Thanks for the info. Yup I purchased a dethatcher from SunJoe last week on sale. I've been watching Youtube videos from Ryan Knorr and Lawn Care Nut, very good info there. I plan on cutting lower then usual, then dethatching before over seeding. Gotta water the hell outta it like you said. Water bill will probably triple that month.I'm no expert either but I don't believe Topdressing or aerating aren't a must for overseeding. They can help but not a must. The key is soil to seed contact, so as an alternative you need to cut the lawn low , dethach, and us a seeder to get the seeds deep enough into the soil (about 1/4 of an inch deep). Get good seeds too ( I'm doing 4th millennium Tall Fescue this year).
Super important for success - You should prepare your soil by watering before overseeding at least 3 inches deep. After overseeding you must keep the seeds and soil moist for a number of weeks depending on the seed (usually 4-6 weeks) and continue watering until your lawn is established. If this is not done a significant percentage of your seeds will not germinate and your results will not be as good.
You can also put down a started fertilizer with Tenacity in it to prevent weeds while the seeds germinate.
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Thanks, I have read similar. I tried the screwdriver test in regards to aerating and it does go in and out easy. Only reason I was considering it was if it made a huge difference with over seeding.
We use a service and have a fair amount of crabgrass. It thrives in hot weather.
Per Rutgers the best time is now to start.
This is really why I'm planning on waiting till next week - give it a chance to dry out a bit and cut it again beforehand.
I need to do this ASAP shit I have a yard full of crabgrass which totally overran my yard. Something drastic needs to be done. Thinking of going the aerate and overseed process for a yard that was never cared for until I bought it a year ago.
The crab grass will die with the first frost. If it is totally infested You can seed with Mesotrione and make sure you do a pre emergent in the spring. It’ll likely be a a couple year battle but crabgrass is actually easy to control with a spring pre emergent.
my4sons.com
Could this just be excessive heat of the past several weeks? Never had a problem before with sprinklers or areas not getting enough water. Have 2-3 areas like this, maybe about 20-40 feet square.
I found it works best in another week or two but we are doing pastures. I need it to get cooler so the ground holds water longer. It seems our summers have been extended by a week and last year I still got growth well into November. This will be my second time doing it as I'm trying to turn 3 acres of previously woods into sparsely wooded pasture(just left old growth trees).
The zones are all on the same run time. That area gets no more sun that the greener areas around it, and one of the other brown patches in another area gets very little sun.
My sprinklers are on a rain guage, and they do not run during or after rain. But you are probably right about too much water.
In your case I think concrete would be your best option, Mr. Brown thumb, problem solved. 😁Could this just be excessive heat of the past several weeks? Never had a problem before with sprinklers or areas not getting enough water. Have 2-3 areas like this, maybe about 20-40 feet square.
In my opinion, this looks like Brown Patch. It’s bad here in Cincinnati due to the high humidity and moisture.Could this just be excessive heat of the past several weeks? Never had a problem before with sprinklers or areas not getting enough water. Have 2-3 areas like this, maybe about 20-40 feet square.
Could be heat, but I would probably lean towards fungus it has been real humid and wet the past month. I usually have an issue in my front yard with the fungus too. I tried to catch it early and spray before it got out of control. I just raked out and seeded those areas last week and topped with some seeding straw.Could this just be excessive heat of the past several weeks? Never had a problem before with sprinklers or areas not getting enough water. Have 2-3 areas like this, maybe about 20-40 feet square.
BTW, that Prosoco Salt Guard stuff we put on the concrete is fabulous. Water beads off the concrete around the pool like a waxed car. Maybe I should spray that stuff on my grass if it is too moist, to cause the water to bead off it and keep it dry! 🤔
I was hoping there was something i could do before the 1st frost which more then likely won't happen until sometime in November down here. I put down crabgrass control back in March and planned to put some down in june/july but it was so hot i thought better of it.
Think bac may be correct, but per my note below, the wettest areas of my lawn do not have this issue.
Raked out those areas yesterday. Seems to be too much water, but it is strange that some of the wettest areas of my lawn where there are low spots and it is soft/slightly muddy after rains do not have the brown patches.
I would seed now. Personally, I think you should order seed from Hogan or Superseedstore or some others. I don’t buy seed unless the label says 0% weed seed and 0 percent other crop..
Aerate…top dress with compost…overseed…water. Started doing it 3 years ago and my lawn has gone from zero to hero and I don’t even have sprinklers.
TTTF germinates pretty quickly so you could give it another week or so and see how much more germination you get. You can then drop more seed in areas needed. Peat moss is difficult to spread over a large area (unless you have a spreader) but really works well as a top dressing.
November may be to late for overseed IMO if you are in NJ (See Below). You want to have the seed establish itself before first frost. I overseeded the last week of August. My problem was about 40% washout from Ida. I still had germination in some spots. As for the crabgrass it will die once the frost hits. A preemergent in the Spring will help. Dimension or Prodiamine. I believe the Prodiamine lasts longer. Quinclorac is a post emergent that is supposed to be good on crabgrass. I spot sprayed some Tenacity on mine when it was in its early stages and it worked well. Also with the herbicides I listed only Tenacity can be used while overseeding the others require a waiting period.
I'm in Clayton De (20 minutes north of Dover). We were in the 90s this week which is why i held off. We normally don't get our 1st frost until late October so do you suggest i aerate then fertilize? Or wait until spring to aerate/overseed?
Like @Postman_1 said November is too late. I will be doing the aerating, slow release fertilizer(oceangro) and seeding next week. I can't irrigate 3 acres so I wait till temps cool a little, allowing the ground to hold moisture longer. It worked out OK last year, would have worked even better if it wasn't pasture mix. Pasture mix I found is harder to grow then the endophyte fescues.
