When to give up on seed....

[northeastlawn]

I trying to patch various spots around the yard. I have a bunch of bare spots and notice some are coming in and some don't. I have been at to since mid April. After 3 weeks Ill try again on the dead spots that don't seem to be growing, I redo the process, I have gotten seed to grow by restarting the process, but its usually just a few blades here and there. Just not sure if after three weeks I should restart or be patient.

Typically I...

Rake the area to be patched
Put down a combination of compost and top soil
Put down scotts starter fertilizer
Put down scotts sun and shade seed
cover with some top soil
wet down then put some peat moss over it
Ill keep it moist 2-3 times a day if I can

My question is how long to wait to seed before you try again?

We had a drought here in Mass, just got an inch of rain, would the rain trigger a growth spurt in seeds?

Im ready to start over again on the dead spots that aren't doing anything, just not sure if it's right or wrong.

[GeorgiaDad]

How big are the areas? Pots may be easier. In 6 weeks you have a a pot of grass with deep roots ready to go. It's nothing to use 20-30- or more pots.

[northeastlawn]

How big are the areas? Pots may be easier. In 6 weeks you have a a pot of grass with deep roots ready to go. It's nothing to use 20-30- or more pots.

They are not really pot size, more like patchy long strips here and there. We had clover choking out the grass, we are trying to regrow grass in those areas.

[GaryCinChicago]

Something is wrong, considering the amount of rye grass in scotts sun and shade seed.

IS the seed very old?

By hand, water your areas heavily. Soak them. Spread your seed. Topdress with peat mosss 1/4". Keep the peat moss damp 24/7. Fresh seed will give you grass in 7 to 10 days, using that blend.

[northeastlawn]

Sounds like I need to redo some areas again. I have been getting results; some spots come up fast. Some spots will start growing grass, some just sit there. I have been retrying every 3 weeks if I don't see any progress. Just wasn't sure if I was giving up upon seed too soon.

[Green]

Was there a pre-emergent herbicide barrier put down this year to prevent weeds like crabgrass, by any chance?

[northeastlawn]

I have been treating the new grass with kid gloves. Just starter fertilizer, before the big rain we got, and 4-5 weeks before that when I planted the first batch. (Edit, the scott starter fertilizer w/o the weed control, read bad things about the newer scott starter fertilizer)

The bare spots seem compacted though. I did use a hand core aerator (Lawn butler) every 6-12 inches. It did an OK job, didnt really get jammed up and made nice cores.

the bare spots just seem lumpy, if thats a thing.

[mikeyD]

Near record dry month of May combined with the near record heat of May definitely did not help. Try again this week. After the two inches of rain the ground is nice and saturated. High temps aren't predicted to top 60 all week on the coast with a few chances of showers. Perfect weather for seeds. You mentioned top dressing with soil and peat. Be careful you don't use to much

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[mikeyD]

You mentioned digging clover out of these areas. How deep did you dig?

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[northeastlawn]

Maybe 2-3 inches or so, mostly it was just pulled out when we detached by hand with a detaching rake. I did use weed-b-gon twice before doing the dethatching. We detached, top soiled and seeded the bare spots, and about two weeks after that. But I have been keeping up on retrying the bare spots every 3 weeks or so.

I can't do anything until Friday. How do I handle a spot that has a handful of small grass sprouting out. Recover it with seed and top soil, or leave it alone?

[gryd]

Personally I would put off trying to get any more to grow. It is June 3rd. I have many people in my area tell me that they spot seeded in early June and then tell me they are more than impressed with the results. I usually ask them sometime in July how their new grass is holding out and in just about every case the answer is "it's dead" and "I have no idea why". As a newbie I've had the same experience. It's simply too late at this point to get the roots deep enough and get it to establish enough for summer heat, even in the northeast. Maybe, just maybe, it could work if you want to be married to those areas and keep them well watered all summer and treat with fungicides. August is just around the corner. Take a break and start the process again in early August. Then, by the time your seedlings hatch and grow a bit they'll be faced with the more moderate temperatures of September and establish nicely. Just my 2 cents.

[myPlums]

I agree with gryd. You're going to be fighting a losing battle.

[Gags]

Maybe you're also burying the seed to deep?

Your process above was to layer topsoil, seed, topsoil, then water. The water may be settling the seed into the loose topsoil/compost you have underneath.
Then you said you added peat moss on top of that - maybe spot check an small area by scraping off the topsoil and see how deep the seed is.

I topdressed with leaf mulch when reseeding one time. I love leaf mulch - stays dark all year. But it can "mat" together. After a week or two of hardly any growth, I realized the mulch was starting to cake together (probably from the constant wetting/drying action). I picked up a small section, and lo-and-behold, there were my new plants, trying their best to push up through the mulch. I probably had no more than 1/4 inch of topdressing as well. So that might be an issue for you as well.

[northeastlawn]

Thanks for all the replies.

Im off work tomorrow, Ill probably rake off the peat moss, and live with that I got until I try an overhaul in late august.

If I leave spots bare, is there a way to keep the weeds out until I try again in August?

August is usually still pretty warm around here, is that really a good time to over seed?

[Green]

Thanks for all the replies.

Im off work tomorrow, Ill probably rake off the peat moss, and live with that I got until I try an overhaul in late august.

If I leave spots bare, is there a way to keep the weeds out until I try again in August?

August is usually still pretty warm around here, is that really a good time to over seed?

Tenacity sprayed without surfactant can keep the weeds out of the soil for at least 30 days, maybe 45, by acting as a pre-emergent barrier. You'll probably want it when you reno the area, anyway, so maybe buy it and get comfortable with how to mix and spray it now if you don't already have it and have the experience with how to use it.

August 15th to September 15th is great for seeding around here. But like you said, August is hot, and requires watering sometimes more then 4x per day to keep the seed moist. If you have a way to do that, it will work well. But if you're seeding mostly a fast-germinating grass like ryegrass, September 15th or even later (in some cases) could be ok. August 15th is great for KBG, which takes 3x as long as PR to germinate.

I did TTTF (a medium germination speed) and KBG mix on October 1st in 2013, and we were lucky it was a mild Fall. However, the roots weren't very strong and the squirrels dug up a lot of the grass. I had to over seed the following Spring...at least 3 times because of rain washout. And then watering was crazy that summer...by hand...almost every day. That's why they recommend earlier. It's a lot easier to go through it once than a few times.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Do a proper reno or overseed this fall and loosen that soil up so grass will grow in the hard spots. There's still a good amount of time to plan it. Do it smart by not fighting the summer heat and it's a lot less effort.

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[LoneRanger]

Maybe you're also burying the seed to deep?

I was thinking the same thing.

Tenacity sprayed without surfactant can keep the weeds out of the soil for at least 30 days, maybe 45, by acting as a pre-emergent barrier.

I'm not sure, but I don't think a surfactant is going to effect the ballistics. I think what's most important is the type of nozzle and spray pattern. I get what you're saying though.