Cool..thanks for taking the time to explain. Will give your
suggestions a shot and cross my fingers.

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 10:39:40 -0700, "Warren"
wrote:

The Other Mike wrote:
Ok...I'll keep things the way they are and then basically start fresh
in the fall. Now for the specifics...when I overseed, do I need to
fertilize?

Hard to say for sure without taking soil tests. Others may disagree, but in
the absense of a soil test, what I would do is overseed in early fall, right
after the summer heat is done, and when Mother Nature starts taking care of
the watering. Push the envelope early if there are trees that will need to
have leaves raked-up so the new grass can establish itself before you have
to rake. (In fact, plan to blow or vac up the leaves instead of raking them
once they do fall.)

I wouldn't use any fertilizer when I overseed, but I would put some
"winterizer" fertilizer on at about 1/2 the rate shown on the bag between
mid and late fall once the new seed has germinated, and before the weather
gets too cold. Your local weather conditions may not leave the same windows
as mine do.

If there are some small spots that don't take, you can get them in spring,
but you may have an even shorter window. Generally the rest of your lawn is
going to be growing so fast that you can't not mow a large, newly overseeded
area for the time you need to leave the new seedlings undisturbed.

If so (back to my original question) is Scott's the way
to go or should I use some other type of fertilizer?

Who cares what brand it is? That's a marketing issue, not a lawn care issue.

I would never recommend following the Scotts "program". The goal of that
program has nothing to do with your lawn. It's goal is to sell you the
maximum amount of fertilizer they can. Fertilizer is not fairy dust. It
doesn't do anything magical. It's just a way to add nutriants when nature
isn't providing them. Beyond that, at best it's a walk around the yard
behind a spreader, and at worst it's a ticket to killing your lawn.

Properly mow and mulch, and if your lawn needs regular fertilizer, you're
probably trying to grow grass someplace it isn't suited for. A small bit of
"winterizer" fertilizer in the fall after overseeding is all I ever do, (and
I don't always do that, either), and I have the lushest lawn on the block.


Is there any
good/bad time to aerate?

Anytime is better than no time, but the best time is just prior to seeding.
Use a core aerator. It'll take plugs out to make the holes. (Using spikes
may make holes, but the soil around the spike is compacted even more than it
was, and you really haven't gained anything.) Leave the plugs on the lawn.
Initially it may look like the kennel club came down and left turds all over
your lawn, but they'll break-up soon enough, leaving loose, uncompacted soil
behind.

If you're in a real mood to work, right after you aerate, spread some
compost over the lawn. A leaf rake is good for breaking-up the small clumps,
and working it into the turf. Overseed after spreading the compost.

The new seed needs to be kept moist when germinating, but the lawn shouldn't
be wet when aerating. But if the soil is too dry, the aerator may just
bounce off instead of digging holes. Again, it's a matter of timing. So
you'll want to soften the soil with a watering (or rain) a day or two before
aerating, but if it's too wet, you could damage the soil structure. Then the
perfect thing to happen would be for there to be off and on shower right
after you overseed. If you don't get that, you may have to supplement Mother
Nature with some extra sprinkling, but nothing like you'd need to do if you
tried to do this under the summer sun.

Of course you're probably not going to water in the winter, and you may not
need to water much in the spring, either. Once Mother Nature stops watering,
remember to put down 1 inch in one watering per week. And no fertilizer!