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Hello All,
I recently found this forum and have read a lot of threads and the cool season lawn guide, but I am hoping to bounce some ideas off of people to improve my lawn. This is my third year as a homeowner (and thus lawn owner) and I have finally begun to take more pride in our yard so I am hoping to develop a good plan for the yard going forward. I have a small fescue yard and I'm located in the southern portion of zone 7.
So with it being summer, from what I have read around here, there isn't a whole lot that I can do other than water. However I am looking to develop a plan for this fall as well as next year.
Here is what I have so far:
Fall 2018 -
1. Late August/Early September - Dethatch and Aerate (I am not 100% if this is necessary, but since I haven't used any pre-emergent in the past 3 years it seems like the pros may outweigh the cons). If aerating is a waste of money I can gladly skip it.
2. Early September - Overseed: I have overseeded in the past with Scotts fescue seed with decent success, but I'm open to any other seed that would be better. Also, when overseeding in the past, I have never used a starter to help with germination. Is this something that is recommended to use when overseeding as a best practice?
3. Late Fall - Apply a pre-emergent to prevent poa annua. Recommendation for what to use in this step?
4. Early Spring 2019 - pre-emergent for crabgrass prevention. Best pre-emergent for early spring?
5. Spring 2019 - Apply fertilizer? I'm not sure on this one yet if a spring fertilizer is recommended or not.
6. Fall 2019 - Do fall fertilizer blitz as outlined in the lawn care guide
Now my final question (sorry I know this is a bit lengthy) relates to the back yard - as that is where our dog plays and takes relief. I am currently really struggling with the back yard as just about every time our dog urinates, the yard gets urine burn and dies. So I have a lot of bare spots in the back yard from this. So I am wondering if I need to take into account any special practices to help prevent this or any other steps to help the yard.
Thanks in advance for any tips or any suggested changes to my plan.
I recently found this forum and have read a lot of threads and the cool season lawn guide, but I am hoping to bounce some ideas off of people to improve my lawn. This is my third year as a homeowner (and thus lawn owner) and I have finally begun to take more pride in our yard so I am hoping to develop a good plan for the yard going forward. I have a small fescue yard and I'm located in the southern portion of zone 7.
So with it being summer, from what I have read around here, there isn't a whole lot that I can do other than water. However I am looking to develop a plan for this fall as well as next year.
Here is what I have so far:
Fall 2018 -
1. Late August/Early September - Dethatch and Aerate (I am not 100% if this is necessary, but since I haven't used any pre-emergent in the past 3 years it seems like the pros may outweigh the cons). If aerating is a waste of money I can gladly skip it.
2. Early September - Overseed: I have overseeded in the past with Scotts fescue seed with decent success, but I'm open to any other seed that would be better. Also, when overseeding in the past, I have never used a starter to help with germination. Is this something that is recommended to use when overseeding as a best practice?
3. Late Fall - Apply a pre-emergent to prevent poa annua. Recommendation for what to use in this step?
4. Early Spring 2019 - pre-emergent for crabgrass prevention. Best pre-emergent for early spring?
5. Spring 2019 - Apply fertilizer? I'm not sure on this one yet if a spring fertilizer is recommended or not.
6. Fall 2019 - Do fall fertilizer blitz as outlined in the lawn care guide
Now my final question (sorry I know this is a bit lengthy) relates to the back yard - as that is where our dog plays and takes relief. I am currently really struggling with the back yard as just about every time our dog urinates, the yard gets urine burn and dies. So I have a lot of bare spots in the back yard from this. So I am wondering if I need to take into account any special practices to help prevent this or any other steps to help the yard.
Thanks in advance for any tips or any suggested changes to my plan.