Ontario, Canada.
I overseeded a brand new lawn last September and it came in pretty nicely. This spring the whole middle portion (full sun) was over run with poa triv. I overseeded again in the spring and got nice results. Over the summer I’m guessing the overseeded portions all died off in the heat, and/or the poa triv all died.
Planning to overseed shortly – as pictured the dead grass is matted down to the soil.
Do I try to rake it out? Aerate it? My soil is clay so it’s not great.
Thank you!
by Illustrious-Bird7088
9 Comments
Are you adding top soil & compost when you seed and have you done a soil test?
Soil test…. Aerate for sure. You have clay, that’s pretty damn compact if you ask me. Look into soil conditioning fertilizers. What’s your irrigation situation?
Jeez that’s a pretty steep decline
The goal is seed to soil contact. Two ways to go about it. Use a scarifier to clear out all of dead material. A lot of effort. Or get yards of new soil and spread out a half inch to inch across the area. May be costly and also a lot of effort without heavy equipment. I have done both, and both are effective. I just spread 5 yards of soil this past weekend with a shovel, Gorilla cart, and push broom. My body still hurts.
A) Yes rake. You need to expose as much bare soil as possible. I’d even rent a power rake if I were you.
B) You have got to figure out what’s killing your grass if you want this to last. I’d probably be looking into some major soil amendment if you have straight clay. I would hold off until spring to make sure it gets done if necessary.
Portions of my lawn that looked just like this were from grubs. Tug on the grass and see if it pulls right up.
Plant natural grass and wild flowers instead, better for the environment and easier to care for 👍
Not sure what part of Ontario you’re in but where I was we got basically no rain from mid-June through late August—it was unusually dry. Nothing but weeds growing through the drought unless you watered consistently. Without some effort invested during the heat of the summer, I think a lot of people in Ontario are in this spot.
How much did you fertilize?