fixing a lawn
 

Hi,

Last year (in the spring) we put grass sods (fescue) in our partially
shaded backyard. The soil as in most places around here is clay, so we
used a tiller to loosen it and before putting down the sods I put cow
manure on the soil. The lawn looked reasonable for a while, but
developed some brown areas. We sprinkled regularly, so I don't think
that's related to lack of water. Anyway, now the grass is trying to
grow back in some places, but many spots are still brown. Other places
have been walked on a lot and I can see the mesh from the sods. Any
suggestions how to improve my lawn? Reseed? Fertilize (which)?

I am not looking for a perfect manicured golf course, but the grass
should be comfortable enough for my kids to play on.


thanks,

- Koen.

fixing a lawn
 

the only way to fix it right now is more sod.

fescue lawns are seeded in the fall, the summers here are too hot and the
grass will quickly die.

so plan again for a fall restore,

good luck
tomatolord


"Koen" wrote in message
m...
Hi,

Last year (in the spring) we put grass sods (fescue) in our partially
shaded backyard. The soil as in most places around here is clay, so we
used a tiller to loosen it and before putting down the sods I put cow
manure on the soil. The lawn looked reasonable for a while, but
developed some brown areas. We sprinkled regularly, so I don't think
that's related to lack of water. Anyway, now the grass is trying to
grow back in some places, but many spots are still brown. Other places
have been walked on a lot and I can see the mesh from the sods. Any
suggestions how to improve my lawn? Reseed? Fertilize (which)?

I am not looking for a perfect manicured golf course, but the grass
should be comfortable enough for my kids to play on.


thanks,

- Koen.

fixing a lawn
 

In article , Koen wrote:
Hi,

Last year (in the spring) we put grass sods (fescue) in our partially
shaded backyard. The soil as in most places around here is clay, so we
used a tiller to loosen it and before putting down the sods I put cow
manure on the soil. The lawn looked reasonable for a while, but
developed some brown areas. We sprinkled regularly, so I don't think
that's related to lack of water. Anyway, now the grass is trying to

Define sprinkled regularly please. If you watered every day but
shallowly then you may have contributed to disease or you may have just
not had enought water there and the roots never went deep. In clay you
need to get an inch or so per week, but it has to be done slowly since
it penetrates clay so slowly.

grow back in some places, but many spots are still brown. Other places
have been walked on a lot and I can see the mesh from the sods. Any
suggestions how to improve my lawn? Reseed? Fertilize (which)?

I am not looking for a perfect manicured golf course, but the grass
should be comfortable enough for my kids to play on.


thanks,

- Koen.


--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

spam@www.spam.com is a garbage address.

fixing a lawn
 

In article ,
wrote:

Define sprinkled regularly please. If you watered every day but
shallowly then you may have contributed to disease or you may have just
not had enought water there and the roots never went deep. In clay you
need to get an inch or so per week, but it has to be done slowly since
it penetrates clay so slowly.


Well, we had quite some rain last season, so only if it was dry for a
week or so we would sprinkle. I didn't keep a diary, though :)

Would it be useful to use an aerator (sp?) to improve the soil and water
penetration?

- Koen.

fixing a lawn
 

In article ,
wrote:

the only way to fix it right now is more sod.

fescue lawns are seeded in the fall, the summers here are too hot and the
grass will quickly die.

so plan again for a fall restore,



What grasses would be better to seed in the spring that do well around
here?

thanks,

- Koen.

fixing a lawn
 

This site may answer most of your questions:

http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/

It looks like they just redid the site.

FWIW, I'm spring seeding parts of my lawn because I don't want to look at
mud all summer. The people at Southern States recommended seeding with
Falcon III. I've also used Southern Gold in the past and had good results.

Robert


"Koen" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:

Define sprinkled regularly please. If you watered every day but
shallowly then you may have contributed to disease or you may have just
not had enought water there and the roots never went deep. In clay you
need to get an inch or so per week, but it has to be done slowly since
it penetrates clay so slowly.


Well, we had quite some rain last season, so only if it was dry for a
week or so we would sprinkle. I didn't keep a diary, though :)

Would it be useful to use an aerator (sp?) to improve the soil and water
penetration?

- Koen.

fixing a lawn
 

Concerning seed selection, a blend, all cool season in this case, will
usually be a better choice. I believe the Southern Gold has a few varieties
of turf type fescue. If you stick to one, such as Falcon, you may be more
susceptable to a certain pest. About 20 years ago when Rebel, the first of
the continuing saga, came out, I seeded a new lawn using only Rebel which
the client requested and a lawn directly across the street with a blend of
turf type fescues and 2 types of bluegrass. During the following summer
brown patch decimated the Rebel lawn but barely touched the neighbors blend.

--
Baine

"Robert" wrote in message
ink.net...
This site may answer most of your questions:

http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/

It looks like they just redid the site.

FWIW, I'm spring seeding parts of my lawn because I don't want to look at
mud all summer. The people at Southern States recommended seeding with
Falcon III. I've also used Southern Gold in the past and had good results.

Robert


"Koen" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:

Define sprinkled regularly please. If you watered every day but
shallowly then you may have contributed to disease or you may have
just
not had enought water there and the roots never went deep. In clay
you
need to get an inch or so per week, but it has to be done slowly since
it penetrates clay so slowly.


Well, we had quite some rain last season, so only if it was dry for a
week or so we would sprinkle. I didn't keep a diary, though :)

Would it be useful to use an aerator (sp?) to improve the soil and water
penetration?

- Koen.

fixing a lawn
 

In article , Koen wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

Define sprinkled regularly please. If you watered every day but
shallowly then you may have contributed to disease or you may have just
not had enought water there and the roots never went deep. In clay you
need to get an inch or so per week, but it has to be done slowly since
it penetrates clay so slowly.


Well, we had quite some rain last season, so only if it was dry for a
week or so we would sprinkle. I didn't keep a diary, though :)

When you did water, I assume you put down at least an inch of water?

Seems like it got dryer in July and August. Did you lose the grass
before or after July 1 or was it gradual? My experience is I lose it
soon after planting or in July/August.

Would it be useful to use an aerator (sp?) to improve the soil and water
penetration?


These core producing areators work well when reseeding if you just need
to thicken the grass. For thick grass it gets more air to the roots in
the spring. With lots of clay I understand that a good application of
gypsum will make clay more permiable but it is slow acting.
- Koen.


--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

spam@www.spam.com is a garbage address.

fixing a lawn
 

In article , Koen wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

the only way to fix it right now is more sod.

fescue lawns are seeded in the fall, the summers here are too hot and the
grass will quickly die.

so plan again for a fall restore,



What grasses would be better to seed in the spring that do well around
here?

Based on Baine's earlier post choose a blend, water like crazy in July
and August and plan on reseeding with the blend in the fall.
thanks,

- Koen.


--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

spam@www.spam.com is a garbage address.

fixing a lawn
 

wrote in message
. ..
In article ,
Koen wrote:
Hi,

developed some brown areas. We sprinkled regularly, so I
don't think
that's related to lack of water. Anyway, now the grass is
trying to

Define sprinkled regularly please. If you watered every day
but
shallowly then you may have contributed to disease or you may
have just
not had enought water there and the roots never went deep. In
clay you
need to get an inch or so per week, but it has to be done
slowly since
it penetrates clay so slowly.


Here a page with some good info on watering lawns in summer.
http://garden-guide.net/html/summer_lawn_care.html