In this video, Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook demonstrates how to reseed an old, tired lawn. He follows simple steps to do so: kill existing grass and weeds, select the right grass seed, prepare the soil for reseeding, spread the grass seed, fertilize immediately, water daily, and give your new lawn continued TLC.
Overseeding is generally done to remedy or stay ahead of a grass thinning problem, while reseeding directly addresses barren or dead spots in the yard. The type of seed used is important, but matching the seed to your existing type of grass is essential for a consistent look.
To start with the soil, evaluate the property for sun, shade, and wind direction, add topsoil over the area of the new lawn, grade the soil, and apply the seeds. Once the seeds are pressed into the soil, it’s time for a light watering to prevent disturbing the seeds too much.
The lawn renovation process includes mowing the lawn low, aerating the lawn, scarifying the lawn, clearing debris, spreading the seed, and top dressing the lawn. To prepare the grass, remove dead grass, debris, and thatch, create holes for improved drainage (optional), and buy your grass seed.
Apply the grass seed in two to four directions using a drop seed spreader. Seed can be spread by hand or by renting a drop seed spreader.
Reseeding or resodding can rejuvenate the lawn by planting new grass seed or laying fresh sod. Landscaping can also be done by adding plants, flowers, and other elements to the lawn.
📹 Fix an Ugly Lawn with Overseeding // Complete Step by Step Guide For Beginners
You might think it’s difficult to fix an ugly lawn but in this complete step by step guide to overseeding your lawn, I’ll show you it can …
Can dead grass be restored?
To regrow your lawn, remove dead grass by pulling it easily and ensuring it doesn’t resist. Replace the grass with seeding, sodding, or installing new landscaping materials like mulch, rocks, or groundcover. Mow the grass shorter than usual and add soil amendments for a healthy environment. Laying sod can be a strenuous task, but it’s essential to remove dead grass and prepare the soil before laying it. This will ensure the grass grows and provides a healthy environment for the new sod.
How to bring grass back to life?
This guide provides five easy steps to bring your lawn back to life after a long period of cold, damp weather. First, remove winter weeds and dry blades, which can build up on your lawn during winter and extended cold spells. Then, reseed to freshen up a sparse lawn. Regular mowing increases the growth of grass, so it’s essential to feed your lawn regularly. Aerate your lawn in late spring and early autumn to ensure it’s ready for summer.
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- Remove dead, dry blades, fungi, and moss from your lawn. Snow mold, in particular, can only reappear during extreme weather. Use a wire rake to remove debris, known as “scarifying” the lawn, to prepare for spring growth and reseeding. This process exfoliates the lawn of dead cells and dirt, allowing it to celebrate the spring season.
What to do after lawn renovation?
After care for a lawn is crucial for its success. Water the lawn regularly, especially in the autumn, to keep the seed moist. Cover the lawn with a fleece layer if birds are a concern or temperatures drop. This will speed up germination and protect the seed. Once the new seed is 1-2 cm tall, remove the fleece. Feeding before renovation is not recommended as it may swamp the new seed. Wait 3-4 weeks for the seed to establish before applying a light Autumn fertiliser dressing. However, often the soil dressing is sufficient food for the grass to establish. This will help ensure the lawn’s health and growth.
Can I lay new turf over existing lawn?
The practice of laying turf on top of grass is, in principle, technically feasible; however, it is not recommended as it may not yield optimal results for the lawn and may cause both new and existing turf to deteriorate rapidly.
How to remove old grass and lay new turf?
To prepare for laying new turf in Sussex, follow these steps:
Remove the old lawn and prepare it by using non-selective weed killers to kill grass and prevent weeds from sneaking through the new turf. This usually takes around 14 days.
Prepare at least 10-15cm of good soil with no stones, debris, or other debris. Add compost or topsoil with sand for drainage.
Lay the turf on a straight edge, butting it up against the edge and staggering joints in a brickwork fashion. Use planks to avoid walking directly on the turf and use a rake or wood head to gently insert the turf into the soil. Fill cracks with soil and cut the turf with a long knife, hand saw, or special cutting spade.
If laying turfing in Sussex isn’t easy, consider hiring a company that offers turfing supplies, wild flower lawns, and lawn insurance work. This will allow you to get a top-quality lawn without having to do all the work yourself.
What time of year should you restart your lawn?
Reseeding in the fall is the best time for grasses to establish before winter sets in, as it allows grass to establish before the first frost. This is because there are fewer weeds and active lawn diseases during the fall, allowing grass to compete for sun and water. Spring is the second most popular season for seeding, but less ideal due to the increased moisture and warm air. Spring also allows crabgrass and weeds to germinate, causing grass to compete for nutrients. The hot temperatures and lack of rainfall in summer can stress the new lawn.
To ensure successful reseeding, it is essential to remove debris, break up soil compaction, and remove excessive thatch with an aeration. Grass needs 1 inch of water a week, and if not supplied by rain, irrigate the stressed areas. Applying a seed starting fertilizer can help develop a healthy root system. After spreading the seed, use a seed spreader to lightly work it into the soil. When planting seed mows low, it helps the grass seed reach the soil more easily.
What is the best way to restore your lawn?
To renovate a lawn, follow these basic steps: conduct a soil test, start weed control with broadleaf herbicides, provide adequate soil moisture, mow, remove thatch, prepare soil, fertilize, and seed. Before renovating, determine why your lawn isn’t doing well to save time and money. Making changes in basic lawn care practices, cultural practices, or site conditions can bring a lawn back to good health and vigor, potentially avoiding the need for renovation. Contact local county extension offices for information on soil testing.
When to mow after lawn renovation?
After a lawn renovation, wait until the grass is 7-8cm tall before cutting it. Choose a sunny day with no frost risk and ensure your mower blades are clean and sharp. Mow at a 90-degree angle to the first cut and remove about 25 of the length for the first cut. Wait at least 3-4 days before the next cut and never remove more than 25 grass blades at each cut for the next 6 months. If you cannot mow often, consider hiring Premier Lawns NI for help.
Troubleshooting is normal for newly renovated lawns, with new growth expected within 14 days, weather permitting. In cold weather, the soil will warm up before much change occurs. In Belfast, a lawn was scarified, removed moss, topdressed, and overseeded.
How often should I water my lawn after Reno?
After a lawn renovation, it is essential to water the lawn more than usual, aim for every two days, and “baby it back to health” to prevent sand drying out. Mow the lawn with a rotary mower when it has grown through most of the sand. Renovating established lawns improves overall turf health by removing thatch, allowing better oxygen flow and nutrient/water uptake, creating a healthier turf stand, and allowing better drainage through core aeration. Renovate only when the lawn is actively growing, starting from September-January for warm season lawns.
How do I restart my lawn?
To reseed your lawn, follow these simple steps: kill existing grass and weeds, select the right grass seed, prepare the soil for reseeding, spread the grass seed, fertilize immediately, water daily, and give your new lawn continued TLC. When weeds outnumber grass blades in your lawn, it’s time to take action. Reseeding is different from overseeding, which is when your lawn is thin with a few spots that need to be filled in but is still mostly grass.
With reseeding, you’re looking at a total do-over by going back to bare dirt and planting new seed. It’s not hard to follow, and it’s not difficult to follow. If you’re looking to reclaim your lawn, hit reset and reseed it.
📹 How to FIX an UGLY Lawn with RESULTS – Step by Step for Beginners EASY
Get the lawn you want! Get rid of your ugly bad looking lawn. YES you can do it yourself. See my lawn that I renovated in place …
My cousin is planning to re-seed her yard so she called a landscaper to check how much it will cost her. The estimated cost is $2000-$3000. It’s too much! So she called me and asked if I could just do it. I said yeah I can do it. I’m not an expert but I had some experience on re-seeding lawns and this article is very helpful to me.
I have to many trees surrounding my property which turns my grass to moss. I have done all these steps before and for the remainder of the summer the lawn looks awesome. 2 seasons later. Back to the moss taking over the lawn. Cut down a few trees and it wouldn’t matter as there are tons of trees blocking the sun all over. However if sun is not the issue. This is a great article.
It seems too good to be true based on the thumbnail, but I’m a new homeowner who installed my own sod in the fall and this summer I dethatched it after the hard winter, applied some fertilizer and water, and got on a good mowing schedule, and my grass is a dense, healthy, deep emerald carpet of Kentucky Bluegrass that looks like something you’d see on HGTV. I owe it all to Ryan and his articles; you really can do this yourself and it is incredibly rewarding.
Hopefully you are doing well, and still around doing your online thing. Loved your articles so far you go into details instead of just seeding. I have a crappy lawn by that I mean that I have a lawn with what I call mutt grass big old clumps of different types of grass. For a while I’ve been deciding what to do with my grass. We are in the 7a region if I am remembering correctly. Being in southern Ohio weather is unpredictable you are going to get a mixture of all weather. Some years you might get snow some years you might get rain all winter we have hot humid summer. But after considering everything we have not been able to decide if we should do a complete replacement or a overseeding. We have two kids my dad lives in a camper in the back of our yard. We have close to a half a acer wanna say .38. I want to do a blue grass but do not know if it will survive our unpredictable weather. We live at the bottom of a hill so we get plenty of water a little much if you ask me. Any advice would be great we really do not wanna remove the current grass because. Sorry for the long question and grammar
Ryan, thanks- that was very helpful. Planted seed for the first time- used Scott’s EZ seed. It’s coming up nicely and it’s been four days. Question for you: it seems even though I seeded evenly, I may not have used as much seed (lawn is about 150 sq ft and I used one bag in order not to overseed). Should I wait it out or throw some more seed while the grass is still coming and I’m in my first week? I am watering twice a day and it’s a mix of sun and shade with tree cover. Also, If the suggestion is to seed more, use EZ again or get normal seed? Thank you- much appreciated.
for years my neighbor’s yard has always been greener than mine no matter what I tried. but this spring he went on vaction for 6 weeks and i had my entier lawn redone with sod, cheating i know but whos got the green grass now jimmy? wish i woulda seen this article earlier… probably woulda been cheaper…
Any advice for following this procedure in a hotter climate? I’m in South Carolina, about 100 miles from the coast. My front and side yards have centipede grass, my back yard has whatever grows naturally (mostly weeds, but it’s not irrigated like the front and sides are), and our soil is sandy. Front yard could definitely stand a dethatching and over seeding, but I’m not sure it needs aerating as it seems to be soft enough. But my main question would be what month should I start a similar process? As of this week (early April), our high temps are around the low 70’s and officially our grass is still dormant. Great article, and thanks!
I followed Ryan’s advice and had fantastic results. Worked exactly as described in the article. Neighbors were impressed. I’d lost about 30% of my front yard to chinch bugs and heat stress. I started a little later than I probably should have – third week in September rather than the second week. Still worked perfectly. We’re in the northeast. Lawn has never looked better – thanks Ryan!
Always great content Ryan! Seed companies mostly recommend a certain temperature range for when to sow because of germination performance. For my area in California that’s early October. Too many articles/videos talk about “September” but actually you have to read the label and see for your grass type and location what the correct time of year is.
What a great article! Quick question if you live up north like Connecticut can this be done in the early spring? In the fall unfortunately we battle a lot of leaves that may overtake the law we’re trying to overseed and require raking. Honestly I’m getting tired of looking at my lawn now and I would hate to think I have to wait until the fall to start the process so any kind of help you can offer would be greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
This is awesome! I’ve been wondering how to fix my grass, it keeps coming in thin. I’ll definitely try overseeding – I may actually do it this Spring too and see how it does, but I’ll hit it again in the Fall. Thanks for sharing the article! I’m checking out your other articles too so that I can finally have a nice looking lawn. 🙂
Do you happen to have a link for the sprinkler hose you show during the watering portion? I’m in Iowa as well and a recent homeowner and our yard doesn’t have a sprinkler set up. We moved in towards the end of summer so I bought one of the standalone hose attachments that you have to move around every few mins, but I’m looking for something where I can set it up through the yard and turn it on and not have to worry about moving it every few minutes. Thanks!
My yard is too big to go this route, but I think this year I’m just gonna put my efforts in to the front yard which is 2500 sq. Ft., my back is 44600 sq ft. So I just make sure it is cut and trimmed but not much more, the front has a lot of roots that are exposed so that’s where the problem lies, not sure what to do with the roots
I live Woodbury mn and have a lawn service question. Right now I’m only doing a weed and feed but looking to step up a little. I’m addition I want to add detatching, aeration and slit seed yearly. I have just shy of a half acre so I will let the lawn company do it as they already do weed and feed and have been great. Question is what and when? Overall my yard is hit and miss- some good spot and some bad spots, and some thin spots. I was thinking dethatch and slit seed in spring and then aerate fall…maybe another slit seed if fall for the next couple of years to really give it some Help then go down to once a year once I have a fuller yard. thoughts and suggestions.
I live in northwest Iowa and have just about 5 acres of lawn. Most of it is on mild to steep slopes. I’ve got some good ole Loess Hills silt and I would really love to have a thicker concentration of grass in my yard to prevent all the loose dirt from blowing around. I’ll be going over the yard with a pre-emergent in the spring as most of my yard is covered in crab grass and goose grass among many other thorny weed types. I have a tow behind dethatcher and aerator. My question to you is, now that you have a little background, is it worth doing this on such a large scale as it will be difficult to get water to the entire lawn? This past year had been hard on the lawn. Extremely dry and hot summer and extremely dry and windy winter so far and these rollercoaster temperature swings are going to be hard on the lawn as well. On the flip side, the weather was beautiful this week and I was able to haul a water tank around and water my sapling trees in early February!
Hey Ryan, I live in the Seattle area where the smoke from the wildfires is awful. I dethatched and overseeded/fertilized on Labor Day before the smoke rolled in, but have noticed that NOTHING has grown in since then. I’m assuming it’s because of the smoke, but what I’m wondering is if I’ll have to redo everything when it all clears or if it’ll all just start to work on its own.
Thank you for this great article! I spent some time bringing my lawn back to life but after perusal this article, I just have a few questions. I live in Denver, and also an area where there is some sand and clay below the dirt. So what I did this year was before winter last year, I put down some “before winter” fertilizer, then added some maple leaf mulch from my huge maple tree. Then come spring added seed, then top soil. The lawn is great, and the weeds are not as bad like you said in your article. However I have what seems to be different types of grass. I would like to try to make it look uniform, what do you suggest? Also, I notice in your article when people are mowing, they are letting the shavings shoot out onto the lawn. Is it better to use a bag and dump the shavings or keep them on the lawn? Thanks again!
Hi hoping you see this! Ive gotten through dethatching, core aeration and have a low mow on tap for this week. Looking to see your thoughts on dealing with remnants of crabgrass before I overseed. Am i OK to overseed now and just let the crab grass die off at first frost and start the new season with a solid app of pre emergent?
When I bought my house I eventually sheet mulched away all of the grass and planted a food forest. I then gave away my lawnmower to my brother-in-law who still uses it today. What is nice about this approach is that now, in a very small city lot, I grow hundreds of pounds of fruit and vegetables. When I need grass clippings for compost I need only wait until the weekend and my neighbors cut them, bag them up for me, and leave them on the road for me to pick up. They are very nice. While they mow their lawns I enjoy perusal them work to make half my compost for me. I often read a book in the shade of a pear tree and drink tea. Before I put in the food forest I wouldn’t have been very healthy eating the grass. But now I have about 80 species of edible plants growing every season. This generally costs about 15 hours of work a season between starting plants, planting, and harvest. I don’t tend to water my garden so I also get savings on the water bill. Thanks for the lovely lawns.
Hey, just saw your article, really liked it! Thanks for all the helpful information. Question: I took some samples of my lawn and found quite a few lawn grubs. I was planning on starting the process of overseeding this year, but I was wondering if I should wait until next year since the grubs are just going to eat the new roots. Should I wait to overseed until fall of next year after treating the grubs in the spring? Or is it ok to start the overseeding process now and treat the grubs in the spring anyway?
Great article, thanks. My lawn hasn’t been aerated in probably 6-7 years and has some rough spots. I had my lawn aerated last Saturday so its been a couple days. I used a 3 in 1 Scotts Turf Builder (fertilizer/ seed and soil builder) on it today and then watered a bit. I really don’t think there was enough seed in the 3 and 1 bag, so I am curious if I should do a straight overseeding on the lawn tomorrow and then do a starter fertilizer again a few days after that? Let me know what you think. Thanks, appreciate it. Tim
Hey Ryan, I’m getting ready to aerate and overseed my lawn on early September here in upstate NY. This was such a helpful article to get me started and what I need to do. I have many thin areas and problem this season with weak root system so need to overseed. Mind giving me a suggestion for grass type with deep root system. I currently have KBG which I think is a KBG 31 – very clumpy type grass, annual rye and creeping red fescue. Thanks for great article. And do you need to slit seed if you’re aerating?
I currently have a bunch of tall fescue clumps I plan to kill before Overseeding. Next year I might do a complete renovation. What seed do you recommend to overseed a tall fescue yard? I also might level the backyard. Think Overseeding KB/rye will choke out the tall fescue? I really just want the clumps of wide blades to go away
Is it possible to overseed a backyard (after core aerating and dethatching) when you have pets? I have a large dog (great Dane) and I want to overseed the entire lawn but I feel like I would be wasting my time if I have a large breed dog that’s going to trample over new seedlings . Obviously I can’t keep the dog off the entire backyard so just wondering what your thoughts might be on this
Great article. Thanks for sharing . I was wondering, what type of grass would you recommend for maryland zone 7? I am looking to get my yard started right and have the lawn food to put down throughout the yard in a few days, but looking to start my fro t yard anew since I don’t get any foot traffic on that. Any suggestions?
How do you stop the tall fecus grass from clumping. I have tuffs all over my back law they are very green and look horrible. Also what can I do since I have children on my lawn every day. I have two young children and having a family day care. I guess I can’t over seed? So what do I live in Southern Ontario.
Hey Ryan great article! Question, Im live in Edmonton Alberta Canada and about to detatch and overseed. Im torn between a perineal rye grass or blue grass. We regularly get a 60 degree Celsius change from winter to summer with lots of snow and freezing rain in between. Any help would be appreciated thanks! Robbie
Great article. Couple of questions – my small garden has mature oak trees (common woods, not mine) backing onto it which means it suffers from shade and leaf fall in the autumn (fall). Because of the leaf fall which covers the lawn on a daily basis, they are replaced almost as quickly as they are removed, the lawn suffers during autumn and then winter. In this case would it be better to do over-seeding in spring and if so when would you suggest, April? (temperate northern hemisphere, UK) – you don’t mention birds, do you not find that when you put seeds down you are simply inviting birds to come and feast, how do you stop this?
Thank you for this. I work very hard on my lawn, including hiring a professional lawn service and by late July, I’m pulling weeds individually out of my lawn when I mow, so I keep on top of it. BUT, I battle bentgrass and the fact that my lawn has about 6 different types of grass in it, including broadleaf fescue or perrenial ryegrass (not sure which), which looks ugly, almost like crabgrass sometimes. I have aerated the lawn and overseeded with Kentucky blue grass before, but I don’t know if it really did anything, but I plan on doing it again this year. I will look into the dethaching step, as I have never done that before. Again, thanks.
Hi may I ask which kind of grass seed you would recommend for central California. Generally we have hot summers in excess of 90+ degrees. It’s not uncommon to see days with 110 degree temps. I know some people use bramuda grass but wonder what you would recommend. Great articles and thank you in advance
I’m doing this to my lawn as we speak. So far I had it aerated, mowed it super short, dethatched it thoroughly, and even mowed it one last time after raking up all the thatch piles. Then I seeded it, and I’ve been watering it twice a day (enough to keep the soil/lawn moist, but no puddles or mud). At day 3 I put down my starter fertilizer. It’s early May here in the mountain west, so it’s still a little cool (50’s-60’s) and as of right now I don’t see the new grass growing just yet – but, again, it’s only been 3 days so I’m obviously getting ahead of myself. Lol Anyway, I’ll be mowing it again in at least a couple more weeks when things get growing. Then I’ll do the second round of starter fertilizer in at least a month. After that I’ll do the normal rounds of summer and fall weed n feed fertilizers, along with regular mowing, to hopefully get my lawn looking nice and no longer be be such an eyesore in my neighborhood. I’ve also put in a lot of time to fix all my sprinklers, both so they’re more effective and also so they’re not wasting as much water by overspraying the sidewalks and driveway. Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to make this article to help noobs like me learn about lawn care! I’m hopeful I get some noticeable improvements.
Very beautiful and easy simple steps you have shown in this article I love it I just bought a house and I’m gonna start doing what are you said thank you so very much for supporting community from New Jersey what type of grass you think I should go or what kind of seeds I should buy, and it’s almost November Do you think I should do it now since the snow is coming over after the snow
Ryan- I have to say THANK YOU!!!! I followed your process and guides and worked absolutely wonderful. I never thought we could have the lawn look as good as it does now! I will try and post pictures of the process. One additional step I took was to add heavy nitrogen. (Mil organic slow release) and (Spray Nitrogen Fast release). Really made the lawn stand out. Can’t wait until spring! THANK YOU AGAIN!
Making my first attempt at fixing my lawn next week. I have about a half acre of lawn, and don’t want to start over. A lot of dead spots that make it very lumpy and uneven (some erosion). I don’t think major leveling would be in the works for me this year, but will try some corrections. Planning on taking main steps from this article, cut low, core aerate, I’ll rent a top dresser to spread loam, and seed. My landscaper friend suggested seeding before and after top dressing, might try it that way. Lot to learn though, certain things i feel like I’m just taking a stab in the dark, haha, like how much loam I should have. Hopefully it’ll look half as good as your when it’s done!
This is such a great article I have watched so far. Question; I have a person who comes and do weekly cutting in my small lawn. He charged me a lot last year for seeding and he did not do a good job. He is asking me this year again. I don’t think I would hire him to seeding this year. I think I can do this my own. So I am MA. I think Sept is a good month for seeding. But which week? Say if he cuts the lawn, and I aerate the lawn and add seeding and watering. How many days it will take to germinate the grass from seed before he comes to cut the grass(that he does weekly). I know you mentioned give 4-5 days before add the fertilizer. Also I notice my grass is burning very quickly. Probably he the blue grass that does not put up heat.
Hi Ryan, I enjoy your website. I have made improvements in my yard after perusal your website. I find your articles very informative but, more importantly they motivate me to get started on my lawn. My question is I have dry spots near my curb. Kind of stays dry regardless of how much watering. I think the dry grass is due to the fast run off into the gutter. Thus not allowing the water to soak in. Any solutions?
As always Ryan you are spot on in so many ways. Great advice for the person who only mows. But i don’t follow your methodology completely. I bio aerate year round. No more core aeration. And instead of “overseeding” i use a slit seeder. Drill the seed right into the soil. I have to use 3 different types of seed because I have trees. Full shade seed in one area, sun/shade in another and full sun in a 3rd. So, heh, lets get together sometime and drink a beer. Appreciate your articles.
First of all, a big thanks to Ryan, I have learned so much from you. I have a question about aeration: I have been using a Brinly (PA-48BH) plug aerator for a few years now. It is a tow-behind plug aerator. In the spring and fall when mowing, and when it is not too wet or dry, I hook it up to the tractor during mowing (just one time, if that isn’t clear…). It seems to pull up plugs, but I haven’t used anything else, and have no idea how it compares to the rental units (like in this article). Do the rental units do a better job (deeper, more complete plugs)? Or am I doing OK with my current unit? How would I know? Any help / advice is appreciated.
Love the delivery method of your article. Clear, concise, and to the point supported with great article to further the point. You have earned another subscriber. I am also surprised that you don’t have many more subscribers. 95% of those perusal your articles are doing so to improve their home. Great content.
Ryan, I noticed you started your overseed process on early September. I am in Northeastern PA and wondering if you think that is the time I should start, or maybe even a little earlier. We gave been in our house five years and I have never dethatcher it, nor do I know if that was done by the previous owner. I have core aerated a few times, including this past fall. So I am just concerned detatching/aerating my acre of lawn may take me longer and delay the seeding to further into September. Thanks
Hi Ryan, really have been enjoying perusal your articles. I do have a plan of overseeding my yard this upcoming fall but right now the yard is having very bad crabgrass problem. I use Tenacity to slow them down but how do I completely eliminate them as part of the preparation processing for overseeding in about two months. I live in Delaware, and my yard size is similar to yours. it has a lot of shades cos of the big maple tree. Thanks so much in advance.
I am from Montreal Quebec, Canada. I am new to landscaping I.e seeding a bare lawn. I did seed my bare lawn in mid august and it turned out quiet good. I haven’t used any starter fertilizer when seeding the lawn. It’s been around 5 weeks from the day I seeded the lawn. Also, I did mow the grass yesterday. My question is should I apply starter fertilizer now and skip fall fertilizer or should I just apply fall fertilizer or should I skip both starter fertilizer and fall fertilizer for this year? If I have to apply fall fertilizer, what ratio is good? Can you please advise? Thanks,
So been Following thanks for the awesome content- the past 2 seasons have been leveling the lawn with topsoil- followed all the steps in this article but before overseeding been laying down the soil to level it off- My back yard is still very bumpy when mowing- do you suggest to skip the soil this fall and overseed it to have the lawn thicker as there are areas that the grass did not take- or add the soil to try and make it level again, And if so just shifted topsoil by itself or like a mix with sand. I do not want to go all sand as this is 2 much for me to keep up with- I’m just trying to fix the lawn so its no longer bumpy when i mow 🙂 thanks Ryan
You are so helpful and hope you are able to answers question Ryan, Please can you help me?Or maybe is there someone who can guide me…? I am confused.. I made the mistake and fertilized in MAD HOT JUNE then again in JULY with Miloginate and fried some of the lawn. I believe it is DEAD grass, not dormant because I can just pull it right up easily with no effort. Soooo I tried to fix that by watering like mad and I fertilizing last month with PGF complete(16-4-8) So….. I want to overseed my lawn now .. I am in zone 5 in New York . I bought… Pennington Smart Tall Fescue Grass Seed, 20 lb AND Kentucky 31 Fescue 5lb AND Pennington Smart Seed Perennial Rye Grass Seed 3lbs .. My thought was to mix them all together and over seed. If I put the grass seed down when when will I use the fertilizers??? I have Ironite and Espoma Bio-tone starter and both PGF complete(16-4-8) and the Miloginate(6-4-0).. when would I use them? Should I put the seed down first and a week later use one of these products? Should I put down Miloginate and then add the seed the same day?
Could the reason I’m having a hard time with my lawn be bad soil? It’s filled with rocks from pea sized up to a golf ball all over. I’m in a rental so don’t want to spend too much money on this. Any and all help is appreciated. If it is my soil I don’t want to waste my time aerating/dethatching/overseeding. Btw I’m in the Pacific Northwest. I’m just stumped because in the spring my lawn looks beautiful then dies despite watering every day and weed/feed.