Iowa Renovation
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Iowa Renovation
I am having troubles with my lawn this spring and have had some troubles in the past with it. Our house was built 3 years ago in Iowa and there was a drought at that time and sod farms that the builder normally got the sod from didn't have sod for sale. So they went to Tennessee to get our sod. It has always kind of struggled since the 1st fall. There was a house built next to us by the same builder and it is the same sod and it is struggling also. I don't know grass plants very well but my guess is it's a lot of perennial rye and some fescue. It's a pretty light green grass with thin strands. I have been overseeding every fall with some form of Scotts Sun and Shade and I think that is the only thing keeping it looking somewhat green until this spring. I have found the seedsuperstore.com from the advice of a youtuber I found. The seed superstore suggests this blend(http://www.seedsuperstore.com/catalog/p ... ny-mixture ) of kentucky bluegrass for my lawn. Is this a good place to buy it from and a good blend? It looks really expensive but I guess I'd rather pay a good amount of money for good seed and especially some decent bluegrass. I am planning on aerating, power raking and overseeding my front lawn this spring when the soil temp gets high enough. I am also going to get a soil sample sent into Logan Labs hopefully tomorrow. I would like to avoid killing everything and starting new this fall because I have a 1 year old that will like to get out and play in the yard this summer. What are your thoughts?
- bernstem
- Posts: 4232
- Joined: April 15th, 2011, 2:59 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
- Grass Type: Front: Solar Eclipse/Award/Bewitched/Moonlight SLT/Prosperity Back: Solar Eclipse Monostand + Bewitched (shade)
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
A lot of things to consider here.
- Can you post current pictures?
- Where are you in Iowa? It is a largish state and the west side by Sioux City is different from over by the Quad Cities.
- First off, what are your goals for the lawn - Showcase, just green, really don't care, etc.?
- How much time are you willing to invest in the lawn?
- How much experience do you have with lawn care?
The answers will help guide us a bit. I think some of what you are planning sounds great. Some may be the right answer for you depending on your goals. Some of what you are planning is hard to do and you might be better off adjusting. In general, we recommend a fall renovation as getting a new spring seeded lawn through summer is a lot of water and work. It is much easier with a fall planting. Another benefit of a fall seeding this year is that it gives you all summer to get the soil tuned up after the soil test. While aerating and power raking have a place in lawn care, they are often not necessary for a renovation and can create problems with increased weed seed pressure so you need to consider if they are worth the downsides. If I was to plan a lawn renovation in Iowa my timeline would look roughly like this:
Spring - pre-emergent at low dose to allow fall seeding, soil test, compost top dressing if desired.
Summer - Fix soil based on soil test.
Late Summer - Kill current lawn allowing enough time for fallowing.
Fall - Renovation with new seed (specific seeds depending on lawn goals). Seed into dead, scalped old lawn (no need to aerate or power rake). Top dress with compost (my preference) or peat moss.
This will give you time to sort out the specifics of how you are going to renovate. This includes seed choice, ensuring adequate watering and soil preparation. It also will give you time to figure out why the current lawn is not doing well. Unless you figure that out, the new lawn is going to struggle the same way regardless of how much you spend on fancy seed. Perennial Rye, Tall Fescue or Bluegrass will thrive in Iowa if treated properly and odds are very good you have one or more of those grasses.
- Can you post current pictures?
- Where are you in Iowa? It is a largish state and the west side by Sioux City is different from over by the Quad Cities.
- First off, what are your goals for the lawn - Showcase, just green, really don't care, etc.?
- How much time are you willing to invest in the lawn?
- How much experience do you have with lawn care?
The answers will help guide us a bit. I think some of what you are planning sounds great. Some may be the right answer for you depending on your goals. Some of what you are planning is hard to do and you might be better off adjusting. In general, we recommend a fall renovation as getting a new spring seeded lawn through summer is a lot of water and work. It is much easier with a fall planting. Another benefit of a fall seeding this year is that it gives you all summer to get the soil tuned up after the soil test. While aerating and power raking have a place in lawn care, they are often not necessary for a renovation and can create problems with increased weed seed pressure so you need to consider if they are worth the downsides. If I was to plan a lawn renovation in Iowa my timeline would look roughly like this:
Spring - pre-emergent at low dose to allow fall seeding, soil test, compost top dressing if desired.
Summer - Fix soil based on soil test.
Late Summer - Kill current lawn allowing enough time for fallowing.
Fall - Renovation with new seed (specific seeds depending on lawn goals). Seed into dead, scalped old lawn (no need to aerate or power rake). Top dress with compost (my preference) or peat moss.
This will give you time to sort out the specifics of how you are going to renovate. This includes seed choice, ensuring adequate watering and soil preparation. It also will give you time to figure out why the current lawn is not doing well. Unless you figure that out, the new lawn is going to struggle the same way regardless of how much you spend on fancy seed. Perennial Rye, Tall Fescue or Bluegrass will thrive in Iowa if treated properly and odds are very good you have one or more of those grasses.
- andy10917
- Posts: 29739
- Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
- Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
- Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
- Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
- Level: Advanced
Re: Iowa Renovation
Another question: how large is this lawn area to be renovated?
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
- Can you post current pictures? I do not have any right now. I can post tonight. Do you want overall picture or up close to see the specific kinds of grass?
- Where are you in Iowa? I am in Nevada, IA which is just east of Ames.
- First off, what are your goals for the lawn? I am looking to have a nice dark green lawn. I enjoy mowing once a week. Does that sound weird? The part that I am renovating is the front yard and is always sunny.
- How much time are you willing to invest in the lawn? I love working in the yard a couple hours a week so whatever is necessary to get that nice dark green lawn.
- How much experience do you have with lawn care? Not near as much as you guys have but am a willing learner.
- How large is this lawn area to be renovated? The part that I am renovating is roughly 2200 to 2500 square feet.
I like your plan for renovating that you put out there. It will suck having a bad looking lawn for most of the year but if it looks amazing next year it will be worth it. I have two emails into different sod companies in Iowa to get some seed quotes from them.
- Where are you in Iowa? I am in Nevada, IA which is just east of Ames.
- First off, what are your goals for the lawn? I am looking to have a nice dark green lawn. I enjoy mowing once a week. Does that sound weird? The part that I am renovating is the front yard and is always sunny.
- How much time are you willing to invest in the lawn? I love working in the yard a couple hours a week so whatever is necessary to get that nice dark green lawn.
- How much experience do you have with lawn care? Not near as much as you guys have but am a willing learner.
- How large is this lawn area to be renovated? The part that I am renovating is roughly 2200 to 2500 square feet.
I like your plan for renovating that you put out there. It will suck having a bad looking lawn for most of the year but if it looks amazing next year it will be worth it. I have two emails into different sod companies in Iowa to get some seed quotes from them.
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
Here is a picture from the beginning of last fall of the front yard that I'm trying to fix. Some of it is struggling because I had to have parts of my driveway ripped up because of a sump line issue. This picture shows that I used some glyphosate to remove some of the clumping fescue that ended up in my yard somehow. It was more of a test to see how it would work as a way to get rid of it. Does anybody have any better advice than doing that or just buying a roundup sprayer to hit only those spots and not the surrounding grass?
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- Posts: 591
- Joined: July 16th, 2015, 9:12 pm
- Location: Dubuque County, Iowa
- Grass Type: Northern Mix
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
I’m from a Dubuque, Iowa and have a yard that is one year older than yours. I will say that the “clumping” or wild fescue is very prevalent in my neighborhood and was in my own yard for 2-3 years. The fescue was living there before we tried to grow a lawn on it.
The first couple years were bad but now it’s just one clump here or one clump there. If the clump is smaller, I wait until after we get a good rain and pull it out. If it’s bigger, then I’ll spray it.
One thing to think about is starting pots of grass to “plug” into the spots left by the glyphosate.
I don’t know how you are looking so far this spring, but I’d definitely get on a soil amendment plan if you aren’t already. If you are up for it you could start planning a renovation.
Good luck
The first couple years were bad but now it’s just one clump here or one clump there. If the clump is smaller, I wait until after we get a good rain and pull it out. If it’s bigger, then I’ll spray it.
One thing to think about is starting pots of grass to “plug” into the spots left by the glyphosate.
I don’t know how you are looking so far this spring, but I’d definitely get on a soil amendment plan if you aren’t already. If you are up for it you could start planning a renovation.
Good luck
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
Did you get rid of most of the clumps by spot spraying round up?
Using plugs is a good idea for when I can pull the clumps out.
I did multiple passes of aeration 2 weeks ago and added a bunch of great compost to this part of the yard. Then seeded with a mix of PRG and KBG and threw down some starter fertilizer.
The first picture is right after aeration, compost, seed, and starter fertilizer. The second picture is 2 days ago.
Using plugs is a good idea for when I can pull the clumps out.
I did multiple passes of aeration 2 weeks ago and added a bunch of great compost to this part of the yard. Then seeded with a mix of PRG and KBG and threw down some starter fertilizer.
The first picture is right after aeration, compost, seed, and starter fertilizer. The second picture is 2 days ago.
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- Posts: 591
- Joined: July 16th, 2015, 9:12 pm
- Location: Dubuque County, Iowa
- Grass Type: Northern Mix
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
Your revitalization project is looking good I see.
Most of the fescue is gone in my yard by spot sprays and hand pulling. I find a clump or two over a 11k sq ft lawn. No big deal in my opinion. Keep at it and by fall what you’ve done will be really sweet.
Most of the fescue is gone in my yard by spot sprays and hand pulling. I find a clump or two over a 11k sq ft lawn. No big deal in my opinion. Keep at it and by fall what you’ve done will be really sweet.
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
I'm going to try and hit the clumping fescue with roundup this summer when the KBG/rye goes dormant. Hopefully that will help from damaging the KBG/rye.
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
Here is an update.
Killed off the KY31 and some other heavy fescue areas.
Dethatched and planned to aerate but the aeration timing didn't work out.
Seed down on Sept. 6th
KBG
Award
Bewitched
Midnight
PRG
Fiesta 4
Grand slam
Mowed with a manual reel mower yesterday to cut down some of the previous growing grass. Day 21
Killed off the KY31 and some other heavy fescue areas.
Dethatched and planned to aerate but the aeration timing didn't work out.
Seed down on Sept. 6th
KBG
Award
Bewitched
Midnight
PRG
Fiesta 4
Grand slam
Mowed with a manual reel mower yesterday to cut down some of the previous growing grass. Day 21
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- Posts: 45
- Joined: April 23rd, 2015, 6:27 pm
- Location: South Shore Mass
- Grass Type: Northern Mix
- Lawn Size: 10000-20000
- Level: Some Experience
Re: Iowa Renovation
Looks good. I like the stone border and nice improvised sprinkler set up. Do you have those on a timer? Where did you purchase the seed from?
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
Thanks! Came up with the sprinkler system from Ryan Knorr on YouTube and have it hooked up to a Melnour 4 valve timer that works great. Bought the seed from seedsuperstore.
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- Posts: 417
- Joined: August 7th, 2012, 11:16 am
- Location: OKC, OK
- Grass Type: Front Yard: KBG blend. Back Bewitched/Nuglade
- Lawn Size: 5000-10000
- Level: Experienced
Re: Iowa Renovation
That looks great for 27 days! It's like you're just skipping SnP.
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- Posts: 75
- Joined: May 25th, 2015, 11:08 am
- Location: Iowa
- Grass Type: Rye, fescue
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Iowa Renovation
It's doing okay. It definitely stopped growing about a week or two ago. My main regret is that I didn't kill it all off because now I'm noticing spots that I missed of fescue.
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- Posts: 580
- Joined: July 25th, 2016, 4:51 pm
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
- Grass Type: Bewitched KBG
- Lawn Size: 10000-20000
- Level: Experienced
Re: Iowa Renovation
I smell a future full renovation!
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