Fall is the best time of the year to overseed your existing lawn or establish a new lawn. If your lawn is a bit thin, has bare patches or needs good care, now is the time to take care of it so it can become thoroughly established before warm temperatures arrive in spring.

Overseeding A Weak Lawn

A weak lawn may have thin or scraggly patches, seem overrun with weeds or have bare patches that are difficult to keep green and lush. Overseeding can help eliminate these problem areas and create a more consistent, luxurious lawn.

 Spray broadleaf weeds with a selective herbicide and wait 2 weeks for the weeds to disappear. Several treatments may be necessary if the yard is thick with weeds.

1. Take a soil sample of your lawn to determine the pH. A garden extension service can help determine pH levels, or home test kits are available.
2. Mow shorter than normal and rake clean to remove unnecessary debris that may keep seeds from reaching the soil.
3. Core aerate if you have compacted soil or heavy thatch. Remove the cores and dispose of them properly to keep the soil light and airy for seeding.
4. Apply starter fertilizer and lime if determined to be needed by the pH test, or choose a grass type that will thrive in your soil’s conditions.
5. Dethatch your lawn if thatch is thicker than ½ inch. This can be done with heavy raking or a special dethatching rake may be necessary in extreme cases.
6. Overseed with the proper seed. If core aerating, lightly topdress with topsoil or humus.
7. If needed, cover the freshly seeded area with netting or hay to discourage birds or other wildlife from consuming the seed before it grows.
8. Water daily until grass has germinated, then soak once a week to encourage deep root growth.
9. Fertilize in late fall with fall fertilizer.

Seeding A New Lawn

If you have no existing lawn or the entire ground is overrun with nothing but weeds, it may be best to start from scratch and create the lawn of your dreams.

1. Kill existing vegetation with nonselective herbicide. If you want to preserve nearby trees or shrubs, take steps to protect that vegetation from the treatment.
2. Take a soil sample of your lawn to determine the pH. A testing kit can provide a good pH estimate, or a gardening center or garden extension service can provide a more precise evaluation.
3. Prepare soil by breaking up the surface with a rake or spade using a crisscross pattern. All large lumps should be broken up, and any large rocks should be removed.
4. Broadcast starter fertilizer, lime and gypsum as determined by the pH test. This will provide a nutrition boost for fresh seeds.
5. Spread topsoil or humus to a ½ inch depth for appropriate planting.
6. Rototill to a depth of 4 inches and grade smooth. This will mix all the top layers together for uniform soil and nutrition, ensuring even turf growth.
7. Sow proper seed and mulch lightly with salt hay to control erosion and conserve moisture.
8. Water daily until grass has germinated, then soak once a week to encourage deeper root growth to resist droughts and repel weeds.
9. Fertilize in late fall with fall fertilizer to provide nutrition throughout the season.

 Which Seed?

 Not every lawn will thrive with the same type of grass seed. Allow our staff to help you select the seed that best suits your needs, soil type and planting conditions. Apply at the recommended rate and incorporate into the top ¼” of soil. Do not bury the seed or it may not germinate evenly.

No matter what the condition of your lawn, fall is the best time to take steps to help it rejuvenate so you have an amazing lawn to enjoy in spring.

Not only does mulch add a decorative finish to your flower beds, it also helps keep soil cool and moist and thus reduces the need for watering. By using a pre-emergent herbicide with mulch, weed seeds can be discouraged from germinating and growing. And, I’m sure we can all agree, weeding is a chore nobody likes to do!  So, which mulch should you use?
Pine Bark and Chips – Pine mulches should be used around plant that require and acidic soil such as azalea, rhododendron, mountain laurel and holly.
Shredded hardwood – This is by far the most popular mulch. It has a dark color and knits together well so that it does not wash away.
Shredded Cedar – This long-lasting hard wood mulch has a pleasant fragrance. Cedar mulch also knits together well and is thought to repel insects.

MULCH FACTS:

• 1 cubic yard of mulch will cover 150 square feet of area to a depth of 2 inches. We recommend 2 inches as the dept for optimum plant vigor and growth.
• There are 27 cubic feet in 1 cubic yard.
• Compost is an excellent soil amendment but should not be used as a top dressing.
• When applied correctly, mulches reduce the growth of weed, prevent soil moisture evaporation, maintain consistent soil temperatures, improve soil structure and increase soil nutrients as they decay and keep the garden looking neat and tidy.

The key to successful gardening is “healthy soil.”  This basic principle of organic gardening applies to all plants.  Quite simply, when you feed the soil the proper nutrients, you let the soil feed the plants.  So how do you “feed” the soil?  First, you need to understand some elementary information about your soil and why it is so important, and then you can take steps to improve it.

To start, you should determine the soil texture by moistening the soil and rubbing it between your thumb and fingers to determine it’s “feel.”  Sands are gritty and will barely hold together; clay can be squeezed into a firm shape; and silt will act in a way to allow particles to cling together.  Sandy soils tend to dry out quickly because they contain high amounts of soil air.  Oppositely, clay soils have a tendency to pack together, shutting out air and water.  The best garden soil, “loam,” has moderate amounts of sand, silt and clay.  Generally, soil in our area tends to be clayey.  This condition can be improved by adding a soil conditioner like Gypsum. For sandy soils, humus should be added to help retain moisture and nutrients.

Next, you must evaluate the soil structure.  Soil structure is affected by soil pH, the amount of humus and the combination of minerals in the soil.  Ideal soils allow soil particles to clump together with air spaces between them for water drainage as well as oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide release from plant roots.  The best way to improve soil structure is to add high amounts of organic matter like humus, dehydrated manure, composted manure, mushroom compost, alfalfa meal, peat moss, or worm castings.

You will also need to take a soil sample, to measure the pH and amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil as well as other nutrients. This will help determine exactly what the soil needs.  Our staff will help you read the results and determine what to add to your soil and how much.  Generally, a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 is acceptable.  If your pH is lower than this, your soil is too acidic and requires lime to be added.  If your soil is low in organic matter, it will often have a high pH level. All plants require a proper balance of nutrients – nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).  Soils lacking any one of these elements will not produce healthy plants.  Refer to the Organic Fertilizer Chart for suggested amendments.

When dealing with poor or improperly balanced soils, obtaining “healthy” soil may take two to five years to acquire.  The best thing you can do to supplement your soil program is to use various organic fertilizers to meet your plants’ needs and regularly add organic matter.  This will continue to help the soil structure as well as create biological activity that is also a vital part to developing productive soil.

Key Words

Soil Texture – The proportional amount of sand, silt and clay in the soil.

Soil Structure – The arrangement of soil particles in the soil.

Soil pH – The measurement of acidity or alkalinity of the soil.

Organic Matter – Various forms of living and dead plant and animal matter.