over seeding ???

[NPG]

I built a new home about 3 yrs ago, so needless to say my lawn is ptetty new. My lawn is nice and thick in some parts and a bit thin in others. I was just wondering if overseeding would be a good choice? If so what is the best way. I was thing of airating then over seeding. Any help would be great

[hotrod1]

overseeding right after aerification is a great way to seed a lawn with thin areas. I sometimes add a little extra fertilizer to some thin areas to help them fill in.

Late summer or early fall would be the best time to do your seeding.

[Sandmannd]

I overseed spring, midsummer and fall. It makes a noticable differance.

[fishuhalik]

I work for a lawn treatment company (I don't think i'm able to name companies on the site) as a regional sales rep, and might be able to provide a little insight. You're probably not gonna wanna seed right now, being that I'm assuming that you just put or are soon to put down your pre-emergents. You need to wait at least 4 weeks after you put pre-em down before you put down seed. I would recommend aerating this spring, then aerating again this fall with an overseed. If the temps stay down and the moisture is up, you may be able to get away with seeding in a month, but you're going to have a fairly high mortality rate unless you throw on a starter fert. Typically new lawns have very poor soil bases, and aerating helps that thatch layer to decompose, generating more topsoil. It also helps the water and fert to get directly to the roots, which is incredibly beneficial.

Really though, I'd have to look at the lawn to know exactly what would be the best course of action. Is there any way you can post some pictures of the problem areas? If possible take them from about 5' away from the grass.

[Hotspotter]

Fish:

If I wait to re-seed a little later, say into June - will a weed/feed type fertilizer serve double time to kill broadleaf weeds AND start off the new grass seed I overseed with?

Should I use 2-4-D or another weed control, and overseed with starter fert.?

I have another section of lawn that I just re-seeded this fall with a low-grow fescue "eco-grass" variety. It's up really nice right now with few weeds, but I'm sure they're to come. Any recommendations on weed control and overseeding on this chunk of lawn throughot the growing season?

Thanks!

Joel

[hotrod1]

You won't want to use any weed and feed when you seed. Just use a starter fertilizer.

IMO, rather then seed in june where your new grass will struggle durring the hot summer days, i would take care of the weeds around the beginning to mid August and seed a couple weeks or so later. And follow with a couple starter applications. That way you will seed after most weeds germinate and you will have cooler days.

[LwnmwnMan2]

The product I use, with 2-4-D, says only apply after you've mowed the turf at least 2 times after reseeding, and only reseed 3-4 weeks AFTER using this product.

Again, this is the chemical I use, so you'll have to read whatever label is on the product that you plan on using.

I will say this though, that a lot of weed-n-feed products are not recommended for reseeding projects.

Hotrod was on, reseed later in the fall, and weed your current turf now.

[fishuhalik]

ditto what these guys said

[fishuhalik]

I'd wait till at least september till I did any seeding. While heat will kill your grass, a bigger reason that alot of it doesn't germinate is because it's so hard to keep it moist when the sun's in the sky for so long. New seed needs to stay damp almost 24/7. Come mid-sept or so, just a quick watering in the morning and evening does the job.

One thing that I always ask people that have freshly sodded lawns is how bad the thatch is. Rolls of sod are held together by thatch, and once the lawn gets established (2-3 years) you may want to consider a dethatching if it's really thick.

[paul pachowicz]

I'd debate that sod is held together by thatch. When sod is cut a layer of soil ( about 3/4 inch ) is "skimmed' off along with the network of the root system. Thatch is located in the area between the plant crown and the grass tip and is accumulated from grass clippings and other organic material. Sure there is going to be some build of thatch because sod farmers typcally use pull-behind mowers without baskets. But, that seed bed isn't going to have time to cause a big thathch problem before it's cut and rolled. That's my opinion