Any advice appreciated. Thanks. I'm in Zone 6 Connecticut...

Trees have been pruned, some removed, soil balanced with lime, moss is
gone, thatch is gone, brought my lawn back to life with Scotts
products, crabgrass gone, broadleafs gone. Things are really looking
good, thick and green now. It cost a pretty penny, but the results are
well worth it in my opinion. I have the best yard on my street! My
neighbors don't believe that I did it all myself! They use Chemlawn
and think I do too! Heheheheh...

Now, the moment I've been waiting for; overseeding (in the Fall of
course). Overall there are scattered barespots everywhere (not big
enough to till up, not small enough to use PatchMaster) so an
overseed, I think, is the best way to go. I was thinking of taking
this approach: in the Fall, scratch/rake up the whole yard, core
aerate, seed with spreader, and starter fertilizer.

2 questions however: 1) what's better to put on top of this,
straw/hay? Or I've seen this new green pellet stuff that expands too.
Or nothing? 2) Regardless of what I put on top of it, how should I
handle mowing? I have a decent sized tractor and am worried that I
might scatter or damage what I put down (i.e. the straw/hay/pellets
will get hacked up won't it?). Should I mow at a higher setting? Bag
or mulch (I usually mulch)? Don't mow?

Thanks folks!

By far the best material to overlay is Penn Mulch. I don't think raking
would be necessary unless you have never, ever dethatched. I overseed in the
fall, and if a heavy snowstorm in predicted I'll scoot out and overseed
again before it starts.

Dave

"JayPomp" wrote in message
m...
Any advice appreciated. Thanks. I'm in Zone 6 Connecticut...

Trees have been pruned, some removed, soil balanced with lime, moss is
gone, thatch is gone, brought my lawn back to life with Scotts
products, crabgrass gone, broadleafs gone. Things are really looking
good, thick and green now. It cost a pretty penny, but the results are
well worth it in my opinion. I have the best yard on my street! My
neighbors don't believe that I did it all myself! They use Chemlawn
and think I do too! Heheheheh...

Now, the moment I've been waiting for; overseeding (in the Fall of
course). Overall there are scattered barespots everywhere (not big
enough to till up, not small enough to use PatchMaster) so an
overseed, I think, is the best way to go. I was thinking of taking
this approach: in the Fall, scratch/rake up the whole yard, core
aerate, seed with spreader, and starter fertilizer.

2 questions however: 1) what's better to put on top of this,
straw/hay? Or I've seen this new green pellet stuff that expands too.
Or nothing? 2) Regardless of what I put on top of it, how should I
handle mowing? I have a decent sized tractor and am worried that I
might scatter or damage what I put down (i.e. the straw/hay/pellets
will get hacked up won't it?). Should I mow at a higher setting? Bag
or mulch (I usually mulch)? Don't mow?

Thanks folks!

Now, the moment I've been waiting for; overseeding (in the Fall of
course). Overall there are scattered barespots everywhere (not big
enough to till up, not small enough to use PatchMaster) so an
overseed, I think, is the best way to go. I was thinking of taking
this approach: in the Fall, scratch/rake up the whole yard, core
aerate, seed with spreader, and starter fertilizer.

Question: Why wait until autumn? I overseeded through the latter part of
winter/early spring and as I work on filling in bare spots I continue to
overseed those areas. Right before/during the last good snow this upcoming
winter I'll go out and do another reseed to help fill in spots next spring
as well.

BTW, that Scotts lawn seed is something else, isn't it? I am absolutely
amazed at what it has done in my lawn -- turned a barren, messy, crabgrass
lawn into a pretty nice mix. Of course, I did my aeration the old fashioned
way -- I let the dogs (including the 125 pound saintie) out in the yard all
winter to tear it to pieces.

James

"JNJ" wrote in message ...
Now, the moment I've been waiting for; overseeding (in the Fall of
course). Overall there are scattered barespots everywhere (not big
enough to till up, not small enough to use PatchMaster) so an
overseed, I think, is the best way to go. I was thinking of taking
this approach: in the Fall, scratch/rake up the whole yard, core
aerate, seed with spreader, and starter fertilizer.

Question: Why wait until autumn? I overseeded through the latter part of
winter/early spring and as I work on filling in bare spots I continue to
overseed those areas. Right before/during the last good snow this upcoming
winter I'll go out and do another reseed to help fill in spots next spring
as well.

The only reason why I waited was because I hammered away at the
dandelions last fall with Scotts Winterizer Plus2, then this spring I
hit it with the Haltz Crabgrass, then I hit it ONE MORE TIME with moss
control, AND in a few more weeks Step 2 is coming. That little voice
in my head was saying, "wait till the fall, you have to much
germination control/weed killer down. Don't waste on the grass seed
yet."


BTW, that Scotts lawn seed is something else, isn't it? I am absolutely
amazed at what it has done in my lawn -- turned a barren, messy, crabgrass
lawn into a pretty nice mix. Of course, I did my aeration the old fashioned
way -- I let the dogs (including the 125 pound saintie) out in the yard all
winter to tear it to pieces.

Yeah that seed is unbelievable. I can't wait to overseed with it.

That works! When I aerated, I thought I destroyed my lawn. But a
couple weeks later it showed me how happy it was! I wasn't getting
runoff anymore when it rained and the grass just started popping up
through the holes!

How about mowing??? Any advice? I'm just thinking, water it in a
little everyday and wait a week before I start mowing?

Thanks all...


James

The only reason why I waited was because I hammered away at the
dandelions last fall with Scotts Winterizer Plus2, then this spring I
hit it with the Haltz Crabgrass, then I hit it ONE MORE TIME with moss
control, AND in a few more weeks Step 2 is coming. That little voice
in my head was saying, "wait till the fall, you have to much
germination control/weed killer down. Don't waste on the grass seed
yet."

See, I'm not a chemical guy so I can't help you on that one. I *THINK* most
of those are targeted at particular plants and grass is not among them so
you would be ok to go ahead and so. Perhaps someone else who uses chemicals
on their lawn will be better able to answer you on that 'un.

Yeah that seed is unbelievable. I can't wait to overseed with it.

What it's done in the front yard is just amazing. I'll be mowing again here
soon and reseeding an area that didn't do too well, see if I can't
revitalize that area as well.

That works! When I aerated, I thought I destroyed my lawn. But a
couple weeks later it showed me how happy it was! I wasn't getting
runoff anymore when it rained and the grass just started popping up
through the holes!

How about mowing??? Any advice? I'm just thinking, water it in a
little everyday and wait a week before I start mowing?

You want the grass to be about 3 inches high. You also don't want to mow
more than about 1 inch at a time with newer grass -- anything more than that
will put a stressor on the plant and may be it's end.

James