This was graded last year, put sod in right after (maybe April last year)… I over seeded in the fall with some fertilizer… what can I add to get a nice green lawn? I was going to just pay some company to do it but I have two little kids and don’t want them dumping gallons of chemicals all over it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. This is in Northern Virginia.
by __TheBlueTurtle__
19 Comments
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I get it. But honestly you probably care more than the kids do.
I’m in NOVA so I know this area very well for what works and doesn’t, What seed did you use for an overseed at what rate?
Damn that chickweed is almost as bad as mine, I hate it so much 😂😂
Following bc I’m in nova and also have a shit lawn 😭
Irrigation is a key thing. Do you have sprinklers?
If yes, overseeding helps and you need to find a monoculture you like (my suggestion) and get the seeds going in water before you spread them.
Beyond that, you need to fertilize and mow more than you think, say 2x a week.
Doing the above keeps my lawn pretty thick.
Id kill for that lawn lol
How low do you mow? I moved up to 4” and as far as appearance it makes a big difference .
Looks good
Ok.
For now you need to fertilize and water a lot (at least 1” per week), and mow. It needs a mow now though it looks like you stopped to snap a pick while mowing, you probably should have done it a few days ago.
If this is bluegrass the fertilizer and water will help it spread. If it’s fescue you’ll need to overseed in the fall.
In either case you’ll want to do a lot lot of fertilizer in the fall. And mow even more.
Level two- you need to get rid of that light colored grass. I can’t tell what it is from the photos but getting rid of grass can be hard. I am assuming it’s poa but it looks too tall for that so I’m unsure. If you don’t care, just grow it and mow it. If it is poa…god help you.
You can also put down some pre emergent or crabgrass preventer now. Just make sure you don’t apply so much that you can’t overseed in the fall – assuming you plan To overseed.
God speed.
https://preview.redd.it/df5e21tumite1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=911c3228ff6578c9655e63957f3df4223565f27f
I gave up on mine, the kids dont care man tbh
They don’t care what it looks like unless you say it’s not fun to play on.
Do you know if they added topsoil after grading?
On the plus side, you can put some nice play equipment there and not worry about it ruining the nice part of your yard! I put a giant climbing frame in my yard for my boy 🙂
I aerated and scarified in fall then overseeded without top dressing. Water like hell. Hand pull weeds as I see them and mow regularly. My lawn looked worse than yours and although nowhere near perfect is exponentially better now and like you, my main goal was better for the kids and dog. And yeah the dog pee burns it and she claws it up as she runs but i can spot fix and just be light years from where it was with minimal effort. Fall overseeding was great.
When get the grass situated remember to alternate how you’re mowing each time. So one week it’s horizontal, the next vertical
If you don’t want chemicals get out there for an hour and start pulling anything you don’t want, you’d be surprised how much you can pull in an hour. Then reseed and keep it from drying out for a week or two until or germinates and you’ll have great grass. I’d put down at full rate for seed which is probably 8lbs per 1k for cool season grass like prg/fescues. Don’t bother with any mix containing bluegrass at this point it will never take with kids running around and this far into the season. It is very rewarding and they kids do love it, I still have pics of my young kids several years ago doing somersaults and rolling in the grass at they did slip & slide
You’re raising kids, not grass.
Where are you located ?