Lawn Renovation 101

Heat, drought, disease, insects and mechanical damage lawns do take a beating! Today I would like to give you a quick lesson in repairing the lawn and making it that lush green carpet that you love to walk bare foot through. As I live and work in the Midwest most of this article will be about cool season grasses Kentucky Bluegrass ,Perennial Rye Grass, and Turf Type Tall Fescues.

The Basics

All turf grass plants need certain basic elements to thrive and survive so we will go over them here real quick.

1. Water - Turf grass uses a lot of water and in order to maintain vigorous growth must have water. I recommend that you plan on supplementing rainfall to ensure that your lawn receives about an inch to an inch and a half of water a week.
2. Food - Your lawn requires a lot of food to maintain active growth and to keep it healthy. Most lawns require 4 to 5 lbs of nitrogen a year. I recommend spacing the applications out beginning of April middle of May end of June, end of August, and the beginning of October.
3. Good Soil Conditions - We are not all blessed with good friable top soil in fact I am sure lots of us have to battle heavy clay. There are soil amendments such as gypsum that can help to loosen the clay. Also very important is soil ph. Proper ph of the soil is important in gaining optimum growth. A soil test performed by your Agricultural Extension Services can give you important recommendations on how to adjust your soil ph.
4. Light - Turf grasses do best with a lot of light some will tolerate light shade but the majority prefer 8 to 10 plus hours of sunlight a day.
5. Temperature - As we are dealing with Cool Season Grasses here in the Midwest the turf likes a temperature between 55 degrees and 70 degrees this is when they are at there best. During this period the grasses is growing vigorously and is lest susceptible to damage.
6. Proper Cultural Practice - Mowing your lawn plays a big part in it’s health. I recommend cutting at a height of 3 1/2 inches. The taller the grass blades the deeper the roots. Also never remove more than 1/3 the leaf blade at a time.

Okay enough of the basics this was just an overview so you would understand what requirements a healthy lawn needs. Now down to the nitty gritty of renovating your lawn. The best time for lawn renovation is in the early fall here in the Chicagoland area I like to start the last week of August.

Here Are The Basic Steps

1. First 5 or 6 weeks before you are ready to renovate spray for weeds (July 15th) * unless the lawn is totally shot then in that case see complete renovation below.
2. Before you begin cut your grass short maybe 2 inches. After the lawn has been moved use a dethatcher with slicing blades to remove the thatch. This will bring a lot of dead material up to the surface. Never go in more than 2 directions and always at a 90 degree angle. Now take a bagging mower and start vacuuming up the thatch. This will take a while and the bag will fill quickly. You will end up with lots of thatch so be prepared with a lot of bags to dispose of it in. Once done run over the whole yard one more time.
3. Now fill your rotary spreader with seed and walk over the entire lawn area in two different directions. The seed will fall down between the grass plants and contact the newly exposed soil below. It would not be a bad idea at this point to walk around the whole lawn dragging a rake behind you to knock any seeds that fell on the grass plants down into the soil. When overseeding like this I like to use about 5lbs of grass seed per 1000 sq feet.
4. Next apply a good starter fertilizer to the entire area. Sometimes this is also known as a winterizer the garden supply store will give you what you need.
5. Water lightly daily to keep the surface moist for at least 28 days.
6. Water lightly daily to keep the surface moist for at least 28 days.
7. Water lightly daily to keep the surface moist for at least 28 days.
8. Sounds a little redundant but that is what causes 90 percent of renovation failures not keeping the soil surface moist during the first 28 days. The grass seed will start to germinate then it drys up and dies.
9. Do not cut the grass for the first two weeks then when you do , do not bag it for at least the first 3 mowing’s.
10. Any weeds that may sprout can be treated after the third mowing.

Total Renovation

Total renovation is a very extreme method reserved for severely damaged lawns that have at least 60 percent weed cover. This may not be for the faint of heart.

1. Total Kill - A week or 10 days before you are ready to renovate spray the entire lawn area with Roundup ( Glyphosate ) . Be careful not to get this on any of the shrubs trees or desirable plant material. Also make sure to wash your shoes throughly before walking on any lawns you intend to keep. Take Your time and be sure you cover all the lawn area.
2. After 5 days check to make sure that there are no areas of bright green if you find them hit this area with one more spray.
3. Now follow steps 2 thru 10 above. It is recommended that you go over the lawn in 4 or five different directions and do not vacuum if you are using a slit seeder instead of a dethatcher .

Again the above method is very extreme but will result in a beautiful new lawn in as little as 10 weeks.