We have received numerous questions from our customers concerning the poor appearance of their lawns, and, of course, they want to know what we suggest they should do to bring their lawn back to an acceptable appearance.
Weather conditions were extremely favorable for several lawn problems in 2010, with the frequent and abundant rains that occurred in May and June. But when the rains stopped, somebody turned up the heat and the transition from cool and rainy to hot and nasty (make that hot and dry) came way too quickly for your lawn to adjust. Crabgrass, a warm-season annual, became the plant-of-the-year and we saw way more crabgrass plants this summer than usual. And Yellow Nutgrass (AKA Yellow Nutsedge) was also rampant.
Here are a few recommendations to help your lawn recover from the Summer of 2010:
1.) Fertilize to force vegetative growth. Most golf courses apply heavy fertilizations in October because the added nutrients help the turf generate new leaves and roots. Kentucky Bluegrass spreads by tillers and rhizomes, both of which are promoted by an early October feeding. We suggest you apply Fertilome Lawn Food plus Iron to your lawn as soon as possible.
2.) Fertilize again in mid to late November. At this time of the year, there is no appreciable vegetative growth, but the root system is quite actively growing, and the extra nutrients, especially Phosphorous and Potassium will nutrify the soil and help build a much stronger root system. You won't see any immediate results from a November fertilization, but next spring, you will observe an earlier "green-up" and increased turf density. Mid-November is the only time of year that we recommend applying a farm-type fertilizer like 12-12-12. If you spread 8 lbs. of 12-12-12 per 1,000 square feet of lawn, you will be applying about 1 lb. of actual Nitrogen, which is the amount Purdue recommends per fertilization.
3.) Should you "overseed" if you lawn is thin? Overseeding never hurts, especially if you have numerous bare spots that are much larger than the palm of your hand. If you plan to overseed, mid to late November is, again, an excellent time to do so. The grass seed will not germinate in November (too cold) but will remain in the soil until conditions are right for germination next Spring.
Why not just wait until Spring to put down new grass seed? Because it might be raining, because the kids might have a soccer game every Saturday in March and April, and because there is very little risk from "Dormant Seeding" into established turf in November. As always, it is important to at least "scratch the surface" of the soil so the grass seeds have a place to lodge, making good contact with the soil.
4.) Crabgrass Preventer next spring will be a MUST!! All those Crabgrass plants that grew in your lawn this summer produced thousands of seeds that will germinate next Spring. Apply Fertilome Crabgrass Preventer + Lawn Food by mid-April (unless you overseeded in the fall) and you will be doing the most effective thing you can to minimize the 2011 Crabgrass crop.
IF you overseeded in November, as mentioned above, we suggest you wait until the first week of May to apply your Crabgrass Preventer. This allows the good grass seeds to germinate before the Crabgrass Preventer is applied. You may see a bit of crabgrass in you lawn during the summer, but the fact is that not all crabgrass seeds germinate at the same time, and even this "first week of May" application will be quite effective in minimizing the 2011 Crabgrass crop.
These 4 steps will be very helpful in your efforts to restore your lawn. If you have further questions, send us an email by clicking here or call us at 219-464-4941. 
