Lawn Dilemma

[Stu Pidassle]

Hi, Due to construction projects on two consecutive years, my lawn is a complete disaster. Because I didn't want to start grass in the middle of the summer, large portions of the lawn were left bare this year. Of course these areas ended up infested with crab grass. I put some seed down in mid September which seems to be doing fine. However, there are several areas that need to be re-seeded.

Now for the dilemma part. Next spring I plan on putting down corn gluten as a pre emergence weed killer/fertilizer to take care of the crab grass. If I proceed with that strategy, I cannot reseed for a couple of months which will leave me with poor grass coverage in many areas. My options as I understand them are:

1. Seed again now - Boston area - and hope that we have enough time for the seed to germinate before winter. If the seed doesn't germinate will it be "close enough" next April for the corn gluten to have no effect on the good grass seed?
2. Skip the corn gluten this year and reseed in the spring as planned.
3. Kill the crabgrass this spring and wait until next fall to reseed?

I should also mention that I have young kids and I will not be willing use anything that is not environmentally friendly. Any advice will be apprciated.

Thanks, Stu

[Buderschnookie]

4th option- mark the bare spots and dormant seed in the winter. If you use a specialty pre-emergent like Tupersan it will not affect your grass seeds. Or don't put pre-emergent on your marked spots and get a Weed Hound to hand pull those areas.

I know you prefer the corn gluten (as do I) but sometimes getting decent turf established anyway you can and *then* going organic is the fastest way of getting where you want to go. Also- lawns are a work in progress and regardless of how you handle spring you may need to overseed certain areas each fall until you get a good stand of grass established. IMO.

[Stu Pidassle]

I build up the turf . I am considering a derivation to what you are suggesting. There are many uneven spots in the lawn. In the spring I will do some, airating spot filling with loam to help fill the low spots and settle the high spots. If I use the corn gluten, can I spread a thin layer of new topsoil in selected areas without worrying about the barrier that gluten creates?

Thanks again, Stu

[Phisherman]

It could be too late to seed unless you think you've got 3 weeks of no frost. You could heavily seed the most crab-grass problem areas, and protect with straw. Next year apply the pre-emergence twice and hand-pull any crabgrass, or at least prevent it from seeding.

[symplastless]

Do you have trees in the area?