# Overseed + Quinclorac or Pre M and Heavy Fall Nitrogen?



## Almurray88 (Jul 1, 2019)

I live in Chicago suburbs and have about 1500sf lawn in back.

The last week of June I leveled out my yard. I tilled the entire yard to get rid of an area of root build up from where a tree was that I cut down in early spring and spread the soil to a low area where an above ground pool used to be. I leveled out pretty well, I may bring in more soil next spring to some low spots but I'm happy with it.

Then, I decided to reseed the entire lawn ( first week of July) with KBG, the existing yard was KBG, so I didn't kill off the yard with round up I just seeded heavily over the soil, rolled in, covered with peat moss and and started watering.

Rain came in and washed out 30-40%of the seed. So half the yard turned to clover and crabgrass. I killed off the clover with spectrecide(hose attachment) last week of July that a neighbor recommended. So here I am with speckled KBG with crabgrass throughout and I have been reading the cool grass lawn guide and some other posts.

I read a post that said I could scalp, bag clippings and overseed and roll. then same day apply a quinclorac/MSO.

Then as I'm reading the cool grass lawn guide i see I could just apply a pre emergent now and then Fertilize the last week of August, then swap to fast acting fertilizer n September and continue the same in October. And I was thinking I could end with a core aeration early October.

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

See pictures attached.


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

Almurray88 said:


> ... I decided to reseed the entire lawn ( first week of July) with KBG, the existing yard was KBG...
> 
> I read a post that said I could scalp, bag clippings and overseed and roll. then same day apply a quinclorac/MSO.


I just made a post in another thread along this same line, but one needs to be careful with quinclorac around seed-down and shortly after germination, depending upon grass type.

Quinclorac is safe right through seeding and germination for tall fescue, which is an increasingly common lawn type on this forum for cool-season lawns.

However, quinclorac is NOT safe right through seeding and germination for Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, or perennial ryegrass.

For more details, see "Table 4" in the Drive XLR8 (quinclorac) label for guidance regarding use of Drive XLR8 around seeding time. (By the way, it is the most detailed chart I've seen regarding use of an herbicide around seeding time that I've seen on any herbicide -- kudos to BASF on the detailed info!) https://www.domyown.com/msds/Drive-XLR8-Label.pdf

Quick summary is to avoid Drive XLR8 (quinclorac) from 6 days before before seeding to 27 days after emergence for Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue; and from shortly after seeding to 27 days after emergence for perennial ryegrass. Tall fescue doesn't have such a restriction around seeding.


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

By the way, I have never had success with overseeding KBG. If you already have KBG in your lawn, my experience is that it is far better to apply pre-emergent, hand-pull the weeds or treat them with selective herbicide, and fertilize the existing KBG with frequent moderate doses of quick-release fertilizer during the right growing seasons for KBG. Well-fertilized KBG has a fantastic spreading ability with proper conditions (fertilizer, sunlight, temperatures) that will give far better success than you will get from overseeding KBG.

Unless you have a mechanically compacted soil (from heavy equipment or heavy repeated foot traffic) I would also skip the aeration. My personal preference is to encourage earthworms to do aeration for me, through mulching leaves & grass clippings, applying biosolid fertilizer, and avoiding pesticides that damage the earthworm population. As compared to core aeration, earthworms are cheaper, don't bring up viable weed seeds, are continuously active, and have other benefits.

However, there are many ways to skin a cat -- the approach I describe isn't the only one that works and others here have successfully adopted other approaches.


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## Almurray88 (Jul 1, 2019)

Thanks for the heads up on the Tall Fescue. I remember seeing the y'all fescue but thought it applied for cool season grasses. thanks for the chart I'm going to grab a beer and absorb this tonight!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Of the pictures you posted, which one reflect the lawn today?

If it is the last image and this is kbg, then yes, kill the crabgrass and fertilize.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

g-man said:


> Of the pictures you posted, which one reflect the lawn today?
> 
> If it is the last image and this is kbg, then yes, kill the crabgrass and fertilize.


And reseed the bare areas.


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

Depending upon how big the bare areas are, I would suggest using plugs (search the site for ProPlugger) to help the bare areas fill in faster.

A bare area of dinner plate size or smaller will fill in within a year all by itself. For areas bigger than that, I put a single plug in the center of each area about the size of a dessert plate. It will look sparse for about 6 months but will be pretty well filled in within 1 year (a spring and a fall growing season).


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