Need Lawn Advice

[john_pifer]

Hello lawn care experts! I need some help!

We moved here last September, and, with a 3-month-old, an 18-month-old, and a soon to be 4-month-old, and the wife and I working, I haven’t taken the time to do anything to the yard aside from keeping it mowed and edged.

Like most in our (semi-rural) county area, our yard looks to me like a mix of weeds.

I’d like to get it looking good, with a mostly uniform grass type.

My wife is from Northern Indiana (Warsaw). When we visited up there in April, I was struck by how nice and verdant green, that seemingly everyone’s lawn was. There were very few weeds; if anything, there were a few wildflowers here and there. And almost every lawn was like that. And I doubt all those people were lawn care nuts who take exacting, meticulous care of their lawn. Probably some sort of cool season grass, I’m guessing.

Starting to think weeds are just more ubiquitous in the south.

So, I’m a lawn care newbie. I do understand a few principles from the limited amount of research I’ve done.

I’ve read that it’s good to use something to combat weeds - either pre-emergent (obv. too late in season for that), or post-emergent. I can certainly apply this myself. Just need to know what to use and when to use it.

I’ve read that it’s good to de-thatch and aerate (Don’t think I’ll buy equipment to do this; I’ll likely hire it out once a year).

I know I’ll need to seed (This I can do myself).

What I’m not sure about is what order to do these steps in.

What grass seed to use.

And when to get started.

Could I start now? Or should I wait until fall?

Say I seeded with something like fescue around September. Will it grow over the winter and then die out when it gets warm next spring/summer?

I’ve heard of people “nuking” the existing lawn (whatever is there) and starting over. Anyone done this?

Any advice is appreciated! I’d like to get this looking as good as possible. I realize it’ll take time. But I’d love to get it to a point where it’ll be something we can take pride in within a couple of years.

Here’s the front, which has quite a few trees. Ditch running around front & side yards.

Side yard, which has some trees, but mostly gets good sun.

Back. Few trees, good sun coverage.

Previous owner had a dog that created a “trench” by continually running back and forth along the same path, along the chain link fence.

One of the bare spots in the side yard

A tornado came through about 18 months ago and the previous owner lost a couple of trees, and had the stumps ground down and just left the mulch. I have 2 of these patches

 

[ls1mike]

I will tell you weeds are everywhere. The Pacific Northwest also. I have been in this place since 2010, fertilize, seed, water. I get some good patches and some not so good. Our summers are DRY, you wouldn't believe it. I have not found a really good combination. We have moss too! So I kill that, but it comes back in the winter. Here in Washington, I plant in March and keep it watered. Your yard looks like mine. Short of starting over with new topsoil and seed, it will take work like my place. Not even sure that is guarantee. So I will be following this one as well.

 

[bullwinkle]

It’s tough to grow grass this time of year, especially if you’re as hot & dry as we’ve been recently. It would take MASSIVE amounts of water to get seed established now. It would be much better to wait for cooler & damper weather to try to plant grass.

 

[walterjay]

You will want to wait until fall. Seeding now is a waste of money and time. Aerate and seed the lawn in the fall with whatever is recommended for your area. Pray for rain. Also use a starter fertilizer when you re-seed. Check the soil ph and correct it slowly if necessary. Check with your county extension agency. They may have valuable information for your locality. It will take a probably two or three seasons to get it where it looks good.

 

[spasm3]

It's late to plant and get a good root system before the summer heat. It will come up fast now, but won't have roots to survive summer.

Mow as high as possible. With a dog in the back previously, it probably needs lime, but a soil test for your area would be helpful.

 

[MParr]

Contact your county agent. They can provide you with the information that you need. He will advise you on the best grass for your lawn.
It wouldn’t hurt to aerate your yard. Your grass is too thin for thatch. You may have a grub problem. You will need to confirm and treat for grubs. A soil analysis wouldn’t hurt. Again, consult with your county extension agent
Here are some guidelines for planting.

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W160-F.pdf

 

[JHZR2]

I wouldn’t have any complaints about what you showed. Just hand till and plant in the bare spots. Especially with young kids I wouldnt want all sorts of chemicals all over. Unless you’re really into maintaining a golf course Id just overseed and move on with life. Fertilize with a low dose product as needed.

I personally spread micro clover into our yard to help fix nitrogen and add more green.

 

[SC Maintenance]

The university agriculture extension's usually always have local data on lawns - and a quick google search shows University of TN is no different. Says to seed August 20th to June 15th. I presume you have Fescue in that region. If that is the case, then yes wait for fall and have it aerated, seeded and fertilized. When I lived in North Carolina the big lawn care guys wouldn't do it unless you signed up to be an annual customer, but the independents were happy to have the business since they were likely doing it in the area anyway.

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/PB1576.pdf

 

[john_pifer]

Thanks guys. Sounds like good advice. And thank you for that link. I am going to read up on that when I get a chance.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

You may want to price cost of aeration in your area, given the acreage you have. I purchased a plug aerator 20+ years ago, and it paid for itself after I used it twice. We have garden tractors, so it was a no-brainer to have this implement around for use at our convenience.

 

[PontiacHO]

Right now just keep it mowed at the highest setting. Kentucky 31 Fescue sewn in the fall after a late summer (August) weed kill application. Core aerate in late September and then sew the seed with a starter fertilizer. Pray for rain. Apply a winter feeding around Thanksgiving. Scott’s has a great seasonal fertilizer selection and easy application guide. It works well with their spreader. Mid-March apply a slow release spring application. Sharpen your mower blades and be prepared for two mowing events per week. A healthy fescue lawn cut at the highest mower setting will “shade/choke” out weeds. I’ve always preferred the old fashion Kentucky 31 Fescue better than all the hybrids.

 

[john_pifer]

Thanks. The highest my mower goes is 4 1/2 inches.

What is the purpose of keeping it at the highest setting right now?

 

[Escape08]

If it was me, I'll aerate the bald areas and apply topsoil to break current compacted soil

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Thanks. The highest my mower goes is 4 1/2 inches.

What is the purpose of keeping it at the highest setting right now?

From a local trusted source just down the road from me:
Should I Raise the Mowing Height in the Summer?

As the heat of summer arrives, raise your mower height for cool season grasses and keep it closer to four inches. A taller plant shades the soil and keeps the root zone cooler during periods of high heat. If your lawn is allowed to grow too tall, it can result in broader leaf blades, a lower plant density and becomes more susceptible to turf disease.

 

[john_pifer]

From a local trusted source just down the road from me:
Should I Raise the Mowing Height in the Summer?

As the heat of summer arrives, raise your mower height for cool season grasses and keep it closer to four inches. A taller plant shades the soil and keeps the root zone cooler during periods of high heat. If your lawn is allowed to grow too tall, it can result in broader leaf blades, a lower plant density and becomes more susceptible to turf disease.

Thanks. That makes sense.

 

[john_pifer]

You may want to price cost of aeration in your area, given the acreage you have. I purchased a plug aerator 20+ years ago, and it paid for itself after I used it twice. We have garden tractors, so it was a no-brainer to have this implement around for use at our convenience.

How big and heavy is your aerator? Is it something that would be capable of being towed by my zero turn?

 

[Owen Lucas]

I would stay away from any chemicals from the lawn considering some of them will act as xenohormones (environmental hormones produced outside of the human body which exhibit endocrine hormone-like properties) which can harm your little ones especially.

Basically you walk through the grass, get the chemicals it in your house, contamination tracks it throughout, gets on floors, carpets, and gets it onto hands and even underwear.

 

[spasm3]

Higher mowing height, helps keep the turf from drying out in summer. It also helps with choking out the weeds.
I would not aerate in June, that will just dry out the lawn in the summer heat.
You can aerate spring and fall, and overseed both times , until you get a good stand of grass.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

How big and heavy is your aerator? Is it something that would be capable of being towed by my zero turn?

I think I have a 42" plug aerator. Looks like they are selling 40" ones today. My AgriFab is similar to the Craftsman one Ace Hardware is selling today. I am very leery of the $59 ones that several places are selling on line.

The aerator itself is not very heavy. It has a tray for adding weight as needed. I have to add concrete patio blocks to get the penetration I need (after a good rain). You can vary the amount of weight to get the results you desire. When I aerated my daughter's lawn in Wichita, I used half the blocks I normally use because her soil is that much looser than my clay content.

 

[FowVay]

In September/October do a heavy core aeration of the lawn and a full overseed of fescue grass seed. Buy good quality grass seed because the cheap builders grade junk is too full of weed seed. The seed will germinate in about 10-15 days and the cooler weather of Fall will make the fescue pop.

In January/February do a full lawn treatment of a liquid preemergent (Prodiamine 65 WDG) to keep the poa annua at bay. Get a dry granule crab grass preventer and spread it in March/April.

I avoid weed & feed like the plague because over time it acidifies the soil and you'll be fighting moss forever more. The 3-in-1 products work fairly well when it's time to fertilize or just put out plain old 13-13-13 twice a year when things are growing. I do fertilizer in February and July and NEVER fertilize when the vegetation is dormant.

While it's certainly not a manicured and professionally maintained property, my backyard in the heat of Atlanta holds up quite well with fescue. I do fight the poa annua but it gives me something to complain about while I'm enjoying my beer and playing with the cat (the white dot in the yard).