New House - Need Advice on Lawn

1437 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by zeus201, Feb 24, 2018

macleod52

Discussion Starter · Feb 23, 2018

Hello. New member here. My wife and I moved into our house last August and I've started to try and rehabilitate my lawn. The house was new construction in 2012 and sod was put down in the front yard and about 15-20ft in the back yard. The remainder of the back yard was seeded with TTTF/KBG. Our total lot size is .59 acre. The Previous owners did not take care of the lawn so the back yard had many weeds (I assume) and I doubt it had been fertilized in may years.

The lot is on heavy clay soil and to top it off we have a drainage swale in the back yard that turns into a river after an inch or two of rain. From what I can tell, based on the handful of torrential rains we've gotten, the water soaks in usually within 48hrs unless we have a real wet spell.

So far I sprayed weed killer, attempted to over seed in September, and aerated and applied a granular chemical fert (also did a treatment of milo) in mid/late October.

While I was watering multiple times a day for a couple weeks after I over seeded the grass really didn't green up or grow much. They yard greened up towards the end of September/October but not a lot. What it appears I was left with is a lot of brown grass/weeds and some green grass. I plan on aerating next month or April once the grass has started to grow. I will then follow that up a week or two later with a Fertilizer/Crabgrass preventer with dithiopyr.

These two pictures are what the grass looked like on Oct 16th. This was prior to aeration/fertilizer application. You can see the distinct line of where the sod was put down vs seed. The over seed was from where the temporary fence is to about 15ft on the other side of the fire pit.

The next three images are what the yard looked like on November 17th. You can see how brown the yard is. I do not believe we received our first frost yet. The close up images are what I'm dealing with. I'm unsure what all the brown dead stuff is. I don't know if that is grass or weeds. Does anyone have any ideas?

This was my yard from earlier this week. This is the drainage swale in my back yard. You can see I've got a lot of yellowing by the house thanks to my dogs. I'm hoping most of that greens up once spring hits. You can also see towards the fence where I've got about at 5-10ft wide area of dirt. This was probably a no-no but I threw down grass seed and covered with peat moss in the middle of December after we were consistently below freezing. My thoughts were that come spring I'll get some germination thanks to all the snow melt/rain. We'll have to wait and see if it was all for naught.

So my thoughts are this. I will be using Scotts starter fert with weed control on the seeded area and then use a broad spectrum crabgrass/weed control for the remainder of the back yard. I'm sure it's hard to say based on pictures but do I have a good shot of having a nice(er) back yard come spring or is it too far gone?

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g-man

· #2 · Feb 23, 2018

macleod52 said:
1) I plan on aerating next month or April once the grass has started to grow. I will then follow that up a week or two later with a Fertilizer/Crabgrass preventer with dithiopyr.

2) I'm unsure what all the brown dead stuff is. I don't know if that is grass or weeds. Does anyone have any ideas?

3) You can see I've got a lot of yellowing by the house thanks to my dogs. I'm hoping most of that greens up once spring hits.

4) You can also see towards the fence where I've got about at 5-10ft wide area of dirt.

5) So my thoughts are this. I will be using Scotts starter fert with weed control on the seeded area and then use a broad spectrum crabgrass/weed control for the remainder of the back yard. I'm sure it's hard to say based on pictures but do I have a good shot of having a nice(er) back yard come spring or is it too far gone?

Welcome, I dont have a lot of time to type, so I will give you a condensed version. Please read the top topic in cool season forum for more background info. I suggest you start with the Tier 1. Ensure you measure your lawn size (not lot size) and apply products based on that size.

1) Aerating and adding compost to the holes now will be a great thing to improve your soil. You need to do it prior to the crabgrass preventer or dont do it. The crabgrass preventer will need to go down in around 2-3weeks. Use the GDD tracker from MSU and use Peoria as your reference city.

2) It looks like dead crabgrass, but it doesnt matter if it is dead. Crabgrass preventer will be the key for you.

3) Dog pee kills grass and it doesnt come back. I suggest you create an area for the dogs to pee in mulch. Then train the dogs to use that area only. Dog training

4) the area of dirt is the same area that has water now, correct? that water area will be a problem. The grading is not the best. It either needs more soil to drain it to the swale or add a french drain to the swale.

5) That sound like a good plan. The scott with weed control work for around 30days. After that you will need to apply crabgrass preventer to that area.

I dont think you are gone. I think you will be amaze how good it picks up once you start to apply fertilizer. The images shows plenty of grass, it is just thin. Get a soil test to amend your soil.

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macleod52

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 23, 2018

1) Definitely will try aerating prior to PreM. I may have to use peat moss over compost as it's cheaper at the big box store. I don't think the wife will let me get a truck load of compost right now. Perhaps in the fall or next spring (I'll hopefully have a truck then).
2) Below are pictures from July right before we took ownership of the house. This will give you a better idea of what I killed with the weed killer.

3) I will have to discuss with the wife and see what she thinks. Haha
4) The area of dirt is back by the shed. I the photos above where you see the 3ft tall weeds, that's the bare area I'm going to be growing grass. What are some tips to help it survive the summer? I won't be irrigating the yard but should I irrigate the new grass to ensure it survives?

Also, the front yard I am seeding a 3'x3' low spot that I filled with dirt. I have foxtail and the crabgrass/fert that I am going to use will prevent that from coming up; however, I know I will need to use Scotts Starter Fert/PreM for that spot. My front yard has a slight slope and the seed is going to be in a spot towards the street. Can I put a tarp over the spot and use my main PreM and then use the Scotts Starter Fert/PreM only on the seeded area? My concern is that the PreM could possibly wash down to the seeded area or (this shows my ignorance of how the granular PreM works) as the PreM breaks down and starts working it'll seep down/leech into the seeded area. Is that possible or will it be contained to only where the granules dropped?

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zeus201

· #4 · Feb 23, 2018

Welcome to the forums! Make sure and check out g-man's post on cool season lawns (https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1595)

macleod52 said:
1) Definitely will try aerating prior to PreM. I may have to use peat moss over compost as it's cheaper at the big box store. I don't think the wife will let me get a truck load of compost right now. Perhaps in the fall or next spring (I'll hopefully have a truck then).

Like g-man said, follow the GDD tracker and as well when local Forsythia plants start blooming. When that time occurs, apply the pre-em. I live in central Iowa and historically that has been end of March. Something else that will help with soil structure is using organic fertilizers to help build up / increase the soils organic matter. I'm not a big fan of spring aeration, but if you do choose to do it, I'd get the pre-em down right after it.

macleod52 said:
3) I will have to discuss with the wife and see what she thinks. Haha

As a wiseman once told me, "Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission." :lol:

macleod52 said:
4) The area of dirt is back by the shed. I the photos above where you see the 3ft tall weeds, that's the bare area I'm going to be growing grass. What are some tips to help it survive the summer? I won't be irrigating the yard but should I irrigate the new grass to ensure it survives?

Spring grass seeding can be challenging as the young grass may struggle in the summer months. Watering will be the grasses best friend (and some fert) or you could wait till end of summer and start seeding then.

Outside of watering the new grass, watering the existing lawn properly during the summer months will be important. Taken from g-man's post:

Irrigation Practices
Watering - the goal is 1in of water/week at once. This promotes roots going deep. In the heat of summer I do change to 0.5in every 3 days. Use empty tuna cans to measure how much you watered. An impact sprinkler will take a very long time to do 1in.
Water in the morning (5-6am) to avoid fungus. The worst time to water (6-9pm) since it keeps the grass wet all night. Wet and warm are a petri dish for fungus.
Try to get head to head coverage with any sprinkler head. Heads typically spread water away from them, but not near them. A second head should be used to irrigate near head 1. More info at www.irrigationtutorial.com.

Anyrate - I second g-man, send out soil samples to a testing lab (I use Logan Labs), amend the soil and go from there. Bluegrass can rebound quite nicely with some water and fertilizer.

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g-man

· #5 · Feb 24, 2018

macleod52 said:
3) I will have to discuss with the wife and see what she thinks. Haha
4) The area of dirt is back by the shed. I the photos above where you see the 3ft tall weeds, that's the bare area I'm going to be growing grass. What are some tips to help it survive the summer? I won't be irrigating the yard but should I irrigate the new grass to ensure it survives?

Also, the front yard I am seeding a 3'x3' low spot that I filled with dirt. I have foxtail and the crabgrass/fert that I am going to use will prevent that from coming up; however, I know I will need to use Scotts Starter Fert/PreM for that spot. My front yard has a slight slope and the seed is going to be in a spot towards the street. Can I put a tarp over the spot and use my main PreM and then use the Scotts Starter Fert/PreM only on the seeded area? My concern is that the PreM could possibly wash down to the seeded area or (this shows my ignorance of how the granular PreM works) as the PreM breaks down and starts working it'll seep down/leech into the seeded area. Is that possible or will it be contained to only where the granules dropped?

3) I have a 90lb 12yr old lab that I trained. With him it was very easy, but he is lab.

4) I see it now. Weed pressure in this area will be high. You will need to keep the young roots from drying out during the summer. That means that you need a way to irrigate it. My main tip, since it is far from the house, i would focus on this area in the fall.

5) front area - I have a very different advise. Yes avoid the best you can from getting PreM there. I would take some of the dirt off, apply PreM, water it in, then place the dirt on top. Lastly, I would not apply seed. The seed will look different that the rest of the sod. It will drive my OCD crazy. I would then get a sod cutter and cut a section from the sod area of the side/backyard. You will then need to seed that area, but at least it is not the front of the house.

Last advise, you are in a new construction area. Your soil is likely not close to ideal and should be low in organic material. It is going to take a 2-3 years and a lot of work to really have a yard. This is a marathon and not a sprint. I had the same challenges when I moved into my current house.

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macleod52

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 24, 2018

Thanks for all the advice. I appreciate it. I know it's going to take a few years and a lot of work. I'm just hoping that I can control the weeds and have a halfway decent looking yard. I already seeded the area in the front (dormant seeding). Let's say I don't go the sod route. How bad will it look and for how long? Next spring would it all be blended in?

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g-man

· #7 · Feb 24, 2018

You will need to know what grass was in your sod (Mix? 100% kbg?) and what grass is in the seeds. Even if it is the same type of grass it could be different cultivars. Also, if it blends, it will take more than one season.

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macleod52

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 24, 2018

Nothing can be simple can it? Haha. We need some dirt delivered to the side of the house to help with some grading. I may have the landscaper cut out that sod since it'll be buried and need grass seed anyway. Thanks again.

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zeus201

· #9 · Feb 24, 2018

macleod52 said:
Thanks for all the advice. I appreciate it. I know it's going to take a few years and a lot of work. I'm just hoping that I can control the weeds and have a halfway decent looking yard. I already seeded the area in the front (dormant seeding). Let's say I don't go the sod route. How bad will it look and for how long? Next spring would it all be blended in?

Check out sod plugger tool. You could take plugs from existing grass and place those plugs in the bare spot. Everything will match and plugs will fill in over a growing season, or you could back fill them with quality top soil.

Pre-em will be first step in controlling weed pressure. Majority of the post-emergent weeds can be dealt with off the shelf products like Ortho Weed B Gone and etc.

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