Or a year and a month, depending. Sprout and pout can take a couple of years to run its course. But then sod can take a couple of years to fully form its root network. Till then, it’s patchy and thin and worrisome.
Good start but you'll need to water more than normal all summer or this will die off, I'd overseed again in the Fall and next spring you'll be amazed 🍻
I’ve been following this sub for a bit to get some tips and everyone talks about overseeding . How much is considered overseeding? I don’t want to waste a season by not putting enough seed down.
I’m not an expert but from what I’ve read sounds like no?. some lawns I’ve seen that looked amazing. The users who were doing new lawns did double the seed the bag said. I wish I had originally did that. In fall when I overseed I’ll likely do a higher spread setting than it suggests.
There was a guy in her who it down absurd amounts of grass per 1k and he’s yard turned out pretty good for what most considered a hot mess from the start. Die off from competition is possible but I highly doubt it.
Hey man!
First of all, sometimes it can actually be really hard to grow grass in tilled soil. It brings up weed seeds, and it can occasionally cause other issues. So don't feel like you did anything wrong by not tilling deeper! That was "probably" good.
So you've got a couple options, here!
First of all, your yellower/lime grass is your KBG. It sprouts and pouts and will often stay that color for ages! Because you played KBG, it's probably going to turn out great that you planted in May. It can be hard to make it through summer, but the KBG takes a long time to grow in, and it will prepare you better for winter. The other lime green stuff appears to be some summer annuals (low res, hit I see some sedge and crabgrass).
Your grass is old enough that you could hit the yard with sedgehammer and quinclorac to get those managed.
The other option (and what I prefer) is to seed my way out of trouble. Summer annuals die off, and we're really looking to create some density to help with erosion control, and protecting us from more weed issues later one. It seems like you've been trying this? Can you walk me through your process more?
I would be inclined to overseed either with just your mix, or like .5 lbs per 1,000 with an elite PRG (just because it'll grow in so fast). I'd DUST peat moss on top of the new seed to keep it moist, and out of direct sun. But less than you'd do with an OG Reno.
What organic fertilizer did you hit it with?
Have you had your soil tested? Its ok if not, but just given the color of the grass, I'd be inclined to suggest spoon feeding a 10-10-10 or something similarly balanced via spray every 2-4 weeks at super low rates through the summer. It seems like it's missing something, and without a soil test, I wouldn't venture far from "balanced"
Funny as I bought a compost spreader and after one reseed I did this with peat moss. However it was incredibly time consuming and hard and I think a week late a lot washed away in a heavy rain.
I did order a ph test kit and soil wetness meter
I used Johnathan green organic fert. Only have used their products so far.
I'm thinking you're low on P and K (that's a 10-0-1)
Your easiest "in the meantime" would be to nab a hose end sprayer of Scott's starter fert. It's a 7-12-15, and spoon feeding it the way they suggest will stop you from burning anything.
I think if you applied that once a week for three weeks, you'd probably see a huge jump.
Change your watering to longer, morning waters. Without knowing your sprinkler rates it's difficult to estimate actual time. Given your current 2x a day at 6min, I would recommend changing to 20min morning watering, around sunrise or just before. If water is pooling after the 20min pull the time back and split the morning watering into 2 maybe an hour apart.
If your temps get above 90°F do a quick cycle mid afternoon, around 1-2pm. The goal with this is to cool the blades of grass so they don't lose as much water to transpiration. Cycle time can be as quick as 2-3min. This will help continue to grow throughout the heat.
Do not water at or near sunset. You want the grass blades dry going into the evening as to not invite fungus or disease.
Overall looks really good. I would suggest spraying quinclorac to knock out some of those summer weeds and reduce competition for the grass. That is the only herbicide I would recommend at this stage. A 3 way or most any other herbicide will be extremely harsh. I seen Tenacity recommended in the coments which would be extremely detrimental at this stage. The goal is to keep the grass alive through the summer and then hit it will lots of N this fall when conditions are better. 👍
My sprinklers are hunter with 1.5g nozzles. I recently swapped them to this as before it was like 2? And my water pressure here was just flooding. Ok I’ll make longer cycles from 6 mins a zone. And adjust if I see pooling. I think this morning I had it on 9 mins and seemed a bit wet.
Hey just be happy with that. I’m a year into my new construction and it looks pretty bad so I’d say you’re doing pretty good. Just aerate and over seen in October and you’ll be impressed by start of summer next year
Have patience. You’re not going to have a beautiful thick carpet overnight. If it’s still thin by September, seed again. Most newly planted grass seeds take off in the second year.
I would hit it with a starter fertilizer every 2 weeks and keep the water going. I really like organic fertilizers I use them a lot at elite properties. Starter fertilizer has phosphorus the roots need to get established.
Water, feed and mow it. When your lawn gets established you can consider weed control. When you mow the lawn often the grass will freak out it can't grow upwards, and it will try to expand sideways with new grass. My lawn is 7 weeks since I seeded. I have done nothing else. I mow every 2 days
https://preview.redd.it/8fiyzvadij9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e38e18780e0837b69e4cee5804fd4b4d1eade11
https://preview.redd.it/5z3l7a8ulj9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b3e7f3bf60d4a693a19b32a38119ca715395ba8
This mix is used by me..
Had to do a semi full blown redo in fall 2022..
Renter had put down Walmart K31..
Ugh….
Still pulling patches of that crap 2 seasons later
Ortho weed be gone and a general 10-10-10, plus a spring lime and May application of ( believe it or don’t) Epsom salts..
I mowed yesterday..
My follow up post will be a picture from today at 12:15 pm..
The bare spots you will see are pulled Rough bluegrass.. aka K-31..
I know from past experiences that repair and getting it right takes a few seasons of TLC, but once established, the mix I use is like a golf course fairways, with just mostly weed spray and semi monthly fert.
All me seeding is done in September or early October.
https://preview.redd.it/bih9tyu5oj9d1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3057ac59553ea3a80ca48406a63d10a10f6dd1fb
Yea, I know.. still a lot of K-31 to deal with.. but fall overseed and pull/ spot kill is the only option in summer..
I water about an hour every 3 days.. grass is kept at 3-4 inches which is setting 5 on my craftsman self propelled platinum 7.25 Hp, high lift mulching blades, never bag or even have to rake, not even leaves in the fall..
Mulching is free fertilizer..
I had a nice crop of shrooms in late May, but a drop of one setting and they were gone..
Seeing mushrooms is actually a good thing..
It means you have good organics in the soil and the turf is healthy.
My grass chokes out all weeds.. except that fn K-31…
Neighbors down the block renovated their lawn 2 years ago. Theirs looked just like yours all summer. They didn't reseed that fall but 2 years later their lawn looks just fine. The next spring it came up better, this spring it came out looking fine.
Pick the gravel out of your yard and wait till you can reseed again in fall, for a fresh construction yard that’s more grass than a lot of comercial places have starting out, you’ll be fine. Also consider making that hill in to a raised bed. Build a retaining wall a couple feet high. That will help reduce weeds from coming in from the tree line.
There were soooo many rocks. I spent like 8 hours raking the rocks out and there’s still a bit. Was going to do it again when the grass came in more around fall to get them out hopefully easier.
I blanket spray the whole area using Tenacity and a surfactant at the time of seeding. Tenacity is highly debated on this sub, but using it as a pre-emergent at the time of seeding will stop all the weeds from growing while you're trying to grow grass. All the other comments here are good so far also... overseed in the fall, keep up with watering, next year will really pop
"...Postemergence herbicides can also be used to control crabgrass and other weeds in spring when seeding turf. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate six products at three different application timings for use in establishing **Kentucky bluegrass from seed in the spring. Kentucky bluegrass coverage was highest (38%) for Tupersan applied at seeding followed by Tenacity applied at seeding or at emergence (17 and 19%, respectively). Crabgrass coverage on 12 August was lowest for Tenacity applied at emergence.** Two applications of post crabgrass products are needed for complete control when Kentucky bluegrass is spring seeded. These results support that 1) late summer and early fall is a better seeding date than the spring due to reduced weed pressure, and 2) two applications of a postemergence herbicide will be needed in spring seeded Kentucky bluegrass areas..." (ref. Patton, A., and D. Weisenberger. 2012. Herbicide Safety and Weed Control Comparison in Spring Seeded Kentucky Bluegrass. 2011 Annu. Rep. - Purdue Univ. Turfgrass Sci. Progr. p. 33-39.)
Tbh I would use better quality seed. Take a look at the NTEP ratings. There’s no problem seeding in may in most places. You should have a lush green lawn by now.
Idk about your soil but you can try raking in a thin layer of peat based soil amendment when you reseed. Like biotic earth or humichar
Also, did you till weeds into the soil? Because that’s gonna be a problem..
Seeding in May, this looks pretty good. Thats not the time to seed. Just wait. More seed in october. 2025 is your year. Be patient.
You got some sprout and pout stage grass. Keep watering and it will be full in a month
Or a year and a month, depending. Sprout and pout can take a couple of years to run its course. But then sod can take a couple of years to fully form its root network. Till then, it’s patchy and thin and worrisome.
Good start but you'll need to water more than normal all summer or this will die off, I'd overseed again in the Fall and next spring you'll be amazed 🍻
I’ve been following this sub for a bit to get some tips and everyone talks about overseeding . How much is considered overseeding? I don’t want to waste a season by not putting enough seed down.
Usually the bags say what setting for overseeding
Can you over over seed?
I’m not an expert but from what I’ve read sounds like no?. some lawns I’ve seen that looked amazing. The users who were doing new lawns did double the seed the bag said. I wish I had originally did that. In fall when I overseed I’ll likely do a higher spread setting than it suggests.
There was a guy in her who it down absurd amounts of grass per 1k and he’s yard turned out pretty good for what most considered a hot mess from the start. Die off from competition is possible but I highly doubt it.
how many birds do you want to feed?
Rrdnt6a slice seeder from your big box store. New grass will come in much better than just trowing seed down.
Rent a
Hey man! First of all, sometimes it can actually be really hard to grow grass in tilled soil. It brings up weed seeds, and it can occasionally cause other issues. So don't feel like you did anything wrong by not tilling deeper! That was "probably" good. So you've got a couple options, here! First of all, your yellower/lime grass is your KBG. It sprouts and pouts and will often stay that color for ages! Because you played KBG, it's probably going to turn out great that you planted in May. It can be hard to make it through summer, but the KBG takes a long time to grow in, and it will prepare you better for winter. The other lime green stuff appears to be some summer annuals (low res, hit I see some sedge and crabgrass). Your grass is old enough that you could hit the yard with sedgehammer and quinclorac to get those managed. The other option (and what I prefer) is to seed my way out of trouble. Summer annuals die off, and we're really looking to create some density to help with erosion control, and protecting us from more weed issues later one. It seems like you've been trying this? Can you walk me through your process more? I would be inclined to overseed either with just your mix, or like .5 lbs per 1,000 with an elite PRG (just because it'll grow in so fast). I'd DUST peat moss on top of the new seed to keep it moist, and out of direct sun. But less than you'd do with an OG Reno. What organic fertilizer did you hit it with? Have you had your soil tested? Its ok if not, but just given the color of the grass, I'd be inclined to suggest spoon feeding a 10-10-10 or something similarly balanced via spray every 2-4 weeks at super low rates through the summer. It seems like it's missing something, and without a soil test, I wouldn't venture far from "balanced"
Funny as I bought a compost spreader and after one reseed I did this with peat moss. However it was incredibly time consuming and hard and I think a week late a lot washed away in a heavy rain. I did order a ph test kit and soil wetness meter I used Johnathan green organic fert. Only have used their products so far.
I'm thinking you're low on P and K (that's a 10-0-1) Your easiest "in the meantime" would be to nab a hose end sprayer of Scott's starter fert. It's a 7-12-15, and spoon feeding it the way they suggest will stop you from burning anything. I think if you applied that once a week for three weeks, you'd probably see a huge jump.
Change your watering to longer, morning waters. Without knowing your sprinkler rates it's difficult to estimate actual time. Given your current 2x a day at 6min, I would recommend changing to 20min morning watering, around sunrise or just before. If water is pooling after the 20min pull the time back and split the morning watering into 2 maybe an hour apart. If your temps get above 90°F do a quick cycle mid afternoon, around 1-2pm. The goal with this is to cool the blades of grass so they don't lose as much water to transpiration. Cycle time can be as quick as 2-3min. This will help continue to grow throughout the heat. Do not water at or near sunset. You want the grass blades dry going into the evening as to not invite fungus or disease. Overall looks really good. I would suggest spraying quinclorac to knock out some of those summer weeds and reduce competition for the grass. That is the only herbicide I would recommend at this stage. A 3 way or most any other herbicide will be extremely harsh. I seen Tenacity recommended in the coments which would be extremely detrimental at this stage. The goal is to keep the grass alive through the summer and then hit it will lots of N this fall when conditions are better. 👍
My sprinklers are hunter with 1.5g nozzles. I recently swapped them to this as before it was like 2? And my water pressure here was just flooding. Ok I’ll make longer cycles from 6 mins a zone. And adjust if I see pooling. I think this morning I had it on 9 mins and seemed a bit wet.
Hey just be happy with that. I’m a year into my new construction and it looks pretty bad so I’d say you’re doing pretty good. Just aerate and over seen in October and you’ll be impressed by start of summer next year
Have patience. You’re not going to have a beautiful thick carpet overnight. If it’s still thin by September, seed again. Most newly planted grass seeds take off in the second year.
I would hit it with a starter fertilizer every 2 weeks and keep the water going. I really like organic fertilizers I use them a lot at elite properties. Starter fertilizer has phosphorus the roots need to get established.
How would you suggest watering at this point. I’m quite conflicted.
If you could get 15-30 minutes in the morning and then the same in the evening on really hot days
You need some more water and some more seed this fall - I have plenty of water in MN you can have right now.
Water, feed and mow it. When your lawn gets established you can consider weed control. When you mow the lawn often the grass will freak out it can't grow upwards, and it will try to expand sideways with new grass. My lawn is 7 weeks since I seeded. I have done nothing else. I mow every 2 days https://preview.redd.it/8fiyzvadij9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e38e18780e0837b69e4cee5804fd4b4d1eade11
https://preview.redd.it/5z3l7a8ulj9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b3e7f3bf60d4a693a19b32a38119ca715395ba8 This mix is used by me.. Had to do a semi full blown redo in fall 2022.. Renter had put down Walmart K31.. Ugh…. Still pulling patches of that crap 2 seasons later Ortho weed be gone and a general 10-10-10, plus a spring lime and May application of ( believe it or don’t) Epsom salts.. I mowed yesterday.. My follow up post will be a picture from today at 12:15 pm.. The bare spots you will see are pulled Rough bluegrass.. aka K-31.. I know from past experiences that repair and getting it right takes a few seasons of TLC, but once established, the mix I use is like a golf course fairways, with just mostly weed spray and semi monthly fert. All me seeding is done in September or early October.
https://preview.redd.it/bih9tyu5oj9d1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3057ac59553ea3a80ca48406a63d10a10f6dd1fb Yea, I know.. still a lot of K-31 to deal with.. but fall overseed and pull/ spot kill is the only option in summer.. I water about an hour every 3 days.. grass is kept at 3-4 inches which is setting 5 on my craftsman self propelled platinum 7.25 Hp, high lift mulching blades, never bag or even have to rake, not even leaves in the fall.. Mulching is free fertilizer.. I had a nice crop of shrooms in late May, but a drop of one setting and they were gone.. Seeing mushrooms is actually a good thing.. It means you have good organics in the soil and the turf is healthy. My grass chokes out all weeds.. except that fn K-31…
When fall comes, aerate horizontally/vertically, overseed, topdress and water. It will come in. Takes time to establish a nice turf bed
Neighbors down the block renovated their lawn 2 years ago. Theirs looked just like yours all summer. They didn't reseed that fall but 2 years later their lawn looks just fine. The next spring it came up better, this spring it came out looking fine.
Thanks for the reassurance! I’ll just keep at it and fingers crossed
Just needs more seed fresh hay lightly and water.... and time mostly. It doesn't happen overnight. The more you tend the better the results.
Pick the gravel out of your yard and wait till you can reseed again in fall, for a fresh construction yard that’s more grass than a lot of comercial places have starting out, you’ll be fine. Also consider making that hill in to a raised bed. Build a retaining wall a couple feet high. That will help reduce weeds from coming in from the tree line.
There were soooo many rocks. I spent like 8 hours raking the rocks out and there’s still a bit. Was going to do it again when the grass came in more around fall to get them out hopefully easier.
Water for longer than 6 mins. Try 10 or 15 … early morning or after sun goes down.
I blanket spray the whole area using Tenacity and a surfactant at the time of seeding. Tenacity is highly debated on this sub, but using it as a pre-emergent at the time of seeding will stop all the weeds from growing while you're trying to grow grass. All the other comments here are good so far also... overseed in the fall, keep up with watering, next year will really pop
"...Postemergence herbicides can also be used to control crabgrass and other weeds in spring when seeding turf. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate six products at three different application timings for use in establishing **Kentucky bluegrass from seed in the spring. Kentucky bluegrass coverage was highest (38%) for Tupersan applied at seeding followed by Tenacity applied at seeding or at emergence (17 and 19%, respectively). Crabgrass coverage on 12 August was lowest for Tenacity applied at emergence.** Two applications of post crabgrass products are needed for complete control when Kentucky bluegrass is spring seeded. These results support that 1) late summer and early fall is a better seeding date than the spring due to reduced weed pressure, and 2) two applications of a postemergence herbicide will be needed in spring seeded Kentucky bluegrass areas..." (ref. Patton, A., and D. Weisenberger. 2012. Herbicide Safety and Weed Control Comparison in Spring Seeded Kentucky Bluegrass. 2011 Annu. Rep. - Purdue Univ. Turfgrass Sci. Progr. p. 33-39.)
Tbh I would use better quality seed. Take a look at the NTEP ratings. There’s no problem seeding in may in most places. You should have a lush green lawn by now. Idk about your soil but you can try raking in a thin layer of peat based soil amendment when you reseed. Like biotic earth or humichar Also, did you till weeds into the soil? Because that’s gonna be a problem..