The Challenge of Establishing a New Lawn: A Personal Experience

I recently received an email from Eli about having problems with grass growing in their backyard. I had to inform them that my own experience with establishing a new lawn was quite different, as we had moved into our home less than a year ago and found that the previous owner had installed a new septic system. While this was a great development, the grass itself was not thriving due to muddy, rocky conditions.

The Worst Time for Lawncare

It's ironic that July is considered one of the worst times to try to establish a lawn, given the high temperatures, drought, and the presence of crabgrass and other weeds. Crabgrass, in particular, is an aggressive annual that grows, sets seeds, and comes back the next year. It can smother out any newly seeded lawns, making it essential to take action before winter sets in. In our case, we noticed that the lawn was already infested with crabgrass, which was crowding out the space.

The Perfect Time for Lawncare

However, as fall approached, we saw it as the perfect time to establish a new lawn. This is because the cooler temperatures and increased moisture create an ideal environment for grass seeds to germinate and grow. To achieve this, we began by using a core aerator in the front of our yard. The machine has a gas engine and weighted barrel that holds it down, allowing us to drive tines into the ground and pull out plugs. This process opens up the soil, allowing us to introduce compost, seed, and fertilizer.

Using the Core Aerator

We started by starting the engine and making sure to wear hearing protection. Next, we lowered the aerators using a bar and engaged the machine, which would push it across our yard. We wanted to turn and go perpendicular to the lines to ensure that we got plenty of cores out of the whole line. As we worked, we removed plugs from the soil, which were heavy and had a bit of clay content. To break this up, we incorporated compost into our lawn, as plants love it and the grass will too.

Incorporating Compost

We spread the compost evenly, aiming for about half an inch to an inch, to level off the surface. To do this, we used the back side of a rake, working back and forth, to let the compost spread right into the holes in the roots of the grass. This process is crucial when establishing a new lawn, as it helps create a strong foundation for future growth.

Choosing the Right Seed

For our lawn, we chose a blend of seed that includes rye fescue and bluegrass. The reason for this combination is to adapt to different conditions in the yard, such as shade or sun exposure. Rye fescue is more resistant to drought, while bluegrass is better suited for areas with more moisture. By choosing a mix, we can ensure that our lawn will thrive in various conditions.

Seeding Timing: A Critical Factor

The timing of when we seed is critical, as fall is great, but summer is not ideal. In the summer, the grass wants to dry out, and the crabgrass takes over, making it difficult for newly seeded lawns to survive. On the other hand, spring seeding can be challenging due to the presence of weed seeds that sprout quickly. By waiting until fall, we give our lawn the best chance to establish itself before winter sets in.

Using Pre-Emergent Crabgrass Control

To prevent crabgrass from taking over again next year, we use a pre-emergent crabgrass control. This chemical physically stops the crabgrass from growing up through the soil and can be particularly effective against new seedlings. We chose a product labeled for new seeding, as it would not harm the grass seeds. The product is specifically designed to stop crabgrass from growing, making it an essential tool in our lawn care routine.

Additional Equipment for Lawncare

In the past, we have used additional heavy equipment, such as an aerator and dethatcher, when establishing new lawns. While these tools can be beneficial, they are not necessary for every lawn care task. Our current yard will likely require less maintenance in the short term, but we may need to revisit these steps in two or three years to maintain optimal health.

Understanding Fertilizers

Fertilizers come in different formulas, each with its own purpose and nutrient content. The formula on the bag typically includes three numbers: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Phosphorus promotes root growth, which is essential for healthy lawn development. If the nitrogen number is too high, it can promote top growth but may not be beneficial for the roots. We want to focus on promoting root growth, so we choose fertilizers with a higher phosphorus content.

The Future of Our Lawn

We look forward to watching our new lawn flourish and become a beautiful green oasis in our backyard. With proper care and maintenance, it will provide us with years of enjoyment and relaxation. As we continue to maintain our lawn, we'll keep in mind the importance of timing, seed selection, and pre-emergent crabgrass control to ensure its continued health and success.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eneli you sent me an email about having a problem with the grass growing in your backyard but i gotta tell you this is a really nice backyard thank you we moved in a little less than a year ago and we um when we moved in we found that the previous owner had put in a new septic which is great but the grass really wasn't growing in on top of that it was it was muddy rocky and what time of year was that well it was probably in july july you had to pick just the worst time to try to get a lawn to grow competing with high temperatures drought and crabgrass and other weeds getting in the lawn in fact you see all this brown in here eli this is crab grass it's an annual that grows set seeds and those seeds come back the next year and it is aggressive it'll smother out any seeding we do during the summer over here got a little bit of broadleaf weed which is crowding out the space a little bit the good news is it's fall and it's the perfect time to get a lawn in that'll come up and be strong and get even stronger in the spring and resist all of these weeds but it's going to involve some work to get it to that point you ready yes let's go excellent all right eli this is the first tool we're going to use this is a core aerator in the front if you look here it has a gas engine and below that is a weighted barrel in the front to hold it down because what we're doing is driving these tines down into the ground and pull out a plug and that's going to open up the soil for the compost seed and fertilizer we're going to be putting in to help get established lawn very good so we're ready to start it up and put the tines down first thing we do is start the engine make sure you have your hearing protection on all right now back here we have two things we have the bar which lowers the aerators and we're just gonna take and drop it down like that then we engage right here and that's the drive that's going to push this machine across okay now we've gone a long way we want to turn and go perpendicular to those lines to make sure we get plenty of cores out of the whole line all righty like take a look at a couple of these these are the plugs we took out of the soil and they're a little bit heavy a little bit clay so i want to break that up and to do that we're going to use compost this is just the greatest thing in the world the plants love it the grass loves it so we're going to incorporate this into our lawn and it's really going to make our lawn jump sounds great you want to get like a half an inch to an inch so to level off the compost we're just going to use the back side of the rake working back and forth and let it spread right down into those holes in the roots of the grass all right whenever we do a new lawn we want to put down a fertilizer that's high in phosphorus that'll make the roots grow that's what we want this time of year let those roots grow and spread out and get tough for next year you're going to spread it according to the directions sounds good now we're ready to put down seed here in the northeast we use a blend of seed we like to have rye fescue and bluegrass in that blend because when you go around your yard you have different conditions you have shade or sun so we have to adapt a little bit to it like ryan fescue they'll tolerate a little shade bluegrass wants full sun excellent roger why is the grassy blue i told you we're gonna use bluegrass i know pretty bad huh actually this is a coating put on the seed by the manufacturer to help hold moisture to the seed so it'll germinate better we're gonna take the seed and we're gonna spread it down on the lawn using the spreaders you go one way i'll go the other way and then we just gotta rake it in what you're doing now is the most important step of the whole day if we don't keep that seed moist it won't germinate so i want you to water it lightly probably once a day and keep it moist and that'll germinate in a week or ten days once it germinates you'll want to give it a little more water again just keeping it damp after it reaches a height of three inches i want you to cut it back to two inches but bag it i don't want those clippings to smother on new seedlings okay we'll do and thank you so much for all of your advice it's great and in the spring yolan's going to jump up and be way ahead of anyone else in the neighborhood pretty good for a first time lawn owner excellent i look forward to it thank you you're welcome i love a guy who loves his lawn yeah so you can't say it enough roger i mean we've told the story before but the timing of when we seed is so critical fall great someone not so great i mean in the summer right i mean we're just fighting too many things right the crabgrass wants to come up the lawn wants to dry out not good seeding the little seedlings come up and they're tiny fragile little things and then you take and dry out for one day gone you gotta start over again so if you do have to plant in the spring and sometimes you just have to yeah what's the formula everything we did plus a pre-emergent crabgrass control crabgrass is insidious it just comes up and smothers everything right so you want to stop that we use a chemical called two percent and it actually physically stops the crab grass from growing up through the soil yeah and not all pre-emergents are equal because some of them will stop the grass seed right you want to make sure you have one labeled for new seeding okay and then um in the past when you've done seeding i've usually seen two pieces of heavy equipment um the aerator but also a dethatcher although no dethatching here no brand new lawn no thatch yet right two or three years down the road we'll come in and run the d theatre over it okay and then in terms of the fertilizer i mean there's bags for spring summer fall what's the difference well when you look at the bag there's three numbers on the back of it the first one's nitrogen the second one's phosphorous and the third one is potassium phosphorus promotes roots that's what we want to grow if the nitrogen number is really high it's going to produce all top growth that's not going to be good for the plant you'll be cutting it twice a week it's going to look beautiful but with new seeds we're really concerned about getting the roots down exactly all right happy planting\n"