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Recently a friend who lives outside of our service area asked about fixing a lawn that was not in the best of shape.

Here's what we said to them

Thanks for the photo(s)

Okay so the lawn/house faces south west so there shouldn’t be any sun shade issues for your lawn

Finding out how it got this way- Has it been like this for a while? Or did it deteriorate suddenly? If so do you remember when? If so what month of the year? May help determine if there is a or was an underlying insect issue.

STEP BY STEP FIX -- main thing is to improve grass population. Encourage grass root immigration - offer incentives for new grass residents to move into your yard and do all you can to make sure they stay happy or else they leave. Keep out undesireables as these discourage the new residents.

There are several ways- to seed lawns 
Step 1 It is best if you can get best way to get lawn aerated first- rent a machine, hire a lawn company, sometimes some company sell door to door- this step will enhance results but is not 100% necessary

( seed will respond best if it receives the necessary moisture to germinate- alternatives to aeration- with regard to seeding - where lawn is bare enough, rake hard enough to loosen soil- if bare spot is not as wide as a rake, take a spade and insert into the ground about 1-2 inches deep with slits 4” apart

Step 2 apply a liberal application of high quality grass seed - 5lb per 1000 sq ft

Water lightly to push seeds slightly into slits or aeration holes, or raked patches.

Step2a apply a seed/sod fertilizer at package rates- should have high middle number

Step3- optional - but will improve results
- spread black soil over lawn- or at least over the worst parts- apply at about 1/4 to 1/2 inch depth

Bag of soil type deliveries hold one cubic yard- this will cover 108 sq ft to 1/4 deep. This may be enough for the worst areas. If you want to cover more- look for a supplier who delivers in bulk- this means a pile of soil on your driveway - but is usually less expensive than bag delivery if getting a larger quantity

Step 4 watering - give seeds a light watering twice daily - a light sprinkling is sufficient - do this for 2 weeks- seeds should be starting to germinate by then-

Watering can be eased off to 2-3 time weekly

Step 4 alternative - wash car daily - usually after washing car- it rains just enough to spoil the car wash

Step 5- about ; weeks after seeding apply high quality lawn fertilizer at recommended label rate- apply 3 - 4 times yearly at 6-8 week spacing

)normal year- late April, June , August, late October

Step 6 Weeds- non-grass weeds like dandelion - dig out manually or spray with weed b gone herbicide when they appear - this will kill tips of some weeds but not all- and even the easiest will require 2-3 treatments-

As lawn gets healthier there will be less weeds- but weed elimination will take time - a healthy green lawn will look good even if there are some weeds

Care- step 7&8- mow lawn regularly at 3” mowing height- never cutting more than 1/3 of leaf blade off- keep mower blade sharp

Lawn needs 1-1 1/2” of water per week (use a Tin can to measure how much 30 minutes of sprinkler time gives in inches)
Watering is best if done once per week-

On some lawns- for instance if you need 1 hours of watering to achieve one inch- you may need to allow water to percolate down. In other words you may water for 30 minutes then stop for 30 minutes before starting again- you will know this is the water starts to run off the lawn and is not being absorbed into the soil but is running down the drain

Step 9- during summer monitor lawn for brown spots which may indicate insects- seek advice if the spots increase in size as this indicates insect feeding- as they feed more lawn dies

Step 10 Enjoy the progress you will achieve by following these steps
Sit on porch with cool drink and relax

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