Folks with Fescue - do you overseed even if grass survives Summer?

[bentleyvt]

Hey grassheads We recently moved to a new house this Spring and the lawn was professionally maintained. I did a good job (for the first time ever) of staying up on watering AND applying fungicide/weed killer, and the result is the lawn looks great heading into Fall here in Central VA.

Historically I've always core aerated, overseeded and fertilized to great results in the Fall, but now I'm wondering if its even needed? If I were to overseed, I'd probably use a more premium seed than whats there, but I dont think thats a smart use of time and money. There's a handful of spots that I can overseed by hand.

Just wanted to pick others' brains that have had grass survive summer because this is uncharted territory for myself and I want to be smart with my time and money (while still having an excellent lawn ).

Thanks!

[stevehollx]

If you don’t think it needs it don’t do it!

[bentleyvt]

Thanks for the response. I've read some arguments for overseeding each year and others against it. I'd be curious to hear how some of the experienced members of this forum deal with Fall.

Is it just spot seeding with peat moss and starter?
Or spray aeration and overseeding or core aeration and overseeding?

[bentleyvt]

Gonna try it again...for those that have a thick, green lawn heading into Fall...

- do you aerate? Spray or core?
- if not, how do you overseed?

I'm in uncharted territory - normally I'm dealing with a dried, burnt up, fungus-infested lawn - but this year I kept up with my irrigation and fungicide and trying to determine what actions to take. Don't mind spending the $/time if its what will improve the lawn, but don't want to waste $/time either.

Thanks for your input.

[bentleyvt]

[northeastlawn]

I don't know much about your area VA, but whenever you over-seed your giving something up. In my case I have a bad POA-A problem, over-seeding in the fall prevents me from applying a pre-m for it.

But I have a full KBG that will thicken up and spread on its own. Being patient allows me to prevent POA-A before it starts. I can take plugs in the fall and put them where I need them.

On the other hand if you don't have a KBG lawn the only way to truly get it thick is to seed the thin areas. I have a small square of PR/FF/KBG mix in the front and the only reason its as thick as it is from over-seeding it just about every spring after the snow damage.

So technically a thicker lawn prevents weeds, but I have yet to see that stop poa-a or crab grass (which germinates in the spring).

The point of all this is you have to look at what you would gain from over-seeding and what you would loose. If I had a PR lawn that didn't have a lot of poa-a issues, I would probably over-seed every other year or maybe just break things into sections.

nothing stopping you from just seeding the thin areas.

Good luck!

[bentleyvt]

Thanks for the feedback Northeast. I've got TTTF here in central VA, one day I may try to bring in some KBG to mix with it. I searched the forum and it seems like this question comes up frequently and everyone one has their 2 cents, and the answer depends on each scenario.

I've decided not to aerate this year and going to try to
- loosen up the few thin areas with this tool (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ames-3-Tine ... /206297044)
- overseed thin areas
- peat moss over what I can
- Blanket App of tenacity (may wait until end of October)
- Starter Fert (18-24-12) in overseed areas
- Once the grass matures, I'll try to get a few apps of urea down weekly to give it a kick.

Its an experiment and depending on the results, I'll adjust as needed next year. If I don't 'need' to aerate every year, thats a win!

[andy10917]

Its an experiment and depending on the results, I'll adjust as needed next year. If I don't 'need' to aerate every year, thats a win!

Aeration should be done every third lifetime, unless you have trucks on the lawn repeatedly, or your herd of cattle gets too big for the lawn. When my cattle become too numerous, I eat steak more often.

[bentleyvt]

I love some steak too.

[mobiledynamics]

Speaking of Aeration.......which I know ATY frowns upon, who -aerates- their shrubs. Last night, I was looking at some garden tools, and they had a -aeration fork-. Basically which looks like a 2 pronged solid 1" or so tool, about 18 deep, etc. The verbiage of the tool uses was to - aerate the soil around the shrubs, letting water and nutrients in-

Had to chuckle as I just read it as a 18 inch 1" core soil compactor.
On the other hand, I have been raking/scarifying my triple shred mulch as it's become interlocked and water seems to rolllllll right off