Fall Aerating and Overseeding

[spierceisu]

I know it is still a ways off yet, but when should I plan on aerating and overseeding this fall? I plan on renting an aerator and overseeder and doing it myself. My lawn was not looking good this spring after we moved into the house late last fall. I decided to dethatch and fertilize around Memorial Day and it backfired due to no rain happening after that. It is now back to where it was before dethatching. I have no idea what the people who lived in the home previously did for lawn maintenance, but I hope I can get it up to my standards with some TLC. When I overseed in the fall, do I need to water it, or should I let the spring rains do their thing?

 

[imaclone2]

I know it is still a ways off yet, but when should I plan on aerating and overseeding this fall? I plan on renting an aerator and overseeder and doing it myself. My lawn was not looking good this spring after we moved into the house late last fall. I decided to dethatch and fertilize around Memorial Day and it backfired due to no rain happening after that. It is now back to where it was before dethatching. I have no idea what the people who lived in the home previously did for lawn maintenance, but I hope I can get it up to my standards with some TLC. When I overseed in the fall, do I need to water it, or should I let the spring rains do their thing?

The old rule of thumb is to seed when the kids go back to school and, yes, water regularly to get the seed started.

 

[DSMCy]

I always try to do it around Labor Day. Ideally the weather is still warm during the day but cool at night.

Yes, you'll need to water the new seeding.

Be careful when/if you apply fertilizer. The new seed needs to be established. I try to fertilize before Halloween to get it down before any early snow.

 

[spierceisu]

I always try to do it around Labor Day. Ideally the weather is still warm during the day but cool at night.

Yes, you'll need to water the new seeding.

Be careful when/if you apply fertilizer. The new seed needs to be established. I try to fertilize before Halloween to get it down before any early snow.

Should I put starter fertilizer down for my fall feeding or standard fall fertilizer?

 

[BoxsterCy]

If you all end up with watering restrictions, and the drought continues, this might not be a good year for seeding. I was thinking of a half-ass over seed for part of the yard this year (dead where dumpster was sitting last fall) . Likely not going to happen as they just went to a voluntary odd-even watering ban. People are too stubborn and non-compliant for anything in the public interest so the complete ban will be coming in a couple of weeks.

 

[Turn2]

Should I put starter fertilizer down for my fall feeding or standard fall fertilizer?

Yes. The products labeled "winterizer" usually wind up being somewhere midway between the two. Just don't OVERDO it.

 

[Tri4Cy]

Our builders put down sod the day before we closed and it was dormant within days. Watering like crazy for the last two weeks and finally starting to see some emerging life. I'm worried we're going to have a lot of it just not make it though. Especially the low lying areas that are pretty consistently flooded due to all the watering on the high spots.

I'm trying to figure out my seeding plans for the fall too. I was told mid-September is great. Gives it a good month of cooler weather to establish itself. Then you can do your October feed before winter.

 

[spierceisu]

Should I use a particular type of grass seed for overseeding (perennial rye, fescue, Kentucky bluegrass), or should I use a blend?

 

[Yaz]

Mid to Late August is the best. Water appropriately and this will give plants plenty of time to grow big enough that the winter wont kill them. Weather is changing so probably could start a little later as we are now in the Kansas City zone basically.

The last 2 years, and again this year, I am over seeding with Thin blade, tall fescue in the fall (August basically). Original yard was bluegrass. Fescue is far more drought tolerant as their roots are 14-16" approx... versus bluegrass at 4-5".

My 2 cents.

 

[Turn2]

Should I use a particular type of grass seed for overseeding (perennial rye, fescue, Kentucky bluegrass), or should I use a blend?

This is somewhat a matter of personal preference. The best lawn I ever started from scratch was a blend of turf-type tall fescue. A blend of species and varieties will give you some protection in less than perfect growing conditions. If you visit a supplier that blends their own they can probably recommend what works best for their customers. I'm not sure where that would be locally, maybe Des Moines Feed and Seed? Maybe some others who have purchased recently can chime in.

 

[tim_redd]

Mid to Late August is the best. Water appropriately and this will give plants plenty of time to grow big enough that the winter wont kill them. Weather is changing so probably could start a little later as we are now in the Kansas City zone basically.

The last 2 years, and again this year, I am over seeding with Thin blade, tall fescue in the fall (August basically). Original yard was bluegrass. Fescue is far more drought tolerant as their roots are 14-16" approx... versus bluegrass at 4-5".

My 2 cents.

I seeded a bunch of PRG last fall and most of it died in June. Gonna put down a bunch of tall fescue this fall for the reasons you mentioned.

 

[180class]

I've had a ton of weeds pop up over the last month or so due to the heat. Should I apply a weed killer first before overseeding this fall?

 

[ruflosn]

I know it is still a ways off yet, but when should I plan on aerating and overseeding this fall? I plan on renting an aerator and overseeder and doing it myself. My lawn was not looking good this spring after we moved into the house late last fall. I decided to dethatch and fertilize around Memorial Day and it backfired due to no rain happening after that. It is now back to where it was before dethatching. I have no idea what the people who lived in the home previously did for lawn maintenance, but I hope I can get it up to my standards with some TLC. When I overseed in the fall, do I need to water it, or should I let the spring rains do their thing?

You are going to have to have about 350 on top of the aerator to get them tines in the ground if this weather keeps up

 

[Pat]

So, hypothetically, if I wasn’t concerned about Better Homes-level lawn quality, I could I overseed later in hopes that it would come up in the spring and I wouldn’t have to water?

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

So, hypothetically, if I wasn’t concerned about Better Homes-level lawn quality, I could I overseed later in hopes that it would come up in the spring and I wouldn’t have to water?

If you do that you won't want to use a pre emergent in the spring.

 

[BillyClone]

For the last two falls, I’ve done the following:

1. Aerate
2. Spread seed (50/50 bluegrass/ryegrass blend)
3. Spread a starter fertilizer
4. Spread Milorganite (organic, slow-release)
5. Make sure the lawn gets about 1”-2” water per week for the next 3 weeks (rain + sprinklers)

I try to do this in the last week of August or first week of September. I can really notice a thickening of the lawn during the following April. I’ve been happy with the results using this method.

 

[mramseyISU]

I hired out the aeration last fall and did the over seeding myself. The place I moved into 2 years ago was vacant for 2 years prior to that and we had a few dead spots where the leaves piled up under a birch tree. This year that dead spot is noticeably improved. I've still got some spots that aren't great and I think that comes down to the irrigation system missing them. Overall though I'm pretty happy with how the over seeding worked last fall. I think I did it in late September FWIW. Now I just need to get a better handle on where the dogs are burning the grass in the backyard.

 

[cycloner29]

Thinking about hiring a lawn company to aerate and overseed this fall weather dependent. I have and Ace hardware about two blocks from where I live. They have a aerator but no overseeder. Any idea cost wise to have a company come in and do it?

 

[Tailg8er]

I'm thinking I probably should dethatch at some point, is there a best time to do that? Anyone know how much it typically costs to have that done around the DSM metro? Not sure if it's worth it to just buy a cheap dethatcher. Not that I love the idea of storing another tool I only use once every year or two..

 

[spierceisu]

I'm thinking I probably should dethatch at some point, is there a best time to do that? Anyone know how much it typically costs to have that done around the DSM metro? Not sure if it's worth it to just buy a cheap dethatcher. Not that I love the idea of storing another tool I only use once every year or two..

I bought an electric Sun Joe dethatcher for about $130 and I thought it worked pretty well. I had a whole pickup bed full of clippings when I was done. I went over with the dethatcher and then bagged it up with my mower.

I would do the fall or early spring. I can't tell you which one would be better.