[MarkAguglia]

So, I made a post the other day showing the difference between my lawn now and what it looked like in the fall thinking that everybody else's lawn probably looked nearly just as bad after winter. Now, I'm thinking this may just be me whose lawn looks this bad! So what actually happened? We finally got a couple days of no rain so I went out and raked and a lot of the grass pulled right up. I overseeded with TTTF back in September. Did some of it just die off? Is it compaction from heavy snow all winter? Will it change my plans to use a preM since now I may have to seed? Could I use Tenacity instead? Help the newbie devise a plan to tackle this. Thank you!



Photos are post-raking, quick light 5 min rake job.

 

[Green]

Has there been a lot of foot traffic on it over the Winter so far, or even back in the late Fall?

Have you raked yet? See if it feels like it's all pulling out when you rake, or if it's still rooted. Also, does it look like there is any snow mold (or was)?

Also, see what happens over the next 2-3 weeks...if it looks like it's starting to recover or not.

Don't worry...you still have likely over a month before you need to think about pre-M. But yes, Tenacity and seed would be the solution if it doesn't recover.

Edited to add: Just saw the photos are after raking. What did it look like before raking?

 

[MarkAguglia]

This photo is prior to the quick raking. No foot traffic minus a couple of deer that were eating my bushes a few nights. Perhaps that could've aided this..? When i raked it felt like i could've raked it all right out.. similar to how bentgrass rakes right out (an issue i had last summer).

 

[g-man]

Mark, it is hard to see the grass from your images. From a distance it looks like a fine fescue was there. I think the raking is a good first step. I agree with Green, you have a month before preM, so lets see how this develops going forward.

 

[MarkAguglia]

Ok, I did a little neighborhood scout tonight. There were quite a few that looked just like mine. Maybe its still just very compressed from the snow? I never noticed these type of things before getting interested in lawn care. Haha

 

[MarkAguglia]

I'll update with better photos in a couple weeks and see what you guys suggest!

 

[SNOWBOB11]

I think maybe it might not be as bad as it looks now. I see your in Buffalo NY so I'm guessing like me you had good snow cover for most of the winter. I think most likely a lot of it is compressed by the snow and will recover as spring gets going. I'd say some areas might need some seeding but I don't think you'll need to do a full overseed. Before I renovated last year to KBG I had a nomix lawn and most times after the snow from winter melted the lawn would look pretty rough but usually did recover pretty good.

 

[MarkAguglia]

I do think its likely from heavy snow. I just had a slight panic attack when I started raking and it was pulling up out of the ground. We're supposed to get 10" of snow Friday so..... back to putting lawn stuff on hold anyways. 😢

 

[GrassDaddy]

Yeah you gotta be careful on raking early spring, the soil is wet. Just fluff it a bit but don't vigorously rake it yet ;-)