Des Moines has a Site One location. They will have quality KBG seed. They are open to the public but mostly serve commercial clients. You can order from SeedSuperStore online and they are good option too.
Yard Care for Dummies
- Thread starter wxman1
- Start date
Des Moines has a Site One location. They will have quality KBG seed. They are open to the public but mostly serve commercial clients. You can order from SeedSuperStore online and they are good option too.
I'm going to overseed this fall, especially focused on some bare spots from the dog. I'm thinking I'll probably aerate first, but if I don't, is there anything I should still be doing to "prepare" the soil for the seeding? Do I need to thrown down any topsoil or nutrients on top of the seeds to get better germination?
As far as seed types, I've got a predominately fully shaded backyard and mainly sun front yard. Should I just mix the seeds and see what grows the best, or will that hamper successful germination? Fescue in the shade, bluegrass sun?
As far as seed types, I've got a predominately fully shaded backyard and mainly sun front yard. Should I just mix the seeds and see what grows the best, or will that hamper successful germination? Fescue in the shade, bluegrass sun?
Well, I guess not 100%. I thought so based on appearance (large blades, seems to grow in clumps). I'll take a picture when I'm home.
You don't need to aerate, but you do need the seed to contact the soil directly. If you have thatch or other plant material then you must rake that up so the seed can touch the soil. A thatching rake works well for this as opposed to a regular leaf rake. Alternatively you could rent a de-dethatcher or slit seeder. Cover the seed with a thin layer of peat moss. A big bale of it is like $10 to $15 typically at Lowes/Home Depot.
Germinating bluegrass from seed is not easy. It takes much longer than fescue and even after germination it grows very slowly at first. Bluegrass also requires more intensive watering and fertilization after establishment and doesn't do well in shade. The big advantage though is it spreads eventually filling in bare spots on its own.
I know Sept is typically the best time to overseed. I live in DSM. Obviously we've been very dry, I don't have an irrigation system. What should soil temps be before I overseed? I will definitely plan on watering once the seed is down. If I wait until later this fall, does frost kill the seed?
Tell me more about dethatching please. I have a pull-behind core aerator I use in the spring, but I still have a thatch problem (pretty sure that is the problem anyway). I have about an acre, so a rake is not the answer. And it is clay soil, real soft when wet and hard as cement when dry.
Will a pull-behind dethatcher (the type with spring loaded tines on it) get the job done? Or do I need to rent a serious power rake / vertical mower thing? Can you overdo it with dethatching?
Can I do this yet in the fall?
My grass is about half really nice, lush and green without even too much fertilizer. But large sections have over time become filled with brown spots.
I have a greenworks $100 plug in push dethatcher and for the money it’s awesome. Just have to deal with the cord.
So I’ll dethatch, the put the bagger on the mower and suck it up.
I have dethatch rake too, and it’ll work but also quickly give you blisters.
I've never worried about soil temps really when Fall seeding. It's more about keeping the seed from drying out. Air temps in the 90's make keeping it watered a tough task. You want the grass to become established before Winter comes. Good temps would be 70's during the day and upper 50's or above at night. 80's during the day is fine too.
I've never used a pull behind dethatcher so I'm not sure if that works well. My experience with dethatchers is generally just to get seed to soil contact. Thatch isn't usually a huge issue in fescue lawns unless cultural mowing practices impact it like if you rarely mow and side discharge huge amounts of grass.
I've used a power rake and a manual thatching rake. I just bought a Greenworks electrical dethatcher off Amazon that JP4CY mentioned. I haven't used it yet as it just arrived yesterday. I'm going to change over about 750 sq. ft of my front lawn from Tall Fescue to Kentucky Bluegrass and that's why I bought it.
I'm not sure you can really overdo it with dethatching, but at some point it's a waste of time. Some thatch doesn't really hurt anything and actually acts a bit as a mulch. It's only a problem when it gets really thick.
Almost all of the easy to find stuff with Quinclorac in it will be a cocktail of herbicides. You'll likely end up with Ortho Weed-B-Gone max w/ crabgrass control. There are stand-alone quinclorac formulations on the market, but I've never seen them at your regular hardware store.
I’m curious to know what else you thought it could be? You seem to know your stuff so I was wondering if there is another weed (or weeds) that get mistaken as crabgrass and if there is a difference in how those should be treated?
I have good luck with pull behind dethatcher with about same area.
I’d advise on lawn sweeper or bagger attachment because the amount of clippings put out will always surprise you.
I don't know ****, but I'd say it's tall fescue. Which can only be removed manually, or roundup.
If it’s a manageable size, I would manually pull it. Maybe with the help of a garden spade or weed puller. Crab grass usually comes up pretty easy. If you go out on a day after rain it will jump out of the ground.
I used orthos crabgrass killer a few years ago and it killed a lot of my grass too. Wish I had just pulled it.
Lot
Lot's off people think any weed that isn't a dandelion is crabgrass. Earlier in the thread someone eluded to crabgrass and it was actually nutsedge, which at least wasn't a broadleaf weed but in reality doesn't look that much like crabgrass. There are lots of grassy weeds though and their treatment options vary. Many times the only option is manual removal or a non-selective herbicide. I didn't want you to spray when it might not work. Quinclorac works pretty well on extremely young crabgrass or crabgrass that is old and past the 5 tiller stage, but it's not so great on "juvenile" crabgrass actually.
Other mistaken identities for "look like crabgrass" :
Dallisgrass
Orchardgrass
Goosegrass
Quackgrass (i hate this stuff)
Poa Annua
Poa Trivialis
Certain types of rough Tall Fescue
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/lawns/lawn-weed-identification
Lot's off people think any weed that isn't a dandelion is crabgrass. Earlier in the thread someone eluded to crabgrass and it was actually nutsedge, which at least wasn't a broadleaf weed but in reality doesn't look that much like crabgrass. There are lots of grassy weeds though and their treatment options vary. Many times the only option is manual removal or a non-selective herbicide. I didn't want you to spray when it might not work. Quinclorac works pretty well on extremely young crabgrass or crabgrass that is old and past the 5 tiller stage, but it's not so great on "juvenile" crabgrass actually.
Other mistaken identities for "look like crabgrass" :
Dallisgrass
Orchardgrass
Goosegrass
Quackgrass (i hate this stuff)
Poa Annua
Poa Trivialis
Certain types of rough Tall Fescue
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/lawns/lawn-weed-identification
I've got a buttload of Tall Fescue in my side yard, and it's mixed in with crabgrass and a bit of Yellow Nutsedge. Seems like somehow the very wet June with the extremely dry 6 weeks that followed led to "the summer of bad grasses."
I've looked up more grasses on the web this summer than in my prior lifetime combined.
