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Bob F · 29-04-2014, 09:06 PM posted to alt.home.lawn.garden

wrote:
On Monday, April 28, 2014 3:28:07 PM UTC-4, Bob F wrote:
Marko wrote:

I would be grateful for any sound advice to my current garden
issue. I

moved into my property 18 months ago and the garden had been poorly

maintained, overgrown and heavily populated by weeds. Last year I

trimmed and mowed and added evergreen complete using the push along

seed disperser, this had mixed results. Despite following the

instructions to the letter and regular watering and mowing the lawn

was just did not meet expectations. I have purposely left the lawn
so

far this year to see what I am up against.

Perhaps this is incorrect but seem to recall May being perfect for

undertaking gardening work. I am hoping to get started this week and

have a lawn fit for my young children to enjoy throughout summer.
Any

recommendations for archiving the best results are very welcome. I
am

open to using pesticides (or perhaps not?).

At my previous address I had a similar problem, to remedy I stripped

the turf, rotovated, allowed regrowth and treated before adding top

soil and turf. I was very happy with the results but it was tough

work and extreamly time consuming. Although this garden is much

smaller my time is sparse with a young family. This said I'm not shy

of getting stuck in, if returfing or reseeding is the only way, so
be

it. I have tried to attach some photos, if not here I will post

later. Many thanks for any suggestions.

Marko.

Below is what I have found effective in Seattle Washington, where it
is quite

wet for at least half the year. YMMV.

.

You'd be surprised what some fertilizer and water and MUCH longer
mowing would

do. Without reseeding, it will take awhile to fill in, but will
begin to look

better over the summer.

If it's a clump type grass, it will never fill in. Rhizome type
grass, eg blue grass can spread to new areas. Clump type grasses can
get bigger, but the won't fill in larger open areas. Weeds will.

Mowing it 3" deep (A finger length?) will help the roots

not dry out so much, and supply a lot more energy to the roots to
grow. The

longer grass will look greener just because it's longer too. I set
my mower at

its highest setting.

Fertilize it now, then wait a few days if you use a weed-n-feed type
fertilizer,

Fertilize it twice in a few days? Why?

WATER IT, not fertilize it.

or right away if you use a non-weed killer fertilizer, water it well
- at least

an inch of water. Then water it an inch a week or so for the summer
and see what

happens. Watering the lawn more, less often, will motivate the roots
to grow

deeper looking for water during the dry spells, resulting in more
drought

tolerant grass. Use a spreader to spread the fertilizer. If you get
it too haevy

in areas, that will kill the grass there.

I usually fertilize at 1/2 the recommended rate of fertilizer a few
times a year

and have very good results. Fertilizing in the fall (with a "fall"
fertilizer)

is said to be the most important application, as it helps the grass
roots grow

and spread during the wet season, and the lawn will take off in the
spring.

For weeds, I use a hand held trigger sprayer to spray just the weeds
with

weed-b-gon or similar lawn weed killer, rather than broadcasting it
or

weed-n-feed all over the lawn. If you keep the grass growing well,
the weeds

will not invade as much.

Herbicide shouldn't be used on newly seeded areas until the grass has
grown enough to be cut a few times.

If you want to overseed:

Rake the surface on all the bare spots to loosen the surface soil a
bit, add

some lawn starter fertilizer over the whole lawn, and spread seed,
rake gently,

or sprinkle enough soil over the seed to just hide it, then keep it
constantly

damp, not wet until the seed sprouts and gets an inch or more high.
Setting a

sprinkler timer to water it for 5 minutes 3 times during the day
hours has

worked well for me. The important thing is not to let the seed dry
out until it

has sprouted and rooted a bit. Then you start watering with more
water, but much

less often, working down to 1" or so once a week or so. Do not use a
general

lawn fertilizer too soon after seeding. Wait until the new grass
has grown to

3" or so.

I'd just rent an overseeder. A lot less work, it gets done right and
a much higher success rate.