Patching grass Q

[No]

OK - This spring I put down some weed & feed stuff. Had a pre-emergent weed killer in the mix. Things look pretty good on the lawn (1.5 years old) I do have some thin spots. I plan on over seeding in the fall. I have a few areas right now that I would like to try and fill in. My weed & feed advertises "crabgrass control all summer". Some of my bad spots are from the dog (I think). Some are due to just having a new lawn from seed (weedy pasture blend! ;) . I have the weeds under fairly good control, the color is OK. I have quite a variety of grasses. When I over-seed I want to figure out what kind is doing best in my yard and plant only that (no more blends).

Anyway - Is there a way to patch/re-seed a few areas on a lawn that had a spring pre-emergent applied?

Yea, sod. I'm just talking about small spots here and there (under 1sq ft)

Thanks

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[trader4]

The pre-emergent is most effective for about 6 weeks after it's applied. I would top dress the areas you want to reseed with 1/2 or so of soil. Of course, depending on where you are located, now may be a poor time to try to grow grass from seed. With rising temps, be sure you will be able to give it enough water in the months ahead so it will get established. If you just water it for a few weeks, then ignore it, it will likely die.

[No]

So - Help me clarify your response. Will top-dressing keep me from waiting the 6 weeks? I wouldn't think so.

Your saying wait the 6 weeks, top dress, plant and keep moist for several months - correct?

Do you know if any seed that may have come in contact with a pre-emergent will ever grow or would I be out of luck. Dont ask.

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[trader4]

>

If you top dress with 1/2 inch of soil and then seed, you should be OK to seed now. You need to keep it constantly moist for 2-3 weeks, until it's germinated. Lightly dressing it with some peat moss will help or you could get a bag of hydraulic mulch which is sold for that purpose. After that, you can back of the watering gradually. You want to from frequent light watering to longer, deeper watering over time. If it's full sun and you don't have automatic sprinklers this can be a real pain, because come July iit won't have very deep roots and if you don't still water it every couple days, its gonna die.

[Richard Thoms]

Be careful. The blends are there for a reason, they add variety, or more specifically diversity to your lawn. It's just like diversifing your stock portfolio. You don't want to put all your "seeds in one basket" and have some sort of blight take out your whole lawn.

A lawn with just a single variety of grass sure does look pretty, but ONLY if you can keep all the invaders out, because each invader sticks out like a sore thumb! If you've got the time to pamper it properly then go for it, but I would recommend sticking with a blend but a quality blend (specifically mixed for your area).

[Norminn]

Depending on where you live and the type of weed, applying broadleaf AND pre-emergent may not be optimum. Broadleaf usually most effective when weeds actively growing, pre-emergent (crab grass, quack grass, etc.) best applied a little earlier. With spots under one sq. ft. I would be tempted to just allow them to fill in. Healthy lawn, with good mowing, fert. and watering practices, is you best weed prevention. A little seed would probably help. I would check out species advice with local extension service.

We rehabbad a horrible lawn mess at our condo, and once or twice with all-over broadleaf weed control got almost all of the weeds. After that, spot treatment and hand pulling was all we needed. ANNUAL weed/feed is not a good practice. Optimum fert. for our southern lawn is four times/year. "High maintenance" six times a year (more exercise with more frequent mowing). Avoid fert. in hot weather or when lawn stressed by drought.

[No]

Thanks for the feedback - Yea - The builder put down what I call "weedy pasture blend" when the house was built in August of '04. Last fall I did a short cut, raked up thatch and scratched the surface and put down a blend that was recommended by a local garden center, I also added some soil in realy bad spots. I also used a starter fert. OK - That went well last fall and my lawn is finally looking pretty good.

The reason I thought I would seed with a single seed is as follows. (I don't know my grass types yet) 1 - I have variation in texture, color and growth rate. 2 - some of the grass grows in clumps and does not seem to spread or fill in. 3 - some sections do seem to spread and fill-in and look good. What I was thinking was to identify which grass type I have that spreads versus clumps and use that when I re-seed in the fall.

My current patching will just be confined to small sections but I would like to use the same seed.

Anyway - Thanks for letting me ramble.

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[trader4]

We can't see what you have and how it looks. If the grass that is there is an inappropriate type, it may never look good. For example, if the builder used some cheap, course grass, that's a problem. You may be better off killing the whole thing in late summer/early Fall and reseeding with a high quality seed that is suited to the area and application. If you do that, then I agree with the advice that you should use more than one seed. If you decide to stick with what you have and overseed, then you could use a single type seed, as you already have other existing grass varieties.