"songbird" wrote in message ...
Guv Bob wrote:

what is underneath them?

dig them out (down at least eight
inches) and break up the soil, perhaps
add a little lime if it is acidic.

get different seed, a mix that will
blend with your existing lawn is best.

not the best time to be doing this
with the summer coming on, you'll likely
have to mist several times a day...

mulch lightly over the seed, but not
too heavy. i don't think i'd use peat as
that can repel water once it gets dry.
clean straw works well enough. or even
grass clippings...


songbird

Thanks SB! More suggestions are welcome!!!!!

Hardware stores here were out of the standard mix, shake and be amazed test kits. HD had an electronic gadget that claimed to measure pH and "Fertility". No other instructions or info on the package. So I got one to try it out.

Instructions were to remove the top 2-inches. Then dig up the next 5 inches, remove plant parts, crumble up and add water (I used distilled) to a mud consistency. The top 2-inches were normal looking in all spots, but under than, it was hard as rock and sandy colored. This area was once a riverbank and

I tested 1 good and 1 bad spot near each other in the sun, and other pair in the shade. pH was 6.3 - 6.7 in both bad spots and 7.0-7.2 in the good spots.

For both good spots, "fertility" readings were in the low end of the "ideal" section of the gauge. For both poor spots, it settled in between "needs something" and low end of the "ideal" range. Interesting, but that's pretty much what I already knew.

Instructions with the tester were not good enough for an amateur like me. Said..... if it's low, get some fertilizer for whatever plants you have and follow their instructions. But no idea whether it needs P, K or N. So much for the "fertility" indicator. So I cleaned it up and returned it. Lady at the store said, "we get a lot of these back. The test kits will be in Friday."

Last year, I used the std test kits and the poor areas didn't even color the liquid for phosphorus, was OK with potassium and medium/low in nitrogen. I spread some 15-15-15 fertilizer at the recommended rate. Probably helped but to me it didn't look any better at the end of the season. New perennial seed came up fine, but is gone this year.

We still have a month of relatively cool weather here, so I'll give it another try and hope to beat the heat.

More suggestions please! I'm a rank amateur! LOL!!