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JC
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Posted 2:55 am, 09/16/2020
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I'm about 2 weeks after sowing my Tall Fescue grass seed.
I had an area that was a mulched sitting area, and just before sowing the grass I took up the mulch and weed cloth so that it could become yard again. I can see grass growing up pretty well there now, but I don't really see any new growth in the rest of the yard yet.
Germination is 7-21 days, so I'm still about a week away from the end of that. But with the same seed coming up well in the other area, I don't know if it's an issue of the weed roots preventing growth, or something else.
I set up sprinklers that water for 5 minutes every 4 hours, so that shouldn't be an issue.
Do you guys think I should do another round of seeds, or just wait and see? This grass grows best when temperatures are 50-65, and I'm concerned that if I wait too long then it'll be too cold. And then leaves on the ground will make everything that much harder.
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JC
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Posted 2:33 am, 09/03/2020
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Thanks for all of the input!
Unfortunately, @gandydancer, lime isn't really an option because of the dogs. And I have a lot of acid-loving plants back there, like rhododendron and azaleas. But using that as a starting point, I think that I could use corn gluten meal to accomplish the same thing, without affecting the pH! There's a lot of conflicting information out there, but it's cheap and I'm not sure that it could hurt to try.
@rednecker, I didn't know that about the tire chains! That's great to know  I've seen people with chains, though, and it always confused me; like, did they think it was gonna snow? LOL
But anyway, I followed all of the advice today: I mowed it short (I usually mow on Level 5, this time I used Level 3), which ended up leaving a LOT of dead spots where the weeds were sheered off! Then I aerated, going over each row several times. Then I spread some Scott's Turf Builder (pet-safe fertilizer pellets), then the grass seed.
I also got my sprinkler system set up back there, so unless something goes wrong then it "should" handle the watering for me. Based on a golf.com article, I set the sprinklers to run for 5 minutes every 4 hours. But I really want to find a system that will measure the water in the soil and only run when it's needed, so that might be part of 2021's projects.
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gandydancer49
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Posted 8:11 pm, 09/01/2020
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Add a bunch of lime..Hard to put too much especially if you have weeds..Weeds don't like "sweet" soil meaning a ph value of 7 will deter unwanted growth. It takes a while for lime to break down and be absorbed in the soil but it's effects last longer
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smalltownman
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Posted 6:30 am, 09/01/2020
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I would cut the weeds as close to the ground as possible then aerate, aerate again, then sow the grass seeds.
Oh, and water, water, water after sowing the seed up until the grass needs its first mowing at which time you can fertilize.
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rednecker
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Posted 12:31 am, 09/01/2020
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Set your mower on the highest cut possible, let the clippings lay where they fall and the existing grasses that are the best suited to your lawn will take over. If you put chains on your mower's back tires they will distribute the natural grass seed and push it into the soil for germination. Mow often in the spring to keep the clover in check and mow less often in the fall to let the grasses set their seeds.
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JC
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Posted 11:58 pm, 08/31/2020
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I know that I'm about 6 weeks late on this, but time just has a way of getting away from me sometimes 
Here's my dilemma.
My back yard is almost entirely weed. Every year I overseed with grass seed, but I rarely see any results from it. I don't know if it's the quality of seed that I'm using, the time of year, or just that weeds are too thick. The grass that does exist is a hodge podge, because over the years I've just bought whatever grass seed was available at Lowe's without paying attention to the type of grass.
In an effort to fix things permanently, I bought a bag of Scott's Turf Builder lawn fertilizer, and a bag of Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue grass seed that I think is a higher quality than what I had been getting. Both were delivered on August 20.
So now the question is, should I
A. go over the lawn with a scrape blade and wipe out everything that's there now (down to the dirt), then aerate, then spread fertilizer, then spread grass seed? I understand it'll take about a month for it to germinate and grow, so that's a few weeks of a mud lawn.
B. just mow the weeds short, then aerate, fertilize, and overseed?
C. forget it for now and wait until Spring?
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