The best time to completely redo or establish a new lawn
The rains continued at my house last week, all week, despite the weather lady on channel 10 on Albany TV telling me how nice and sunny it is outside. I have recorded well over 15 inches of rain this month and while much of it has run off into the rivers and reservoirs, some of it has percolated into the groundwater, replenishing wells.
I pretty much quit weeding my vegetable garden by late August because it is the harvest season and I am not concerned much about the weeds competing with my vegetables.
Most garden experts advise you to continue to weed to prevent them from going to seed and adding to the soil “weed bank”. As far as I am concerned, that ship has sailed and the “weed seed bank” is already full.
Weeding is work and right now it is time to process and enjoy the harvest! I have already canned 15 pints of pickles and this week I will start canning tomatoes!
Late August to mid September is the best time to completely redo or establish a new lawn in our region. It takes at least 4 to 6 weeks of good weather for desirable lawn grasses to become fully established. I had some construction done in my side yard earlier this summer and the bare soil exposed when the backhoe and other heavy equipment left, has eroded to the point where I will have to add some topsoil just to be able to plant seed.
Before you go out and buy grass seed, you should evaluate your existing lawn to see if it is necessary to start from scratch or whether a renovation will suffice. If your lawn is more than 50% weeds or undesirable grasses, it may be best to start over. A properly planted and cared for lawn should last indefinitely. In late August, most broad leafed weeds can usually be eradicated with one or two treatments of broadleaf lawn weed killers containing 2-4 D and other chemicals that do not affect grasses. For some lawns this may be enough to reestablish the desired grasses. I don’t mind these weeds at all, but I don’t have a nice lawn. If it is green and looks good after mowing, that is fine for me.
If you are re-doing your lawn from scratch, you will need a very powerful rototiller to break up an existing sod, but be sure to till it often enough to break it up completely. You may also just remove the top layer of sod and till the soil beneath it, but
tilling in the existing sod will also add organic matter to the soil. Just shake out as much soil from the roots as you can and compost the sod. Covering the area that you are going to seed with black plastic mulch for 2 to 3 weeks, should kill off most of what is already present without you needing to resort to chemicals.
If you have not applied lime in many years you should have the soil tested for pH to see how much should be applied before you do anything else. Local offices of Cornell Cooperative Extension perform this service for a small fee and some garden centers may do it for free. Apply no more than 100 pounds of pelletized lime per 1,000 square feet at any one time. You can apply a second dose if warranted in a couple of months
when the grass is well established.
After raking the newly tilled soil smooth, you can broadcast the grass seed. The best grass seed for our region will be a mixture of several different types. For lawns in full sun, chose a blend that is mostly Kentucky Bluegrass with some fine fescue and perhaps some perennial ryegrass included. For somewhat shady areas, choose a blend that is mostly fine fescues. Avoid annual ryegrass since they will die with frost. Buy good quality grass seed and apply at the rate specified on the bag label. Do not over apply the seed because this may allow the less desirable grasses to become dominant.
Before seeding, lightly sprinkle the area with water, which will allow the seed to stick better. After seeding, mulch the newly seeded area with good quality straw that is free of seeds. Do
not use mulch hay or any other type of hay since that will completely ruin your efforts. Clean straw should have no evidence of any seed heads whatsoever. Apply about one bale per 1,000 square feet. You should be able to barely see the soil beneath the straw mulch. You will have to keep the newly seeded lawn moist until the grass is up and growing but don’t blast it with a garden hose and risk washing away the seed.
It will take 2 to 3 weeks for most of the seed to emerge. Do not mow it until at least 60 percent of the new grass is more than 3 inches tall. Generally you will not need to rake up or remove the mulch. If all goes well, your new lawn will be fully established by mid October.
Bob Beyfuss lives and gardens in Schoharie County. Send him an e-mail to rlb14@cornell. edu.