First off, if anyone wants to yell at me for another one of these posts, I’ll take it.
Zone 6a (Chicago Burbs). I did a full renovation in late September. Weather was favorable and I was consistent with watering. Started later than I would’ve liked due to broken ribs.
Scalped everything the best I could. Power rake to get out as much up as I could, fresh topsoil, seed (local brand, cool season blend, will probably upgrade to something better for the spring because this stuff has Lambs Quarter mixed in apparently) & starter fertilizer (24-25-4; Scott’s starter for new seed), and then rolled everything. Last minute I did some subpar top dressing with peat moss. Ribs would not allow anymore labor at that point. I had some wash out and probably could’ve used more seed, but I was in a pinch. Scott’s spreader finally did the thing I’ve seen many others complain about, so that’s another hassle.
Temps have cooled and sunny days dwindling, so progress has slowed. Will this fill in thicker during Springtime? I’m considering dormant seeding, but that seems to be more of a game of chance in terms of success. I’ll add new seed in spring and can always get more done next fall, but I almost killed myself getting all this done and I was hoping for better results.
Somebody talk me off the ledge. Please and thank you.
PS- Anyone in zone 6a willing to give me a hand with creating an annual plan to get things in better shape? If so, please DM me! Recently became addicted to my grass and I want to do it right.
by mojojojo7755
15 Comments
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Incoming ask your neighbor posts
First off, it looks good. You gotta couple thin patches that will fill in or you can overseed. What kind of lawn seed did you put down?
Damn that’s tough, especially with your neighbors yard lol
Honestly send this picture to ChatGPT and they’ll make a good plan for you. That’s how I did my yard and it was great
It’s gonna look great dude. It will absolutely fill in and look awesome in the spring!
You are just a few years behind your neighbor I think. Mine looked like this in fall last year and with additional overseeding in spring, it looked great! It will fill in and always next season to add more seed.
I have a similar spot in mine and I’m just letting it ride till spring. If it comes down to it I’ll just give it some more seed in the spring and hope it survives the summer heat
next spring this will all fill in especially if it had any kbg mixed
in.
TTTF will thicken up more. KBG will thicken and spread.
Mow it. It’ll thicken up a bit yet.
I personally have had spots like this in my yard going into winter. I did nothing and in spring they thickened up and filled in with no issues. It it lasts the winter you will probably have a full lawn.
It’ll be great.
This will fill in a ton by the end of May. You may even barely see any bare spots.
It won’t be perfect but it’s a good base to build off of with overseeding next fall. Try a seed slicer and skip most of the other steps (no need to top dress or power rake, but you do need to scalp the yard).
You probably want to get some more fertilizer on it, a winterizer and put down close to 1 lb of nitrogen.
Fertilize again toward the middle part or end of May. Fertilize about a half pound nitrogen only in July, then either overseed or follow the nitrogen blitz (google it)
Prodiamine in April and spray weeds in the spring. You can spray weeds this fall as well.
You probably will want to prevent grubs as well whenever that’s ideal for your area.
This will absolutely fill in. It looks good!