I bought my house last December, and I've done quite a bit to get the lawn in good shape this season. I'm still learning, so it's been a bit of trial and error and late starts when I discovered something I should have done earlier in the year. Nevertheless, I've seen fantastic improvements since we first looked at the house last fall. My current issues are related to thin grass due to shade, some issues with fungus, poa annua and poa triv, one area that continues to die every time I repair it, and the mix-match of grass types that looks *ok* but certainly not great (KBG, PRG, K31, Fine Fescue). Overall, though, neighbors and visitors always comment on how great the lawn looks and how weed free it is (if they only knew...)
My plan this fall:
1) spot spray with Sedgehammer this week
2) apply last curative application of Propiconazole next week
3) during the very last week of August, apply one light blanket spray of Triclopyr to nail the creeping charlie, clover, and poa that's starting back up (weeds are minimal so I wonder if I should cut this part out, plus I know it's not extremely effective on poa)
4) during the week of September 4, cut the grass down significantly (I mow at 3" - 4", so this mow will be half that height), then add a few inches of top soil to the 15x15 area in the corner that keeps having issues (getting 3 yards delivered)
5) same or next day power rake, double pass core aerate, and overseed at 5 pounds per 1,000 sq feet. I'll go heavier on the 15x15 area that has fresh topsoil
6) I'll make sure to put down high N starter when I reseed along with a light app of Milo - half the bag rate.
7) Irrigate properly (the hardest part for me since I do it manually with impact sprinkler)
8) put down last app of preventative Propiconazole in late September
8) follow up with Milo at full bag rate one month later in very early October
This is my idea, but I'm *very* open to suggestions and advice. I'm not married to anything here. I went back and forth on the Triclopyr app. Still not 100% sure if it's needed and if it's just going to stress the lawn unnecessarily. I'm also not 100% sure on what grass type to overseed with. I've had some good suggestions on TLF already, so right now I'm leaning toward overseeding with a shade-tolerant ***, though I've also heard to just stick with TTTF.
And lastly, I'm not doing any fall pre-emergent simply because of how much stress I'm pushing on the lawn along with the overseed. I know there are products I can use along with the overseed, but I wonder if I'm really pushing it and should just stay on top of the very small amount of active weeds now and be good about pre-M in the Spring.
Let me know what you think! I really appreciate your input, guys!
