Help me save my lawn!

[Lalo 13]

In the past few weeks I've been away, pre-occupied with my son and been dealing with other issues and I ended up neglecting my lawn and I think it's now pretty much dead. I did set the sprinkler on a timer but I guess it was just way too hot and the watering alone wasn't enough. Take a look at these pics and let me know what you think I should do in order to try and revive the grass. So far the only thing I've been doing is watering it every morning for about 30-45 minutes and it's apparently not enough. Some people have said it's completely dead and the best thing to do is re-sod. Yes that is a good solution but I can't spend money on that right now. Others have said just keep watering it and it will eventually come back. While that may be true, I really don't want to over-water if I don't really have to, plus I'm not a fan of receiving a $500+ water bill at the end of this quarter. I've also been told to rake all of the dead grass off, re-seed and then re-water... a lot. What do you think? I would really rather take care of this myself since I have some time off coming up and of course would want to do this without spending bank.

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[RobertJames 14]

I've heard they do this in California.

 

And then re seed this fall and in the spring.  And don't forget to water.

[Newtonian 453]

Lawns go dormant during the hot dry months. Mine looked great in June, now it looks like yours. It's not dead, it's pining for the fjords.

 

It will look fine again next year, maybe even by mid-late October this year. 

[Lalo 13]

Thanks for the respolies guys.

 

I do like the paint idea, maybe I'll pass by Home Depot and see what they have... LOL

 

and yeah, I understand they go dormant, it's just that this is the first time it's been this bad. Maybe it's normal, I just can't stand walking on it and hearing crunch... crunch... Maybe I should reseed with some grass that is more tolerable to direct sunlight?The areas that are brown are the areas that get absolutely no shade at all. Again, just weird that this is the first time it has happened. I thought I did something different/wrong.

[FishNHard 145]

When its this hot unless you water at least every other day your lawn will go dormant , if you fertilize your lawn try to avoid a high nitrogen content  this will burn out your lawn fast unless you water it everyday , theirs a lawn food called oceansgrow no nitrogen in it just a straight lawn food which helps the grass grow deeper roots and will get you thru hot spells a bit longer but like everything else it needs water , like you I hate the high water bills from the sprinkler system so I got 4 of the blue 55 gallon barrels and run 1 of my gutters from the shed into them and fill them when it rains and store them for hot spells like this and use a small electric pump from harbor freight to give the lawn something till it rains again.

[Lalo 13]

That's a great idea! Where can I pickup those drums from?

[Scorpio64 5,187]

Lawns go dormant during the hot dry months. Mine looked great in June, now it looks like yours. It's not dead, it's pining for the fjords.

 

It will look fine again next year, maybe even by mid-late October this year. 

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Pretty much this

 

When the cool weather returns your lawn will perk up some.  Don't water it during the day, either water it in the early evening when the sun has just set or in the early morning before the sun can bake off all the moisture in the soil.  DO NOT try and revive it with fertilizer, it will burn it out and actually kill it.  

 

I'd water and wait a couple of weeks to see what rebounds.  Now is the best time of year for lawn renovation.  You can rent a slicer and seed the bare thin areas that dont rebound or just overseed the whole lawn with a good mix of cool season and summer grasses.  Sod is only for people who need instant lawn.

[Newtonian 453]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Pretty much this

 

When the cool weather returns your lawn will perk up some.  Don't water it during the day, either water it in the early evening when the sun has just set or in the early morning before the sun can bake off all the moisture in the soil.  DO NOT try and revive it with fertilizer, it will burn it out and actually kill it.  

 

I'd water and wait a couple of weeks to see what rebounds.  Now is the best time of year for lawn renovation.  You can rent a slicer and seed the bare thin areas that dont rebound or just overseed the whole lawn with a good mix of cool season and summer grasses.  Sod is only for people who need instant lawn.

Over-seeding has never worked for me. How do you do it?

[jm1827 284]

Over-seeding has never worked for me. How do you do it?

Same here, would love to know how to do it right!

[fishnut 2,358]

Im on the opposite end of the spectrum. I cut my lawn short during the hottest part of the day to force my lawn to go dormant so I don't have to mow every week LOL. 3 acres+allot of trees+ no zero turn= Many hours mowing. but I have 3 springs on my property so the grass around them never dies and grows fast as hell. next house I buy is going to be in the middle of the woods with minimal grass! 

[PK90 3,573]

Im on the opposite end of the spectrum. I cut my lawn short during the hottest part of the day to force my lawn to go dormant so I don't have to mow every week LOL. 3 acres+allot of trees+ no zero turn= Many hours mowing. but I have 3 springs on my property so the grass around them never dies and grows fast as hell. next house I buy is going to be in the middle of the woods with minimal grass! 

 

Grass to cut or leaves to rake. Take your pick. I did both in NJ. Now, I have a yard of stones with Palm trees. How do I get all those wasted hours back?

[jackandjill 683]

Like others said, the grass will come back.  For proper over seeding, you have fix soil composition, aerate and then over seed. Just throwing extra seed may not work. 

 

An old neighbor once advised  me not to waste money on the lawn that I dont need or cannot keep up with. Instead plant something useful (apples on south side for fruit and shade) and minimize grass area.  I know, its easier said than done. 

[gleninjersey 2,142]

To overseed you just apply seed. Wait a few weeks for temps to come down. You need to keep the seed / ground moist (not soaked) for at least a full week. To prepare for overseeding cut the lawn a little shorter than normal.

 

You want to use the right seed for your lawn. I'm not a big fan of Scotts grass seed. Like their 4 step fertilizer program but for grass seed I like Pennington and the one that starts with a V. Doesn't hurt to put down some starter fertilizer either.

 

For our area you generally want to look at tall fescue grass seed or a combination that is mostly tall fescue. DON'T purchase contractor grass seed. It's annual rye grass and will look great for a shorf time and then die. Ask me how I know.

 

Try not obsess over it. I did for several years after moving into our first house. Rounded up entire yard, started from scratch, rented slit seeders and spent countless hours moving sprinklers around.

 

The secret is to be consistent. Overseed in fall. Spring use a fertilizer with crabgrass preventer, late summer fertilize again. Maybe put down a late fall ferilizer after your overseeding has matured. Mow high in the summer. Helps to crown out weeds and conserve water. And most of all have fun, learn what works for your lawn and take pride in a job well done.

 

Good luck!

[fishnut 2,358]

Grass to cut or leaves to rake. Take your pick. I did both in NJ. Now, I have a yard of stones with Palm trees. How do I get all those wasted hours back?

right now I have 11 apple trees 3 large maple trees and a large sycamore and several other trees not so im doing both already. I only like to see palm trees on vacation though I enjoy the winter and the snow so no desert or tropics for me.

[Scorpio64 5,187]

Thee are two ways of overseeding.  Before you seed, cut the grass very short, you can practically scalp it.  The most basic way is to use a slicer, it will cut grooves in your lawn, It will make your lawn groovy  .. Okay, bad pun.  Anyway slice the lawn from street to house then again from corner to corner.  in other words, do a right angle in one direction and then again at a 45 degree angle

 

 

 then use a spreader to put the seed down.  The other method is to use an actual overseeder. Same pattern as slicing.  They are heavy and cumbersome to operate but the results are a lot better than the slicer method.  The overseeder cuts the grooves but the knives are followed by harrows that plant the seed into the grooves.  The two main benefits of using an overseeder are the planting and it uses far less seed.  The better the soil contact, the better the chances at germination.

 

Once the seed is in the ground you need to water it constantly so the soil does not dry out or your seedlings will die.  If you have inground sprinklers you can program each zone to water for about five or ten minutes at 20 to 30 minute intervals.  Naturally you don't have to water after dark but make sure the topsoil is wet all the time.  If you don't have in-ground sprinklers go to home depot and buy a couple of sprinkler timers.  They cost about $40 each.  Anything but a pulsating sprinkler is a waste of money.  You can set 2 to 4 of them up in series depending on how good your water pressure is.

 

The last two things worth mentioning are these.  You can fertilize when you seed but it has to be 100% organic.  If your soil is compacted hard clay or just hard, you probably want to CORE aerate it too.  Dont bother with spike aerators, they suck.  ahh one other thing I forgot.  Lime.  I don't know why but people hardly lime their lawns anymore.  Lime is like a booster for acidic soil.  Most of NJ soil is acidic.  I prefer to use pulverized lime in a drop spreader but pelletized lime is all the rage these days.  Pulverized requires a drop spreader and good memory or you lawn will look like a green zebra..  You can use a broadcast spreader with the pelletized lime and get the same result.

 

After about two weeks your lawn will be thick and green but the real magic happens in the spring.  I have turned absolutely atrocious lawns into green lush carpets using this method.

[FishNHard 145]

I got my barrels mine from a car wash most will have a bunch piled up , the were filled with detergent and I just rinsed them out good .they usually will just give them to you for free .

[dajonga 397]

Where to get the barrels....

 

Call around. I have 4 of them that were free from a local marina. They used to hold non-toxic antifreeze. They were thrilled for me to take them.

 

Any marinas around the lakes up by you?

 

Ocean Spray used to give them away, too.

 

Maybe call some industrial food processing plants. The barrels are used for everything.

[brucin 923]

Im on the opposite end of the spectrum. I cut my lawn short during the hottest part of the day to force my lawn to go dormant so I don't have to mow every week LOL. 3 acres+allot of trees+ no zero turn= Many hours mowing. but I have 3 springs on my property so the grass around them never dies and grows fast as hell. next house I buy is going to be in the middle of the woods with minimal grass! 

 

That's what I have. I don't even own a lawn mower. I use a string trimmer to cut down whatever the stuff is that grows in the full shade I have. I only have to do it once or twice a year if there is not too much rain.

[fishnut 2,358]

^ yeah my best friend has the same deal too. I'm jelous but he is jelous of my garden and orchard. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side (pun intended) lol

[Golf battery 1,223]

Rake dead grass. Slice seed. Starter fertilizer.

Thats all you can do without spending a bunch of money. Glenn is pretty much right on it.

[Oakridgefirearms 224]

How long ago did you start watering it? It will take a few weeks of watering/rain to come back again. If it's been a few weeks there may be other issues - cinch bugs, fungus issues or a thatch layer that's too thick. Slicing and coreating will cut through a thick thatch layer to allow new seed to germinate, but you will probably end up with the same problem after the next dry spell. Dethatching will prevent this from occurring again - if that's what you need. Bugs or fungus will need to be controlled if that's what's going on. 

 

The best way to water an established lawn is to put an inch to an inch and half of water on it once a week (if it doesn't rain that much). This is better than watering for short durations frequently because it encourages the roots to grow deep and makes your lawn more drought resistant. If you ever have any lawn areas redone, don't skimp on the topsoil, it helps hold moisture and keeps your lawn from drying out as quickly - the more the better up to 4".

[brucin 923]

^ yeah my best friend has the same deal too. I'm jelous but he is jelous of my garden and orchard. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side (pun intended) lol

I could care less about a lawn but would love to have a vegetable garden.

[melrose 0]

Looks like my lawn a few years ago. No amount of watering would bring it back. Had cinch bugs. Got it growing again after treatment and reseeding.

[gleninjersey 2,142]

I could care less about a lawn but would love to have a vegetable garden.

Which vegetables? What's stopping you? Next spring will be here before you know it. Another opportunity to grow some of your own. If I can do it, ANYBODY can do it.

[Kevin125 4,772]

Also, the best time to fix a lawn for the next spring is in the fall. Proper fertilizer and seed. Seeding in the spring is less effective. Not my knowledge. From a guy that does it for a living and is very good.

 

Also, if you seeded in the fall and it germinated, you can apply crabgrass preventer in the spring so you don't have crab grass taking over bare spots. Or crowding out new gras plants.

 

One more thing. Too much water at night will promote fungus.

 

But yeah, your grass is dormant. Roots are mostly fine.

[brucin 923]

Which vegetables? What's stopping you? Next spring will be here before you know it. Another opportunity to grow some of your own. If I can do it, ANYBODY can do it.

About a dozen 80' tall oak trees are stopping me. I get 0 direct sunlight throughout the day.

[gleninjersey 2,142]

About a dozen 80' tall oak trees are stopping me. I get 0 direct sunlight throughout the day.

That would do it. Get a chainsaw!

 

You could try growing in a container or pots. My 9 year old was given a cabbage seedling at end of school in a pot. It's now gigantic! Kids are bringing them back next week during start of school to see who's cabbage grew the most.

 

I'm sure there are plenty of things you can grow in containers. Give it a shot next year!

[DeerSlayer 241]

Grass kinda dies in August, it's normal. In spring it will come back most likely.

[Newtonian 453]

I could care less about a lawn but would love to have a vegetable garden.

If you get a spot with 4 hours a day of full sun, 4' x 4' or larger, you can grow stuff that you can eat. Or you can use strategically placed pots. I had a garden in the very shady back yard of a Hoboken tenement when I was six years old. Our fig tree even gave us fruit. I have a clone of that tree in my garden today.

 

It's in my Italian genes

[brucin 923]

That would do it. Get a chainsaw!

 

You could try growing in a container or pots. My 9 year old was given a cabbage seedling at end of school in a pot. It's now gigantic! Kids are bringing them back next week during start of school to see who's cabbage grew the most.

 

I'm sure there are plenty of things you can grow in containers. Give it a shot next year!

Can't chainsaw they're not my trees

 

If you get a spot with 4 hours a day of full sun, 4' x 4' or larger, you can grow stuff that you can eat. Or you can use strategically placed pots. I had a garden in the very shady back yard of a Hoboken tenement when I was six years old. Our fig tree even gave us fruit. I have a clone of that tree in my garden today.

 

It's in my Italian genes

I've already tried the growing stuff in 5 gallon pails. It's a no go I just do not have enough sunlight to grow anything except bleeding hearts, astillbe and pachysandra.