Lawn recovery

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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EliOklesh
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Joined: August 16th, 2020, 12:27 pm
Location: Piedmont NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
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Lawn recovery

Post by EliOklesh » November 30th, 2020, 1:16 pm

Location: Greensboro NC

Background:
New construction home finished in June, fescue sod laid down in front yard.

The Problem:
Our yard quickly became the central location for the neighborhood kids’ daily playtime and my lawn got trampled big time. My lawn is visibly damaged in comparison to adjacent lawns. Soil is compacted by all the feet.

The Questions:
How can I recover my lawn? Is there anything I can do here in November or December to help? Should I wait for spring or next fall? And if so, what is the best course of action?

Thanks everyone!

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Lawn recovery

Post by MorpheusPA » November 30th, 2020, 3:05 pm

Could we have a photo or two, with a distance shot and a closeup of the damage (preferably in overcast or shadow so we can see it well?)

Foot trample usually isn't a major problem in terms of soil compaction and there are a few simple things that can help without too much effort. Turf repair depends--damaged turf may require reseeding or just feeding to close the damage. Fescue does not self-repair well so this one could be a bit more difficult in terms of repair...

First and foremost, lay bear traps to repel the children. Cage and sell to the local Child Catcher a la Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ... But seriously, try to keep the kids off it as much as possible to keep the problem from getting worse.

If growth is still just barely underway, or recently stopped and the last mow just recently done--feed it now with a high-nitrogen synthetic (high first number, low everything else). Whatever's handy is fine, although fast nitrogen is best, but I'm not very worried about long-term hard ground freeze in NC.

If growth is still going, hold off for right now. I'd rather hit the end at this point, although you're close enough that feeding now wouldn't be a mistake.

Other than that, let's wait for photos for more specific advice.

EliOklesh
Posts: 5
Joined: August 16th, 2020, 12:27 pm
Location: Piedmont NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
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Re: Lawn recovery

Post by EliOklesh » November 30th, 2020, 3:41 pm

Thanks for the reply! I am attaching three pics I just took a moment ago. Picture 1 and 2 are just shots of the general damage done. Picture 3 is the property line between my yard and my neighbor’s who does not have a trampling issue.

Also, for about two weeks now I have totally been the “stay off my lawn” guy. It’s been a battle getting them to comply but it’s coming along. Honestly I haven’t seen much change in the yard though.
Image

Image

Image

EliOklesh
Posts: 5
Joined: August 16th, 2020, 12:27 pm
Location: Piedmont NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
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Re: Lawn recovery

Post by EliOklesh » November 30th, 2020, 5:17 pm

Just an update, I posted some pics earlier but I guess the post is being approved by admins.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Lawn recovery

Post by MorpheusPA » November 30th, 2020, 7:03 pm

At first, it can take a bit for image approval, yes. :-)

Most images don't look too terribly bad, it's a pretty typical "first year lawn" situation that was played on. I see no evidence of disease or irreparable damage, nor any particular evidence of soil that's horribly compacted. Fescues just don't tolerate wear all that well (no grass does; athletic fields employ a staff with a budget for that, or, like most school fields, look pretty bad). When you reseed, I might suggest a seed with some bluegrass in it for its self-repairing abilities, but that'll be your choice when the time is right (late next summer--but read down, there's plenty you can do between now and then).

If you haven't fed, it definitely does look like it needs it. If it's been at least a month, do so now and call it the end of the seasonal road (it counts as the winterization feed, which we're currently bitterly arguing about in another thread, but there's no question this could use a boost).

As I noted above, choose a high-nitrogen feed--something with a high first number, low second and third number, and something inexpensive. So 35-0-5, 46-0-0 (which would be pure urea), 36-3-2, along those lines. The numbers aren't exact or anything, just the kind of range you're looking for, a case where the first number is large, the second and third are low. The reason to choose the inexpensive one is twofold--there's no reason to get spendy. Ever, really. And two, the lower-cost one will tend to have more fast-release nitrogen and less slow-release nitrogen, which will be more expensive. We don't want much slow-release in early December. None would be best, but many ferts do have it and we can live with that.

Keep your final mow where it is for now, that's fine, although if you want to tick it up a quarter to half an inch, that's good, too. Longer grass has longer roots.

Spring is a terrible time to seed new grass, so we're going to encourage clumping of your new fescue. We fed in very late fall, so hands off on that (it actually sets off too much growth and damages the grass roots). Mow high. Seriously, mow it as tall as you can stand it and your HOA (if you have one) allows. For fescue (and bluegrass and rye), we encourage "as long as you can tolerate," and it really does look better, clump better, and grow...more slowly, actually. I mow mine at 3.5". You'll probably need to adjust up over time or it'll get floppy while the stems grow, but by June you'll be there.

Feed again (with the same fertilizer; slow release nitrogen isn't a great idea in spring, either) around Memorial Day. Yep, late May. Growth will have slowed for summer, that's the correct time--the grass will now be storing energy to survive the hot, dry summer period rather than pouring energy into top growth. We always add food when it goes to energy storage, not into growth. :-)

Mow and water as needed over the summer. Hands off in terms of feeding, it won't need it and it just does bad things. Like people, grass doesn't eat when it's too hot. We get nauseated. Grass just dies. Water deeply and as rarely as possible; most irrigation "specialists" set the systems incorrectly. Optimally, it's 1" of water all at once, once a week, but it does vary depending on local weather and whatnot. I don't irrigate at all, personally, but I'm on the extreme edge of "lawn enthusiasts with peculiarities." I'm not judgy about people who feed or water differently.

Come extremely late August or--more likely in your case--September, it's time to overseed if it didn't fill in. It may not (you seem to have a lot of holes). So at that point you'd seed, water 3 times daily to sprout it (easy and a short run with your watering system), and feed again as well (right around Labor Day). September and October feedings can include slower nitrogen.

But there's plenty of time to deal with fall feeding and reseeding next year!

If you'd rather explore alternate methods like organic feeding (a lot of us do as it richens the lawn far past what synthetics can do), we can do that. If you prefer to just feed the durned thing and water it, deal with issues if they arise, and otherwise watch it grow, that's fine, too. Like myself, most of us just aren't that judgy.


EliOklesh
Posts: 5
Joined: August 16th, 2020, 12:27 pm
Location: Piedmont NC
Grass Type: Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn recovery

Post by EliOklesh » December 5th, 2020, 2:14 pm

Wow! This is wonderful advice! I really appreciate you especially for the detail included. Lawn care is complicated stuff, and this tells me what to do, when, and why. This is huge and I think I have a great game plan for the next year. Much appreciated! Hope you have a great Christmas, and that you and your loved ones stay happy and healthy!

jm1495
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Re: Lawn recovery

Post by jm1495 » December 7th, 2020, 11:56 am

A soil test and evaluation would be good too. New construction is a challenge as the sod is generally laid on sub soil with very little OM. I've spent about 3 years getting the soil right to support good turf in a new construction house in kernersville.

edslawn
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Re: Lawn recovery

Post by edslawn » December 8th, 2020, 11:03 pm

EliOklesh wrote:
December 5th, 2020, 2:14 pm
Wow! This is wonderful advice! I really appreciate you especially for the detail included. Lawn care is complicated stuff, and this tells me what to do, when, and why. This is huge and I think I have a great game plan for the next year. Much appreciated! Hope you have a great Christmas, and that you and your loved ones stay happy and healthy!
Morph is the man! Good advice on the basics. The key, in my experience, is to be patient, develop good fundamental skills, and learn proper timing.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Lawn recovery

Post by MorpheusPA » December 9th, 2020, 4:20 pm

edslawn wrote:
December 8th, 2020, 11:03 pm
Morph is the man! Good advice on the basics. The key, in my experience, is to be patient, develop good fundamental skills, and learn proper timing.
Exactly. It takes a while, but eventually everything gets there. This is a first-year lawn, it just needs some help.

edslawn
Posts: 475
Joined: July 2nd, 2019, 9:22 pm
Location: South Central PA
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Lawn recovery

Post by edslawn » December 9th, 2020, 7:09 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
December 9th, 2020, 4:20 pm
edslawn wrote:
December 8th, 2020, 11:03 pm
Morph is the man! Good advice on the basics. The key, in my experience, is to be patient, develop good fundamental skills, and learn proper timing.
Exactly. It takes a while, but eventually everything gets there. This is a first-year lawn, it just needs some help.
Getting older stinks in many ways, but it is really good for developing patience. Doing :banghead: is no fun...

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