow.

 

[Progress]

Okay, I was able to dig out the bent (that was a job!) and laid down top soil, pretreated with Tenacity and laid the seed, starter fertilizer and topped with peat moss. The seed I used was a mix of KBG, PRG and hard fescue. The blend favored the bluegrass at 60%. My concern is that due to my newb ability, my seeding was lousy.

Here are a couple pictures after 8 days from seed down:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/d2JDu2TUqgeu5qYSA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VMLbgTYstnpdHKY68

I understand the bluegrass still has time to germinate so what I see here is likely the PRG (right?). What should I be doing now? Should I spread more PRG or PRG and FF to level out the blend and pick up the bald spots or wait and see and fill in the gaps come springtime?

Thanks!

 

[g-man]

How many pounds you use? Give it a day to see if there is germination. Also, there's an area that looks very moist. Try to just keep it moist.

 

[Progress]

The seed rate is 3 lbs/1,000 square feet. I used a little more than 3/4 lbs as it's less than 300 sq feet. I also spilled some in the corner near the sidewalk as you can see so I tried to spread it around and ended up adding a little more in other areas to account for it. It's definitely moist. Any time I see the peat moss change color I will water it. It hasn't dried out and I make sure there are no puddles or anything. I'm thinking if there are still not germinated areas by next weekend, I'll just throw some mainly PRG and step on it and call it day.