Too Late NW Indiana start Overseed/Bare; KBG

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
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coldengrey
Posts: 3
Joined: October 4th, 2019, 7:09 pm
Location: Northwest, IN
Grass Type: Kentucky Bluegrass
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Too Late NW Indiana start Overseed/Bare; KBG

Post by coldengrey » October 6th, 2019, 5:43 am

Greetings,
Hope I don't get flamed for this seemingly innocent question. THOUGHT I knew my stuff until I recently found this forum... Like starting PreMed all over again, LoL.
6000 ft2
Anyways, have a well established KBG Sod front house, 2 side sections 2k ft2 seem to have serious damage - whatever it is, can trace like a maze a path to neighbor's lawn. I applied grub control twice this year - these are the bare spots, along with fence line after new fence installation, for backyard (and a mole) added to bare spots.
My father, 45 years ago, built and established the lawn. Believe the two side sections, he may have hit budget limits and seeded with rye and fescue. Have constant damage and unhealthy appearance to these side sections. The front and center 2000 ft2 area is nearly flawless.
Would like to attempt to still dethatch and overseed with overseeding machine, with a suggested mixture of KBG... I read a few users, here, seem to have chosen Bewitched, Prosperity, Award (including a fellow forum user, I've yet to meet, who also hails from NW Indiana (North Central Indiana))
Am I fighting against the odds attempting to begin overseeding this late in NW Indiana? Note, just last week, I delayed because we had 3-4 days at 87-89°!
From what I've read in between seeing patients (about 10 minutes- and yes, we Doctors are researching our lawn care while you wait forever > just kidding, we're actually scouting your charts for stuff we need to do a quick refresher on, so when we come in to see you, it appears we just have infinite memories and learning capacity Hehe - but I digress) what I read was, generally KBG requires 50° soil temps and 3-4wks germination. Typically, 8 weeks post seeding recommended to establish before dormancy?
Should we go for it? Or simply try to repair the diseased or damaged bare spots only and try quasi renovation in spring or, ugh, not till next fall?

Thanks in advance for all of your amazing input, time and effort!
Grateful and I am,
Dr Drewes

jskierko
Posts: 72
Joined: May 10th, 2019, 9:27 pm
Location: Central Indiana
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Too Late NW Indiana start Overseed/Bare; KBG

Post by jskierko » October 6th, 2019, 8:13 pm

You are about 2 weeks away from average first frost up there, about 90% chance of frost in the next month. Wait til next season.

coldengrey
Posts: 3
Joined: October 4th, 2019, 7:09 pm
Location: Northwest, IN
Grass Type: Kentucky Bluegrass
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Too Late NW Indiana start Overseed/Bare; KBG

Post by coldengrey » October 9th, 2019, 11:35 am

I think I just needed a second opinion to talk me down from trying, LoL.
I guess I will, however, attempt to patch bare spots since already have the Scott's turf builder coated seed.
Can someone help me identify these bare disease spots and give me advice on bare spot repair, as I feel I have a decent grasp and understanding of fundamentals of grass renovations but, this will be my third attempt to repair bare spots - first two and only two times I've ever even remotely had a lawn repair fail. Not only failed, failed miserably, yielding approx <5% germination :(

*** [or do I need to start new thread in appropriate forum area? - I'm obviously new here and don't want to divert moderators valuable time and energy having to move my stuff. I totally love and appreciate what this forum offers, everyone!!!]
The neighbor has what we affectionately, at my home, call 'Lawn Herpes' LoL > hopefully that becomes a technical term around here hehe...
Thanks, I'll go snap pics in case someone maybe able to assist. But please advise if I should post lawn damage disease in seperate thread somewhere and stay on topic, with lawn renovations.

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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: Too Late NW Indiana start Overseed/Bare; KBG

Post by andy10917 » October 9th, 2019, 5:58 pm

It stays where it is - if you say it's a renovation, it's a Renovation. (We're not here to judge, we're here to help).

I'd recommend getting a soil test from Logan Labs next Spring - there may be a reason for the repeated failures, and I'm sure you know that the very definition of Insanity is repeating the same things over and over, and expecting a different result.

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