Hey everyone, I just recently purchased a house and have inherited a lawn that is in pretty rough shape. The grass consists of mainly crabgrass, weeds, and there are several areas of the grass that is pretty much dead. What do you suppose is my best course of action to get my lawn back in order? Please bear in mind that this is my very first lawn and have absolutely no idea what I am doing. Thanks in advance.
bsteeves- Hello there. I am not an expert, but I am also planning on doing some improvement on my turf. Of all growing things, grass is the very least of my interests... that being said, we also have areas of crabgrass, and have neglected our turf, in favor of planting shrubs, perennials etc. If your lawn is totally awful, you might consider getting rid of all of it and starting over. (which would need to be in the spring) with either seed or sod. If it isn't the entire area , you could do hand pulling... We are going to start by aerating and getting some good fertilizer down this Fall. I have been picking brains, and researching online to get info. You can put down a pre emergent along with the fertilizer this Fall, and then a crabgrass preventer in the spring about the time the forsythia is blooming. There are also herbicides, if you don't mind going that route. Garden centers are more than willing to sell those products. Just be certain to read labels, and follow directions. Like I said, I'm no authority, but this might be a start for you...Good luck!
Hi Kay, Thanks for your help...I would definitely like to fertilize this Fall...I have already started pulling out the areas of crabgrass by hand. What about the patches of grass that died this summer, will that come back in the Spring? There are a few areas of my lawn that are very sloped so the grass in these parts has a hard time retaining the water which is why it died during our drought...I might consider putting flower beds in these spots because they may always be a problem but I think I should try to get the grass to grow back first as I would prefer that route. Should I seed these areas now or wait until the spring? The areas are not down to the dirt but its very straw like.
Amazing how weeds survive and thrive on neglect. Weeds like spurge thrive along walkways and drives. Purslane grows just about any place it seems and chickweed.............. Your straw sounds like grass that has gone dormant and regular watering and a fall feeding is in order. Crabgrass, if it is going to seed, you might as well wait till spring to put down crabgrass preventer. You can use 'Round Up' now and throw down seed in a couple of weeks, but grass needs to get started now. You will still need to use a pre emergant next spring. This should also deter many other annual weeds from coming up in the spring (above mentioned weeds). It will also prevent grass seeds from germinating for several weeks. Without seeing your lawn in the spring, I haven't a clue what kind of spring weeds you have (weeds that germinate now and bloom in the spring). A good pre emergent now wouldn't hurt unless you plan to seed it too. For now, I would get to watering to see what greens up in the way of grass. Use a fall/winter fertilizer once you see if you have grass growing. You can wait well into October and early November to feed. A weed and feed or something like 'Weed B Gone, will work on perennial weeds like clover and dandelions. No matter, next spring a crabgrass preventer is a must and follow above instructions. After several weeks, You can seed, but you must keep it damp at all times for seed to germinate. If it goes dry, baby roots die and no grass. Kentucky Blue takes almost a month to germinate. You may want a good sun or sun/shade mix that shows some germination within 10 days and still keep it watered. Seed is always better than sod (roots grow deeper)and much cheaper. Once your lawn is full and thick, many weed don't get the chance to germinate. This may be a 2 year project. Hope this helps. PS. welcome to the Stew. Ron
