Yardscaping Your Lawn

To begin the transition to a lower input lawn, over-seed your existing lawn with lower maintenance grass varieties (see Grass Seed Sources). Lawn grasses more tolerant of lower moisture and nutrient levels include the common varieties of Kentucky bluegrasses (Kenblue, Park, South Dakota Certified, and Newport), fine-leaved fescues (creeping red fescue, chewings fescue, and hard fescue) and Tall fescue blends. Perennial ryegrasses can also fit into the mix when you uneed to repair small patches quickly. Other bluegrass varieties that do acceptably well once adapted to lower input levels include Rugby, Parade, Touchdown, Ram-I, Vanessa, Nugget, Sydsport, Monopoly, Harmony, and Kimona. When purchasing fescues or ryegrasses consider purchasing endophyte enhanced varieties for better insect, disease and drought resistence.

Note: Because there are many more seeds per pound of bluegrass than fine-leaved fescues, slightly higher seeding rates are required when using mixtures that include fine-leaved fescues.

The Two Best Times to Seed

The preferred time for over-seeding/renovating a lawn is from late-August through September. The second best time (but more likely to be invaded by many weeds) is early spring as the lawn is beginning to turn green and grow. Use these methods also when introducing different species and varieties into your lawn. If you need to patch small bare spots, do it immediately and keep it moist if you can.

Basic Steps for Renovating Lawns

  1. Soil Test
  2. Weed Control
    • Phsyically Pull - For large or spreading weeds; will not kill deep-rooted perennial weeds, like dandelions, plantains or nutsedges.
    • Broadleaf Heribicde - For spot control of weeds like dandelion, plantain or hawkweed.
    • Nonselective Herbicide - Kills most green vegetation; requires 5-14 days. Only for complete renovation.
  3. Soil Moisture
    • If needed, Soak soil to a depth of 6-8 in.; then allow surface to dry until steps 4 and beyond can be done (may require 1-2 days)
  4. Thatch Removal
    • Vigorous hand raking - Not practical for extreme thatch problem or large areas.
    • Vertical mower - Rent or hire; use also to prepare seedbed (see below)
    • Sod cutter - Recommended for extreme thatch problem; rent or hire.
  5. Soil Preparation
    • Vigorous hand raking - For small sites with little vegetation remaining.
    • Aerification - 3-5 passes with commercial aerifier; use for compacted soil.
    • Vertical mowing - Tines should nick surface to a depth of 1/8-½ inch.
  6. Fertilize
    • Use Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) - ½-1 pound of N per 1,000 sp. ft; add P & K as determined by soil test (depends on whether or not clippings are left on lawn). Too much N stimulates growth of existing grass and competes with new seedlings.
  7. Seeding
    • Hand - Divide seed lot in half or quarters and seed in 2 or 4 directions.
      Small sites (less than 8 ft. across): mix 1 part seed with 4 parts sawdust or a product like Milorganite.
    • Rotary spreader - Preferred method if mixed with sawdust or Milorganite
    • Drop spreader - Seed in 2 directions or overlap ½ way
    • Slit seeder -Rent equipment (but requires skill); generally best done by a professional. Go over site 2-4 times.
  8. Water
    • Lightly to provide seed-to-soil contact; then, for at least 3 weeks, water lightly twice daily to rewet soil surface (if surface remains moist, may require watering once or not at all). Don't allow soil to become soggy.
  9. Mow
    • When 3-3½ inches tall, mow to 2½ inches with sharp mower for first 3 mowings; as lawn thickens, gradually raise mowing height to 3+ inches.

Based on "Renovating an Existing Lawn to Achieve Sustainability (U-Minn)