I live in Philadelphia PA. Is it normal to have straw-colored lawn
patches on the lawn in the winter? These straw patches dont exist in
the grass Ive sown in the past 3 or 4 years. My lawn needs renewal but
I cannot dig the entire thing up. There are mossy patches around the
edges. Also low patches. I am wondering when to apply pre-emergent
weed killer and fertilizer and new seed and which new seed to use and
if I can erradicate the winter straw colored patches.

Yes its normal straw colored lawn. Moss is a sign of low soil pH or a drainage
issue.


"cardarch" wrote:

I live in Philadelphia PA. Is it normal to have straw-colored lawn
patches on the lawn in the winter? These straw patches dont exist in
the grass Ive sown in the past 3 or 4 years. My lawn needs renewal but
I cannot dig the entire thing up. There are mossy patches around the
edges. Also low patches. I am wondering when to apply pre-emergent
weed killer and fertilizer and new seed and which new seed to use and
if I can erradicate the winter straw colored patches.

I live in Philadelphia PA. Is it normal to have straw-colored lawn
patches on the lawn in the winter? These straw patches dont exist in
the grass Ive sown in the past 3 or 4 years.

That depends on your definition of normal. My tall fescue/blue grass
lawn here in NJ is still all nice and green. If most of your lawn is
green and it has been reasonably maintained, adequate fertilizer etc,
then the staw colored patches are likely some undesirable grass.
Hopefully it's not Zoysia that someone planted, as that is the classic
straw color grass. It's not suited to this environment and will go
straw color from Oct thru May. If the areas aren't too big or
numerous, your best bet may be to mark them and then kill them when the
grass is active in spring.

My lawn needs renewal but
I cannot dig the entire thing up. There are mossy patches around the
edges. Also low patches.

You usually don;t need to dig the entire thing up, unless the topsoil
is non-existent. If most of what;s there is good and the bad can be
eliminated, you can get topsoil for the low spots and overseed the
whole thing using a slice seeder. Best time by far is early Sept, next
best is early Spring. If you have a lot of problem weeds/grasses, you
can kill it off with Roundup and reseed a week later. Many times this
can be the easiest solution, especially if you have grasses/weeds that
are difficult or impossible to eradicate, grass that is disease prone,
etc. I'd also get the soil tested now and adjust the PH if needed.

I am wondering when to apply pre-emergent
weed killer and fertilizer and new seed and which new seed to use and
if I can erradicate the winter straw colored patches.

For an existing lawn, apply pre-emergent when forsythias bloom,
typically later april in your area. If you seed, then you can't use a
conventional pre-emergent, you need to use Tupersan, or similar which
is safe for new lawns. These cost a lot more and are another reason
why fall is best time for seeding. If you fertilize twice in fall,
then in spring I would apply fertilizer once, same time as
pre-emergent. Then don't fertilize again till Fall.

For new seed, in your area, unless you want a showcase lawn with higher
maintenance, I'd probably go with a dwarf tall fescue/blue grass mix.
Seedland.com has seed and some good info.

Crabgrass, wiregrasses and moss all love compacted soil (Sir toppam hats
point) A good thorough plug aeration in the fall will help a great deal.
Pelletized lime at about 1000 sq ft per 40 lb bag twice a year and
pelletized gypsum (when aerating) will loosen the root bed. In PA, do you
use any sort of ice melt, because that in itself will compact the soil. It
doesn't kill the grass itself, it just compacts and of course, that does the
killing. Crabgrass germinates 3 times a year. February, around Mothers Day,
and about Aug. 10th. (in zone 7 -- check your ext agency web site for your
zone) The Feb. crop is the hardiest of all because it has wintered over and
needs to be dealt with more carefully. Usually, when Forsythia is budding
you want to get the Pre-em down then or you will miss it.Usually when the
weed or moss is around the edges, then the aeration or Pre-em is not being
done to the edge. Most peoples lawns will show this after the next crop has
died. I moved to a house where the previous owners LIKED the vile weed. I
waited for it to go brown, lit it with a match, and burned it along with the
seed and started over.. Very nice fescue now and I'm still cutting it here
in Richmond Va. in January.
Getting to the other side, do you see mole hills in your lawn? If so then
you may have grub activity and that is what is making the brown patches. Dig
a spot about the depth of a spade at the edge of the spot and see if there
are grubs in there.(you may need to do a couple of spots to find the
buggers) If so then treat accordingly with a grub killer.


"cardarch" wrote in message
oups.com...
I live in Philadelphia PA. Is it normal to have straw-colored lawn
patches on the lawn in the winter? These straw patches dont exist in
the grass Ive sown in the past 3 or 4 years. My lawn needs renewal but
I cannot dig the entire thing up. There are mossy patches around the
edges. Also low patches. I am wondering when to apply pre-emergent
weed killer and fertilizer and new seed and which new seed to use and
if I can erradicate the winter straw colored patches.

"4. KCnRichmond Jan 13, 7:06 pm
Crabgrass, wiregrasses and moss all love compacted soil (Sir toppam
hats
point) A good thorough plug aeration in the fall will help a great
deal.
Pelletized lime at about 1000 sq ft per 40 lb bag twice a year and
pelletized gypsum (when aerating) will loosen the root bed. "

And putting down all that lime without regard to the soil PH will
likely raise the PH above the desirable range. Test the soil and put
down the correct amount, only if it needs it.


"In PA, do you
use any sort of ice melt, because that in itself will compact the soil.
It
doesn't kill the grass itself, it just compacts and of course, that
does the
killing. Crabgrass germinates 3 times a year. February, around Mothers
Day,
and about Aug. 10th. (in zone 7 -- check your ext agency web site for
your
zone) "

Crabgrass most certainly does not germinate in Feb in PA. If that were
true, you'd have to be putting down
pre-emergent in Jan and I've never seen a lawn service or homeowner
doing that. Crabgrass germinates
when the soil temp is about 60, which doesn't occur until May in PA,
which means mid to late April is the correct time to apply
pre-emergent.