# newly seeded lawn with many bare spots



## bentz69 (Jun 12, 2018)

After having my rear patio built, the front lawn got destroyed by the bulldozer going back and forth. I knew it was late in the spring season to re-seed here in New York but the lawn looked so bad that something had to be done. The front lawn was already in bad shape before the bulldozer with a lot of bare spots, weeds and crabgrass. In late April I sprayed the entire front lawn with "Roundup kills weeds not lawns" and several weeks later I ripped out the dead stuff.

Fast forward to June 1st. I raked the yard to remove anything loose/dead, cut the existing grass real low and had 10 yards of screened topsoil delivered that covered the entire lawn by a little more then 1 inch. I already had 50lbs of seed mix that a friend gave me (check the pic for the mix). After spreading the soil, the seed was laid out followed by scotts starter fertilizer. The front lawn is roughly 5000 square feet and 25lbs of the seed mix I had was enough to cover that much area according to the company. However, I wound up using about 35lbs of seed. I lightly turned the soil with a rake after the seed and fertilizer was down followed by a roller. I have been watering 3x a day for roughly 6-8 minutes.

Here we are 12 days later and the grass is growing but there many areas that are still bare. I know for a fact that the seed/fertizler was evenly spread and the entire area was covered. Can I do anything at this point? Add more seed? Wait it out a little longer to see if it fills in?


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## croikee (Jun 11, 2019)

12 days in looks good I think, but I'm only six weeks into growing my first lawn, so wait for more informed replies. That being said, I would be curious for other's thoughts on if you may be watering TOO much? I thought there was a balance between saturated but not soaked etc. Hang in there, we are playing the long game here


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## krusej23 (May 8, 2018)

Does that area that is struggling with germination get sunlight? It may just be a little behind because it's not getting as much sunlight as the other areas.


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## bentz69 (Jun 12, 2018)

I forgot the seed mix picture. Oddly enough, the areas that heavily shadded like under the giant pine tree and along the white fence are growing just fine. The spots that recieve the most sun are rather bare.


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

How tall is it? You want to begin mowing around 2.5" ( cut to 2") and keep mowing frequently to promote tillering. If bluegrass was in your mix you need to be patient as it can take 2-3 weeks to germinate. Once it does it will spread and fill in the bare spots. I wouldn't worry much. Give it time and fix whatever is bare in the fall. You've already made a huge improvement. One thing I've learned these last three years is perfection is not attainable; work on making steady progress towards your goal each season.

Jesse


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## bentz69 (Jun 12, 2018)

jessehurlburt said:


> How tall is it? You want to begin mowing around 2.5" ( cut to 2") and keep mowing frequently to promote tillering. If bluegrass was in your mix you need to be patient as it can take 2-3 weeks to germinate. Once it does it will spread and fill in the bare spots. I wouldn't worry much. Give it time and fix whatever is bare in the fall. You've already made a huge improvement. One thing I've learned these last three years is perfection is not attainable; work on making steady progress towards your goal each season.
> 
> Jesse


Roughly 1.5 to 2 inches is the current length. There was some preexisting grass that appears taller. The see mix contains 50% fecue, 40% ryegrass and 10% bluegrass

I have several spots that have turned white. I used scotts fertilzier with weed preventer. A quick search reveals that this type of starter fertiziler may turn some areas white?


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## Avalawn T (Sep 11, 2018)

Looks good to me, my reno last year looked similar and then filled in and thickened up nicely. Keep an eye on fungus that is what can ruin it for sure until fall. I would have some fungicide on hand. Also side note I love my nest camera, I can go back and tell exactly how many hours of sun each part of the yard gets. Awesome tool. Lol


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

10% bluegrass by weight is a good amount so you will see it fill in.

Sharpen your blade and mow when a majority reach 2.5". Mow carefully and try to minimize turning on the new grass as much as you can. Are you planning on putting down a pre-emergent after getting the new grass established? You need to wait until the new grass has been mowed 3-4 times-check the label. Something like Dimension that can serve as a pre-emergent the rest of the year and post emergent control for crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds you will have in your yard in a month or two would work well.


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## Belgianbillie (Apr 3, 2018)

Yea, its turning white because of the mesotroine. No worries about that.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

For the thin areas, wait until day 18 to drop more seed and ensure your sprinklers coverage those areas.


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## bentz69 (Jun 12, 2018)

Avalawn T said:


> Looks good to me, my reno last year looked similar and then filled in and thickened up nicely. Keep an eye on fungus that is what can ruin it for sure until fall. I would have some fungicide on hand. Also side note I love my nest camera, I can go back and tell exactly how many hours of sun each part of the yard gets. Awesome tool. Lol


To be honest, lawn care is very new to me. This is my first home. I had moss in many areas and I think it was because of drainage issues. I forgot to mention the moss. I sprayed the lawn with moss out roughly 2 months ago and it all turned black. I raked a lot of it out and right before I put down the new topsoil I removed even more and tossed it away. Can you reccomened a specific fugicide and what exactly are the signs of fungus?



jessehurlburt said:


> 10% bluegrass by weight is a good amount so you will see it fill in.
> 
> Sharpen your blade and mow when a majority reach 2.5". Mow carefully and try to minimize turning on the new grass as much as you can. Are you planning on putting down a pre-emergent after getting the new grass established? You need to wait until the new grass has been mowed 3-4 times-check the label. Something like Dimension that can serve as a pre-emergent the rest of the year and post emergent control for crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds you will have in your yard in a month or two would work well.


I have john deere x300 (kinda old) but it does the job and cuts real well. I also have a push mower. Perhaphs the push mower is the better option now?

As I stated right above, lawn care is new to me so Im still learning.

The only 2 products I was going to add to the lawn was Scotts Turf Builder Halts Crabgrass Preventer with Lawn Food and milorginite after the 6 week mark. But Im open to suggestions if my method is wrong or there is something better



g-man said:


> For the thin areas, wait until day 18 to drop more seed and ensure your sprinklers coverage those areas.


I definitely have sprinklert coverage everywhere. I made sure to adjust each head to ensure coverage. When adding additional seed, should I only spread over the bare areas or lightly do the whole yard again? And, I assume it should be lightly raked in as well or no?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

More seed in the thin areas. If you can rake and more importantly, press them to the soil, then do it.


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## Avalawn T (Sep 11, 2018)

Check out the fungicide guide on here it helped me a bunch. There is way more info there than I can provide. I got hit hard and had to reseed a few times last fall. Definitely go with the push mower.


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## bentz69 (Jun 12, 2018)

g-man said:


> More seed in the thin areas. If you can take and more importantly, press them to the soil, then do it.


Will do. Whats the significance behind the 18 day mark as opposed to now?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Give enough time to ensure it is not just lagging in germination. Too many seeds germinating can lead to fungus.


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## bentz69 (Jun 12, 2018)

I'm right about day 16 and the majority of the lawn is filling in nicely with some bare spots. Grass length is anywhere from 2 to 3 inches. I would like to put down a little more seed in those bare spots, rake it in and hopefully it grows. Should I add the seed first before I do the first cut? Or is it better to wait until after the first cut to add more seed?

Originally I was watering three times a day for roughly 6 to 7 minutes each Zone. I was getting some puddles so I didn't want to run it for longer than that. I've backed down to twice a day for roughly 8 Minutes each zone right now. Am I over-watering?


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