Rob wrote:
> First, thanks Cloud dreamer for all the excellent advice.
>
> I just moved into this house the past winter so this is the first
> summer I've had working on the lawn. I have no idea what the previous
> owners did with it but from the condition this spring I don't think
> they put too much effort into it. The back was especially bad with dog
> crap caked into the lawn in a lot of places. There were also a lot of
> dried out, bare places and even a big circle where it appears they had
> a trampoline or above ground pool. The front wasn't nearly as bad but
> again there are bare, dried out patches there as well. What I've done
> so far is I've dethatched (using lawnmower and de-thatching blade) it
> and limed it back in May and then had the Weedman aerate and fertilize
> it around the end of May. I've just recently fertilized the lawn
> myself again. The lawn is fairly thin everywhere with small bunches of
> thicker grass.
>
> I was planning on fixing a few more of the worst bare spots now with
> some seed and topsoil and then in September if the lawn hasn't
> thickened up to overseed.
>
> Do you think I should lime again now, I was planning on doing it again
> this fall.
>
I would lime again in October. (You need to separate fertilizing and
liming by at least 3 weeks). The second liming won't hurt the lawn
considering it's quite likely the previous owners never bothered. Lime
again next fall and onward.
Given that you don't know the history of the lawn, it'd probably be best
to do simple (less costly) repairs now and see how it fairs next spring.
Some lawns just need a little TLC to really come back to life. If it
doesn't revive over next summer then I would budget for some tandem
loads of topsoil and a lot of seed for next fall.
Before you start to seed this season, you need to decide if you want
grass or white clover. The grass may be a little cheaper but I'm finding
the clover lawn easier to care for. It's resistant to weeds, drought and
cinch bug. I find I don't have to mow it as much either. (About half my
grass lawn is now clover, so it's easy to clover over a former grass
lawn but it takes a season or two for it to spread). You can get clover
seed from Gaze or the Co-op on Topsail Road. Make sure it's white clover
(and there might be more than one variety of white clover...I'm sure
they can tell you the differences and you can decide on which depending
on cost etc). Also, with clover, you don't have to seed as thickly as
you have to with grass.
..
--
We must change the way we live,
or the climate will do it for us.
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