Our fescue lawn was always bad. We have invested in Chemlawn several
times but the weeds have always come back. Last summer, after an
extended vacation, we came home to find practically no grass left, all
weeds. I have resorted to just cutting the crabgrass short because
there's virtually no lawn left. The soil is dry, claylike and rocky
and I can tell it's never been landscaped. It's springtime and I'm
frustrated... is there anything left to do except till the whole thing
over in the fall and plant new seed? I've already tried that before,
and it failed. The new fescue never took, and bare patches that were
left were soon replaced with more crabgrass, clover and other weeds. I
was careful to water the seed and I'm not sure why it didn't grow. My
biggest suspicion is that it all started with me cutting the lawn too
short, which I'm told weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to
weeds.
I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones. The fescue lawns look similar to ours -- nearly
all weeds. We live in Georgia, btw.
I'm sure you can tell that I am a novice and know nothing about
gardening, so please be kind.

I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones. The fescue lawns look similar to ours -- nearly
all weeds. We live in Georgia, btw.

Sounds like you might be out of the range of good fescue lawns. Also
sounds like you could do with some serious soil improvement with organic
matter.

Starter spots:
http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/caes/turf/
http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/caes...blications.htm

And my favorite book to start new gardeners on:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...l/-/0875966942

In article
,
says...
Our fescue lawn was always bad. The soil is dry, claylike and rocky
and I can tell it's never been landscaped. The new fescue never took,
and bare patches that were
left were soon replaced with more crabgrass, clover and other weeds. I
was careful to water the seed and I'm not sure why it didn't grow. My
biggest suspicion is that it all started with me cutting the lawn too
short, which I'm told weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to
weeds.
I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones. The fescue lawns look similar to ours -- nearly
all weeds. We live in Georgia, btw.

First, there are a number of different climates in Georgia,
so knowing more specifically where you are would help.
Whether the lawn is in full sun, partial shade, or fully
shaded is also critical.

With that said, in most of Georgia, it's simply too hot for
Fescue to do well without LOTS of attention. Frequent
water, fertilizer, etc. Even at that, Fescue lawns will
require annual over-seeding, as bare spots Will occur.

Second, regardless of the type of grass, lack of proper soil
preparation is the single greatest reason for failure. To
do it right (and this includes for laying sod), the soil
should be tilled once to at least 6 inches, then soil
amendments added to enrich/break up the clay, and the whole
thing tilled again.

Third, if seeding, it's critical that it be done at the
right time of year, depending on the type of seed (early
spring or early fall for Fescue), that the seed be tamped
into and lightly covered with soil, lightly covered with
Wheat or Oat straw, and finally watered lightly at Least
once a day until at least 50% germinated (2-3 weeks).

Fourth, as you surmised, Fescue must be left rather long,
especially in the summer, to help protect it from the heat
and sun.

So, with that info, you may change your mind about how you
want to proceed.
--
Mark

The truth as I perceive it to be.
Your perception may be different.

Triple Z is spam control.

(Josiane) said:

We have invested in Chemlawn several times but the weeds have
always come back.

Chemlawn is a process, you need to keep it up to get the benefits from
it. We used to use Truegreen (Chemlawn) and our grass was beautiful and
weed free.

The soil is dry, claylike and rocky

Sounds like fill dirt instead of topsoil (new neighborhood?).

was careful to water the seed and I'm not sure why it didn't grow.

The dirt is lifeless. What you do depends on your budget and level of
sweat equity you want to invest. You could bring in topsoil. You could
just put down sod which should cure the topsoil problem. You could till
up the soil and add amendments such as sand and compost. I would just
lay sod and then continue the Chemlawn treatments.

My
biggest suspicion is that it all started with me cutting the lawn too
short, which I'm told weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to
weeds.

I don't know if that started your problem, but it definitely won't help.
We mow our grass high and have green grass year round. All our neighbors
mow their grass as short as possible and have green grass during the
spring and fall, the rest of the year they have brown dead grass. In the
past we used Truegreen (Chemlawn), but now do our own lawn care
(although I don't think it's any cheaper).

I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones.

Probably because there is no topsoil. Many new neighborhoods here are
backfilled with fill dirt which cannot support most plants.
--
McQualude

I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones. The fescue lawns look similar to ours -- nearly
all weeds. We live in Georgia, btw.

Sounds like you might be out of the range of good fescue lawns. Also
sounds like you could do with some serious soil improvement with organic
matter.

Starter spots:
http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/caes/turf/
http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/caes...blications.htm

And my favorite book to start new gardeners on:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...l/-/0875966942

"Josiane" wrote in message
om...
Our fescue lawn was always bad. We have invested in Chemlawn several
times but the weeds have always come back. Last summer, after an
extended vacation, we came home to find practically no grass left, all
weeds. I have resorted to just cutting the crabgrass short because
there's virtually no lawn left. The soil is dry, claylike and rocky
and I can tell it's never been landscaped. It's springtime and I'm
frustrated... is there anything left to do except till the whole thing
over in the fall and plant new seed? I've already tried that before,
and it failed. The new fescue never took, and bare patches that were
left were soon replaced with more crabgrass, clover and other weeds. I
was careful to water the seed and I'm not sure why it didn't grow. My
biggest suspicion is that it all started with me cutting the lawn too
short, which I'm told weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to
weeds.
I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones. The fescue lawns look similar to ours -- nearly
all weeds. We live in Georgia, btw.
I'm sure you can tell that I am a novice and know nothing about
gardening, so please be kind.

You've gotten some pretty good responses - fescue is a cool season grass,
most suited to less temperate, cooler summer areas than Georgia experiences.
Also preparation of a good fertile soil base for any type of lawn is
essential for its long term health.

Once you have corrected these issue, I'd urge you to reconsider utilizing a
service such as Chemlawn (or TruGreen or any of the other chemically based
lawn services). Ecologically conscious and knowledgeable gardeners
understand that a lawn that is maintained by these methods becomes dependent
on them and is less able to withstand weed invasion, summer drought and
fungal diseases once the service is stopped. In addition to applying
unnecessarily high quantitiies of both chemical fertilizers and herbicides
which contribute heavily to groundwater pollution, these are not pet and
child freindly substances. It is far better to encourage the development of
a naturally healthy lawn through proper soil preparation and grass
selection, correct mowing and watering techniques and moderate use of
fertilizers than to rely on chemical intervention. Your local extension
office should be able to help you with these pretty simple methods.

pam - gardengal

(Josiane) said:

We have invested in Chemlawn several times but the weeds have
always come back.

Chemlawn is a process, you need to keep it up to get the benefits from
it. We used to use Truegreen (Chemlawn) and our grass was beautiful and
weed free.

The soil is dry, claylike and rocky

Sounds like fill dirt instead of topsoil (new neighborhood?).

was careful to water the seed and I'm not sure why it didn't grow.

The dirt is lifeless. What you do depends on your budget and level of
sweat equity you want to invest. You could bring in topsoil. You could
just put down sod which should cure the topsoil problem. You could till
up the soil and add amendments such as sand and compost. I would just
lay sod and then continue the Chemlawn treatments.

My
biggest suspicion is that it all started with me cutting the lawn too
short, which I'm told weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to
weeds.

I don't know if that started your problem, but it definitely won't help.
We mow our grass high and have green grass year round. All our neighbors
mow their grass as short as possible and have green grass during the
spring and fall, the rest of the year they have brown dead grass. In the
past we used Truegreen (Chemlawn), but now do our own lawn care
(although I don't think it's any cheaper).

I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones.

Probably because there is no topsoil. Many new neighborhoods here are
backfilled with fill dirt which cannot support most plants.
--
McQualude

(Josiane) wrote in message . com...
Our fescue lawn was always bad. We have invested in Chemlawn several
times but the weeds have always come back.

Start by locating your counties Cooperative Extension office.
Hint the government pages of the phone book perhaps under USDA
Or your county name and cooperative extension as google search terms.
Ask them about a soil test and for turf grass information specific to
your area.
Adjusting the soil Ph to optimum for the grasses that will grow in
your region and increasing the soil's content of organic material
will go a long way towards improving your results. Proper mowing is
another consideration as it is very hard to grow decent turf if it is
mown too low or too late.

Weeds will always come back. The trick is to give the turf grasses the
advantage.

"Josiane" wrote in message
om...
Our fescue lawn was always bad. We have invested in Chemlawn several
times but the weeds have always come back. Last summer, after an
extended vacation, we came home to find practically no grass left, all
weeds. I have resorted to just cutting the crabgrass short because
there's virtually no lawn left. The soil is dry, claylike and rocky
and I can tell it's never been landscaped. It's springtime and I'm
frustrated... is there anything left to do except till the whole thing
over in the fall and plant new seed? I've already tried that before,
and it failed. The new fescue never took, and bare patches that were
left were soon replaced with more crabgrass, clover and other weeds. I
was careful to water the seed and I'm not sure why it didn't grow. My
biggest suspicion is that it all started with me cutting the lawn too
short, which I'm told weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to
weeds.
I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones. The fescue lawns look similar to ours -- nearly
all weeds. We live in Georgia, btw.
I'm sure you can tell that I am a novice and know nothing about
gardening, so please be kind.

You've gotten some pretty good responses - fescue is a cool season grass,
most suited to less temperate, cooler summer areas than Georgia experiences.
Also preparation of a good fertile soil base for any type of lawn is
essential for its long term health.

Once you have corrected these issue, I'd urge you to reconsider utilizing a
service such as Chemlawn (or TruGreen or any of the other chemically based
lawn services). Ecologically conscious and knowledgeable gardeners
understand that a lawn that is maintained by these methods becomes dependent
on them and is less able to withstand weed invasion, summer drought and
fungal diseases once the service is stopped. In addition to applying
unnecessarily high quantitiies of both chemical fertilizers and herbicides
which contribute heavily to groundwater pollution, these are not pet and
child freindly substances. It is far better to encourage the development of
a naturally healthy lawn through proper soil preparation and grass
selection, correct mowing and watering techniques and moderate use of
fertilizers than to rely on chemical intervention. Your local extension
office should be able to help you with these pretty simple methods.

pam - gardengal

(Josiane) wrote in message . com...
Our fescue lawn was always bad. We have invested in Chemlawn several
times but the weeds have always come back.

Start by locating your counties Cooperative Extension office.
Hint the government pages of the phone book perhaps under USDA
Or your county name and cooperative extension as google search terms.
Ask them about a soil test and for turf grass information specific to
your area.
Adjusting the soil Ph to optimum for the grasses that will grow in
your region and increasing the soil's content of organic material
will go a long way towards improving your results. Proper mowing is
another consideration as it is very hard to grow decent turf if it is
mown too low or too late.

Weeds will always come back. The trick is to give the turf grasses the
advantage.

I would think that in Georgia, some sort of improved bermuda grass, zoysia,
centipede, or even St. Augustine if you're in central or south Georgia,
would be preferable to fescue. Northern lawn grasses are finer in texture,
and more fun to run around barefoot on, but they simply don't do well in the
heat and humidity of the south - besides, there are no fire ants in the
north.
"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
news:ysdcc.186638$1p.2183121@attbi_s54...

"Josiane" wrote in message
om...
Our fescue lawn was always bad. We have invested in Chemlawn several
times but the weeds have always come back. Last summer, after an
extended vacation, we came home to find practically no grass left, all
weeds. I have resorted to just cutting the crabgrass short because
there's virtually no lawn left. The soil is dry, claylike and rocky
and I can tell it's never been landscaped. It's springtime and I'm
frustrated... is there anything left to do except till the whole thing
over in the fall and plant new seed? I've already tried that before,
and it failed. The new fescue never took, and bare patches that were
left were soon replaced with more crabgrass, clover and other weeds. I
was careful to water the seed and I'm not sure why it didn't grow. My
biggest suspicion is that it all started with me cutting the lawn too
short, which I'm told weakens the grass and makes it vulnerable to
weeds.
I've noticed that the only lawns in our neighborhood that look nice
are the sodded ones. The fescue lawns look similar to ours -- nearly
all weeds. We live in Georgia, btw.
I'm sure you can tell that I am a novice and know nothing about
gardening, so please be kind.

You've gotten some pretty good responses - fescue is a cool season grass,
most suited to less temperate, cooler summer areas than Georgia
experiences.
Also preparation of a good fertile soil base for any type of lawn is
essential for its long term health.

Once you have corrected these issue, I'd urge you to reconsider utilizing
a
service such as Chemlawn (or TruGreen or any of the other chemically based
lawn services). Ecologically conscious and knowledgeable gardeners
understand that a lawn that is maintained by these methods becomes
dependent
on them and is less able to withstand weed invasion, summer drought and
fungal diseases once the service is stopped. In addition to applying
unnecessarily high quantitiies of both chemical fertilizers and herbicides
which contribute heavily to groundwater pollution, these are not pet and
child freindly substances. It is far better to encourage the development
of
a naturally healthy lawn through proper soil preparation and grass
selection, correct mowing and watering techniques and moderate use of
fertilizers than to rely on chemical intervention. Your local extension
office should be able to help you with these pretty simple methods.

pam - gardengal