# New Home - Hydroseeded Lawn end of May



## Boston85 (Jul 21, 2019)

Brand new to the forum and I have been trying to read and learn as much as I can. I live just north of Boston and have been dealing with this relentless heat like everyone else. I bought a new construction home a couple of months ago. Our town had a water ban earlier this year, so the builder did nothing with the lawn until that ban was lifted. A layer of hydroseed (seems like mostly PRG and KBG) was put down around May 25. I moved in 2 days later and immediately began watering a couple of times a day for the first few weeks. The grass started to come up so-so, but was very patchy and thin. I applied fertilizer about a month after it was put down. Now with the brutal summer heat, it has been completely overrun by crabgrass. I am trying to figure out what to do. I had planned to overseed in mid-august, but am not sure if it is even worth it before doing something with all of the crabgrass. Should I just mow and bag low and then put seed on top? Or should I use something to kill off all the crabgrass. Next spring I will use a pre-emergent, but just not sure what to do now. is this grass shown below even worth saving (what little remains of grass)? Also, the builder clearly just leveled the lot with whatever was in the yard already. It is pretty rocky in certain areas and the soil just feels terrible.

I am reading other posts and trying to learn, but feel as though I need a helpful hand to figure out the best path forward.


----------



## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Welcome to the forum.....

A newly seeded lawn in spring is rough and without water is certain disaster... Where you go from here has more to do with how much effort you are willing to put into it.. Many here would just round it up and start from scratch in mid August... but that is because this is a lawn forum... if you are interested in a standard lawn you have some options....

A couple of questions first..

Do you have an in ground sprinkler system?

Do you have a need for the lawn (kids, pets etc.)?

The crabgrass will die at first frost, but will put out millions of seeds before then, so pre emergent will be needed next year for sure... the dead crabgrass will also leave a lot of bare patches as it outcompetes your good grass..

You could order Tenacity from do your own.com and start now spraying. It might take two or three apps, but should get rid of the crabgrass and weeds... during your third app you could over seed... then water daily and wait for things to fill in... it won't be perfect, but it will continue to get better. Next spring you will need pre for sure.


----------



## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

Stuofsci02 said:


> Welcome to the forum.....
> 
> A newly seeded lawn in spring is rough and without water is certain disaster... Where you go from here has more to do with how much effort you are willing to put into it.. Many here would just round it up and start from scratch in mid August... but that is because this is a lawn forum... if you are interested in a standard lawn you have some options....
> 
> ...


GREAT suggestions! Fantastic...

I think the lawn is worth saving for a standard-level lawn. I would order Tenacity and save it for the fall to control _poa annua_ because there is a limit you can apply every 365 days. You don't want to go over that limit.

_Poa anna_ is tough to control. Tenacity is really your only weapon. Use it to control the poa and as a pre-emergent for new seeding.

I would go to the big box and get Weed-B-Gon CCO (clover, chickweed, and oxalis) and spray it down to kill whatever you can kill for the rest of the year.

See if a backpack sprayer is in your budget (if Tenacity is, too). I recommend the Chapin rechargeable battery 4-gallon. Use that to apply the concentrated Weed-B-Gon CCO. Use a one- or two-gallon hand-pump for a smaller area. Avoid the hose-end WBG CCO if you can because it's just a mess.

After the summer heat and on Labor Day weekend, throw some seed down and keep it moist through sprout and beyond.

Kentucky bluegrass seed takes about 30 days to sprout. If you buy a mix and see something coming up, don't stop the moisture! The KBG hasn't sprouted yet. The other parts of the seed mix came up but the KBG has not.

You want KBG in your lawn because that stuff spreads really nicely.

Best,
Murph


----------



## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Weed B Gon CCO does not kill crabgrass. KBG is difficult to overseed because it is slow to germinate and existing grasses shade it out. It spreads so can fill in bare areas anyway. There are selective herbicides that can kill crabgrass but if you also want to overseed you must read the labels to see how soon you can seed after using. Glyphosate is non selective (kills weeds and grass) and does not require a waiting period.


----------



## Boston85 (Jul 21, 2019)

Stuofsci02 said:


> Welcome to the forum.....
> 
> A newly seeded lawn in spring is rough and without water is certain disaster... Where you go from here has more to do with how much effort you are willing to put into it.. Many here would just round it up and start from scratch in mid August... but that is because this is a lawn forum... if you are interested in a standard lawn you have some options....
> 
> ...


I do have a sprinkler system. Also do have a need for a lawn. 2 young kids who love to be outside every day. From reading the forum, would Tenacity be useful on the crabgrass? I thought it would be better to use Quinclorac or Drive XLR8. My plan was going to be to order XLR8 and get that on the crabgrass this week. Then over the next couple of weeks rake out the dead crabgrass. Then in mid-august start to overseed and hit it with fertililizer. Then end of September another round of fertilizer. This way it gives me about 2 months of seed growth before the real cold weather starts.

There is some grass in these areas along with the crabgrass, so I didn't want to just nuke the whole thing.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Tenacity with nis will take care of the crabgrass. You could then also use it prevent new weeds for 30day when you seed. I don't think you should nuke what you have. It looks like it could use nitrogen.

Tenacity will need a sprayer. For 10k, the ideal is 10gallons (1gallon/ksqft).


----------



## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Boston85 said:


> Stuofsci02 said:
> 
> 
> > Welcome to the forum.....
> ...


Yes the Drive XLR8 will also handle the crab grass, but won't prevent continued germination of new weeds (as a pre-m) if you choose to overseed, or keep new crabgrass at bay. If you go this route, don't forget to get Methylated Seed Oil (MSO) as it will be required as part of your XLR8 application.

Good luck!


----------



## Boston85 (Jul 21, 2019)

Providing an update and have a few questions about next steps. I used drive XLR8 the end of July which worked very well. On August 11 I overseeded and have been watering ever since. I have been getting pretty good germination in some spots, while some other bare spots are showing very little sign of life. My question comes in with regards to mowing and adding nitrogen. Since my lawn was so patchy to begin with, there are some areas where the grass is pretty long since it has been 2 weeks since a mow. Other areas it is still very short from where the crab grass died. In other areas, some crab grass that didn't die with drive are getting bigger. To add to my problem, I am going to be going on vacation until September 2, so that would be another 2 weeks of no mowing/nitrogen on the lawn.

I was thinking of mowing in a couple of days to at least trim the higher grass areas and the crab grass areas, and then apply my scotts new lawn food fertilizer. Overall this would take place about 12 days after seeding. Should I go forward with doing it this way, or just wait until I am back from vacation, at which point I will be looking at a little over 3 weeks between mowing. I am just worried the grass and crabgrass will continue to grow and cause reduced germination and new grass growing.


----------

