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What camdium gave you is for established lawns. Your lawn is not established. Again; This is the wrong time to plant a lawn on Long Island. When it comes to a lawn, there is no instant gratification. It takes time and patience. Like I said above. Throw down annual rye seed, then plant the seed you want in the early fall. Next spring you will be amazed at what happens. If you doubt me call any landscaper in you area to see if they will plant a seeded lawn for you this time of year. Ten bucks says they will tell you what I just did.
Gotcha, and I'm not doubting you or anyone else on here, it's just that if I ask 15 different people the same questions, I'm getting 15 different answers so it's hard to tell what's good advice and what is not.
So for the annual rye, would you recommend any brand at this point? What's the required watering for it? And yes this is a stupid question, but do you have a favorite type of seed for when the fall comes? Keep in mind I'm in NY.
What camdium gave you is for established lawns. Your lawn is not established. Again; This is the wrong time to plant a lawn on Long Island. When it comes to a lawn, there is no instant gratification. It takes time and patience. Like I said above. Throw down annual rye seed, then plant the seed you want in the early fall. Next spring you will be amazed at what happens. If you doubt me call any landscaper in you area to see if they will plant a seeded lawn for you this time of year. Ten bucks says they will tell you what I just did.
Sorry wanted to answer the last part as well. Unfortunately I've had three landscapers and two others (Trugreen and Lawn Dr.) say it's the perfect time of year to seed. Believe me when I tell you that these are the reasons why I am all over the place when thinking about this and what to do.
Gotcha, and I'm not doubting you or anyone else on here, it's just that if I ask 15 different people the same questions, I'm getting 15 different answers so it's hard to tell what's good advice and what is not.
So for the annual rye, would you recommend any brand at this point? What's the required watering for it? And yes this is a stupid question, but do you have a favorite type of seed for when the fall comes? Keep in mind I'm in NY.
I appreciate the help!
I fully understand people telling you many different things. When I was in my twenties I worked for a very reputable landscaper, and learned a great deal from him. Any annual ryegrass will work as long as it has a high grass seed count as listed on the bag. I prefer to buy from Agway, but there aren't many of those places around anymore. If you are not near an Agway, then see if you can find Lesco at one of the big box stores. Come fall, Pennington makes a great blend for Long Island. It used to be Farmingdale mix was the go to seed around here, but good luck on trying to find it now. Any new lawn planted should get no less than three medium to light waterings each day. When we hit the high eighties with high humidity you might have increase the watering accordingly. Usually after you third cut you can start cutting back on the water.
Good luck, and if you have anymore questions, give a hollar.
Once the new grass has a strong root system with roots going deep into the soil you can attempt some weed control. Do not use something like the Scotts pre-emergent product because it only keeps seeds from germinating and you will have already growing weeds.
Here is a decent choice for what you need, a selective, post-emergent weed killer. Sta-Green Winterizer Weed & Feed is a good one for you. Follow directions of course.
Also, I looked at the new lawn fertilizer bag and it says to fertilize every 4-6 weeks. Should I be doing that on top of the above?
No.. overkill. Don't fertilize that often. Twice a year is better starting next year but remember, you have to reseed and overseed so if you start putting too much fertilizer down, those seeds might not germinate as well. That's why I said Fall is best to reseed. You cannot throw seeds down in Summer. DONT
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason7613
Any brands that you recommend for weed and feed? Also in between these is it advisable to put down fertilizer (starter or regular?)?
Thanks
Scotts. One and only. You will see results but you better do some research on their site, not here. We can only give opinions, they will give you professional advice. You know you can call them for free, right?
Starter fertilizer right after you put the new seeds down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LIcenter
What camdium gave you is for established lawns.
No, its to get lawns established but if the lawn is truly ALL new young seedlings I agree, wait to do weed control till next year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason7613
it's just that if I ask 15 different people the same questions, I'm getting 15 different answers so it's hard to tell what's good advice and what is not.
!
That's because some are in different climates and what works for them might not work for you. Some have good and bad experiences. Nobody taught me.. I just saw the feedback and reputation of Scotts.. followed "THEIR" steps starting in 2007 (they are professionals and know what works) and Whalah, thick lush full grass ....
We are in a drought now so water water water before you kill the new grass
Did you use the starter fertilizer yet??? Any pictures for us???
Here's an update..
Scotts Lawn Food Summer 2016
Over seed again Fall 2017
Starter Fertilizer Fall 2017
Lime in March 2017
Weed and Feed in April 2017
Summerguard June 2017
Over seed again Fall 2017
Turf Builder with Halts Crabgrass Preventer April 2018
Also..... don't be shocked or surprised when you start using weed control and realize the grass is getting thinner with bare patches around.
I had a friend who started using weed control after a fresh lawn start then realized how thin the lawn was without weeds. lol
Be patient,, it takes years to get that thick full healthy lush grass!
I need pictures and depending on how healthy your lawn is in the Spring next year I might say wait to weed until 2018 and just feed instead Spring 2017.
You can always kill weeds with an established lawn but you don't want the weeds to choke new grass seedlings. It's tough and it requires a lot of care and patience!
No.. overkill. Don't fertilize that often. Twice a year is better starting next year but remember, you have to reseed and overseed so if you start putting too much fertilizer down, those seeds might not germinate as well. That's why I said Fall is best to reseed. You cannot throw seeds down in Summer. DONT
Scotts. One and only. You will see results but you better do some research on their site, not here. We can only give opinions, they will give you professional advice. You know you can call them for free, right?
Starter fertilizer right after you put the new seeds down.
No, its to get lawns established but if the lawn is truly ALL new young seedlings I agree, wait to do weed control till next year.
That's because some are in different climates and what works for them might not work for you. Some have good and bad experiences. Nobody taught me.. I just saw the feedback and reputation of Scotts.. followed "THEIR" steps starting in 2007 (they are professionals and know what works) and Whalah, thick lush full grass ....
We are in a drought now so water water water before you kill the new grass
Did you use the starter fertilizer yet??? Any pictures for us???
Here's an update..
Scotts Lawn Food Summer 2016
Over seed again Fall 2017
Starter Fertilizer Fall 2017
Lime in March 2017
Weed and Feed in April 2017
Summerguard June 2017
Over seed again Fall 2017
Turf Builder with Halts Crabgrass Preventer April 2018
Thank you for this. I'm assuming the first overseed and starter fertilizer is meant to be for Fall 2016 correct? I've been researching on Scotts website and even have chatted with them a few times about their products but didn't know how biased/knowledgeable they may be. (Not Scotts in general, more so some of the individual reps)
I also want to clarify that when I say that I am getting different answers from different people, I meant here up in my area mainly with the minority being online - Scary to me but at the same time you never know who is trying to just make a profit. Online I can understand.
Is annual rye seed good to put down now as a temporary uplift? I'm just trying to gauge the two pieces of advice here (and both seem good!).
A landscaper put down seed and then I followed up with starter fertilizer about a week later, and grass is definitely starting to come up albeit thinly and in patches (I'm watering 2x a day and even a 3rd time depending on how dry it is). I will post pictures soon but it's definitely progress.
Thank you for this. I'm assuming the first overseed and starter fertilizer is meant to be for Fall 2016 correct?
Is annual rye seed good to put down now as a temporary uplift? I'm just trying to gauge the two pieces of advice here (and both seem good!).
Yes! Sorry, Fall 2016 with reseed and starter fertilizer.
Stay away from Rye! Unless you plan to have a sprinkler on it every single day for hours.
Ryegrass: tolerate heavy foot traffic, but does not tolerate extreme cold or drought conditions.
Fine fescues: shade tolerant but they do not tolerate heat and dry conditions.
Fescues (both tall and fine) are often found in mixes due to their tolerance of shade, foot traffic, cold and drought.
So a combo is the best sometimes so you'll still have some green in all conditions. Rye will burn out and considering the fact that we get droughts, heat, and cold extremes, you wont want the maintenance that comes with Rye. That's my opinion!
I have Rye in some areas and its burning out (turning brown) faster than the other spots.
Cam I'm guessing you are talking about perennial rye. If so I agree, that is what is the higher percentage in most contractors mixes. Planting an *annual* rye now will help keep weeds down, and keep the ground a little more aerated. Mid September a good perennial blend, and starter fert, would be the next step. Mid to late fall the annual rye will die off allowing the good blend to take over.
One problem is that you don't know what the landscaper put down. If the location is sunny, they should have used a mixture of perennial rye and bluegrass, perhaps with a small amount of fescue. If shady, more fescue. But landscapers often don't know turf very well. Sounds like yours doesn't.
Your problems arise from the following mistakes:
- topsoil. Often, and certainly in your case, topsoil is weed loaded. Folks commonly deal with this by either sodding over it (expensive!) or watering to germinate the weeds, then roundup and seed grass.
- seeding at the wrong time. In more northern areas like Long Island, most folks seed with cool season grasses, which do not grow well in the heat of the summer, but look gorgeous in cooler spring and fall. I presume this is what you want since who wants to mow in the heat of the summer?
Here's what I would do:
1. Keep watering, but maybe not so often, to get all the weeds sprouted.
2. Come end of August, use Roundup (tm) or generic to kill off everything. Roundup et. al. is environmentally benign, except to some fish, and is far less toxic to the environment than most weedkillers.
3. One week later, seed the area with the appropriate seed mixture for your location. To pick the seed mix, do NOT rely on landscaper advice. See if NY has an agricultural extension service or look to turf specialists for advice. There are lots of variables for grass seed, including rye:bluegrass:fescue ratio, the best strains for the intended use for each kind, % of weeds in the mix and others.
4. No weedkillers (other than the roundup step ) in the fall. Next spring get a pre-emergent on the ground early enough. Rule of thumb is before lilacs bloom, but that's often too late.
5. Mow high, at least 3 inches. This helps in many ways: better looking; taller grass suppresses many weeds; water less frequently.
6. Water properly. Worst thing in the world, for an established lawn, is to water frequently but not deeply. Instead, water long enough to put down an inch, then go a week to ten days minimum. I measure with containers when I water. If I'm seeing runoff before my inch, I stop for an hour or so, then restart.
Fall is the absolute best time for establishing a lawn, because the seed has warm temperatures early fall for germination, followed by cooler temperatures for growing on; weather is less drying = less frequent watering; weeds don't germinate in the fall. They're a spring and summer thing for germinating.
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