GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

07-10-2004, 05:31 PM

(Merle O'Broham) wrote in message . com...
snip
With 12000 square feet, good seed really isn't going to be cheap and
you have the rental cost of a slice seeder to properly sow it, plus
all the labor. This is one of those things you can do right once, or
keep doing wrong many times.

Totally agree. I'd love to scrape it up and put down a nice new
suburban lawn- amended soil, roto-tilled..... time and money prohibit.

What I've been doing is occasionally throwing some seed and dirt,
sometimes that foamy Scott's lawn patch stuff, into the little gaps in
the lawn. Grass fills in during the spring and it does look really
lush, but the issue is still the 4 different types of grasses.
Squirrels rip the shit out of the grass right about now, bury acorns,
looking for grubs, bulbs, whatever, so seeding now is kinda tricky.

The fellas at the local True Value could probably steer me to the
right seed type (fescue?), but I'll have to use that same exact type
of seed for the next few years. I think I'm kinda stuck doing it this
way unless I replace up the lawn a section at a time.

For shade creeping red or chewing fescue are the usual choices. There
are shade blends that have several varieties mixed together. I've had
good success in shade with Jonathon Green Dense Shade. For really
dense shade, their Shady Nook has worked for me. Of course, I'm here
in NJ, but I think those would likely work in Chicago too. Check out
Seedland.com, they have lots of good choices too.

One thing I'm curious about. You say you have 4 types of grass
growing now. That isn't unusual, most lawns have several types of
grass. One benefit is that if one gets attacked by a particular
disease or insect, the others may not, so it's far less noticeable and
quickly recovers. Is there a particular problem with the 4 types of
grass that you are having?

As for this year, if I were you, since it's too late to seed now, I'd
do other simple things that will help a lot. You could rent a core
aerator, which is beneficial. Also, get the PH tested and adjust if
needed. Fertilize now if you haven't already. If you fertilized in
sept, then early nov give it one more application. IF weeds are a big
problem, it's not too late to do some spot weed control or use a weed
n feed product. Doing this now will make a big difference it getting
it going next spring.