Go outside and take a good hard look at your lawn. Does it really make you happy? If the answer is no, you can take advantage of redoing some or all of your lawn through renovation. That’s right, starting over and replacing that Heinz 57 lawn into a beautiful Turf Fescue lawn. The greatest part of this project is the fact that you can do it yourself. It can sound intimidating but it’s pretty easy. This summer has been very hot and dry. Do follow the instructions, especially for removing your old lawn. Here are the do’s and don’ts to show you how easy it can be.

SEEDING NEW OR RESEEDING EXISTING LAWN

Let’s discuss some “Don’ts” before we cover the “Do’s”.

Don’t rototill the soil. This process causes the soil to settle unevenly, wakes up thousands of weed seeds that will compete with the new grass, (and it’s a lot of unnecessary work).
Don’t apply topsoil to overall area unless you spread it to a depth of 4 to 6 inches to entire area. Use topsoil to fill in any low areas. Settle the new topsoil with irrigation or rain before putting down your seed. Re-loosen the top soil with a steel rake to break up the crust. Then put down your seed.
Don’t even read any further unless you can keep new seed dampened down daily ‘till germination (assuming no rain on a given day). Try the winter seed method if this seems like too much trouble!

Now the “Do’s” - please read carefully...
Do kill all existing vegetation in area to be reseeded. Weeds and other vegetation should be watered well prior to application of herbicide. Healthy weeds die faster. In the fall, allow 3 to 4 weeks to re-treat some weeds that regrow after initial treatment. Old lawn should be between 2 to 3” tall when treating, especially true with nut grass. Great vegetation killers that are safe to use are Round-up™ and Killzall™. September is the best month of the year to plant grass seed. Mow dead grass low to the ground and collect the clippings.
Do rent a seed slitter with a seed box. Set the blade to cut a 1/2” to 1” slit. Assuming you are seeding with a variety of turf fescue, set the seed box to 2 1/2” lbs per 1m sq. ft. Make 4 passes east to west and north to south and two criss cross passes putting down a total of 10lbs of seed per 1m sq. feet.
Do freeze your seed overnight. It can even stay frozen until you’re ready to apply, this will speed up germination. Do now before you forget.
Do fertilize with a lawn food high in quick release nitrogen. Do not mix seed and fertilizer together in the same applicator hopper. Apply fertilizer first. If you are currently on the 3 step lawn program, you‘ve just put down your September application.
Do lightly water grass seed daily (assuming rainless days) to keep seed moist until germination. Then water once weekly the equivalent of 1 inch of water and/or rain. Continue to water as above during dry and hot weather.
Do mow your grass as soon as it reaches 2 1/4”. Mow at 2” and mow often. After 4 weeks raise the mower to
2 ½ to 3 inches. The more cuttings, the quicker the new grass matures. You will get a few new weeds. Do not apply weed killer till you’ve given the new grass 3 cuttings.
Do use good grass seed. If you’re going to do all the above steps, don’t mess everything up with so-called bargain seeds. Check the seed label for purity, weed seed content, and inert ingredients.

SPOT SEEDING BARE SPOTS

1. Take a steel rake and loosen soil.
2. Apply seed with applicator or by hand at the rate of 4/5 seeds per inch (freeze grass seed
overnight for faster germination). Not necessary for winter seeding.
3. Dampen down daily until seed germinates (a light application of straw is optional).

The fall season provides optimum conditions for lawn renovation practices. The aims are to return the lawn to 100% grass cover of desirable species.

Late Season Fertilization (LSF) for Cool Season Grasses

Turf managers have utilized late season nitrogen fertilization, sometimes referred to as fall fertilization, for years. This type of fertility program involves the application of much of the season’s nitrogen during the late season months of September through December. It is important that late season fertilization not be confused with dormant and / or winter fertilization. The latter method implies that fertilizer applications are made after the turf has lost most or all of its green color and is not actively growing. This differs notably from the late season concept, which requires that nitrogen be applied before the turf loses its green color in the late fall.

Late season fertilization is popular because many of the agronomic and aesthetic advantages attributed to its use are not realized when spring and/or summer fertilization are practiced. Advantages of the late season concept include:

• Better fall and winter color

• Earlier spring green-up

• Increased shoot density

• Improved fall, winter, and spring root growth

• Enhanced storage of energy reserves (carbohydrates) within the turf plant

Quality

Turf fertilized in September and again during October, November, or December is generally shown to possess better fall and winter color than a turf that was not fertilized at that time. In addition, signs of spring green-up have been shown to occur two to six weeks earlier if the turf has been fertilized the previous fall. Most importantly, the enhanced rate of spring greening is realized without stimulating excessive shoot growth that accompanies the early spring nitrogen applications called for in most turf fertility programs.

Timing

The late-season nitrogen fertilization concept is designed to apply nitrogen during that period of the year (late fall) that will favor root growth over shoot growth. Shoot growth of cool season grasses occur most readily in the temperature range of 50-65ºF. Root growth of cool season grasses will continue at soil temperatures close to freezing. When air temperatures in late fall consistently drop below 50ºF shoot growth slows or ceases but soil temperatures are still in the favorable range for significant root, rhizome, and stolon growth. LSF capitalizes on this differential in optimum temperatures for growth of roots versus shoots.

The timing of LSF should be made when vertical shoot growth has stopped, but the turf leaves are still green. Vertical shoot growth of cool season grasses will generally slow and stop at air temperatures of 45-50ºF. A properly timed LSF will extend the “greening” time of the turf longer into the late fall and early winter without additional top growth.

The report goes on to say you want lawn fertilizer that is quickly released and not dependent on air and soil temps. Select a fertilizer that gives you at least 1 pound of Nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft. Shop for it at retailers that have lawn experts on hand. I personally have been on this plan for five years. I wish you could see my lawn, it’s the best on the street.

For a copy of this entire report go to http://bloomingarden.com/falllawn.html

“For more timely tips concerning what’s going on this week go to www.bloomingarden.com.”