New Construction house which closed in December 05. Grass planted
(seeded and strawed) in June of 06. Cincinnati, Ohio

Fertilized once with scott's turfbuilder plus in August. Grass is
green and thick in most spots.

when should any of the following be done:

a) plant grass seed in bare spots and thin spots?
b) fertilize again?
c) use weedkiller (for crab grass and cloves)?
d) how low should grass get cut?

I have heard to fertilize right before it snows... which I planned on
doing. Any reason to fertilize now, then again in November? Can I
wait until November?

In addition any "pre-winter" outside home maintainance anyone suggests?

you can re-seed any areas that need it provided you'r enot too late in
the season. you're in OH so as long as you're not putting down sees
too close ( 2 weeks before) before first frost you'll be ok.

i personally would not fertilize again this late in season, if you
already put some in august. especially if it contains any sort of
crabgrass prevention additives, as this will also inhibit the growth of
new grass.

if crabgrass is a problem, put down some crabgrass preventative down
before spring (late winter). this will help control the germination of
the dormant crabgrass seeds.

grass length depends on the species. here in upstate NY i have
rye/fescue/bluegrass mix in my lawn which, from my experience, is best
cut 2.5-3" long. do some research on your lawn type and determine
proper length.

make sure you mow one last time after you rake leaves up. you don't
want a pile of wet leaves on your lawn, that will cause all sorts of
problems.

another thing you'll want to consider is aerating your lawn with a
plug/core aerator at least 1 time per season, more if you have heavily
packed soil or if its got high clay content.

hope this helps. good luck. a beautiful healthy lawn takes alot of
work and continuous upkeep but it will make you very proud!

-mario


jIM wrote:
New Construction house which closed in December 05. Grass planted
(seeded and strawed) in June of 06. Cincinnati, Ohio

Fertilized once with scott's turfbuilder plus in August. Grass is
green and thick in most spots.

when should any of the following be done:

a) plant grass seed in bare spots and thin spots?
b) fertilize again?
c) use weedkiller (for crab grass and cloves)?
d) how low should grass get cut?

I have heard to fertilize right before it snows... which I planned on
doing. Any reason to fertilize now, then again in November? Can I
wait until November?

In addition any "pre-winter" outside home maintainance anyone suggests?

On 21 Sep 2006 07:21:12 -0700, "jIM"
wrote:

New Construction house which closed in December 05. Grass planted
(seeded and strawed) in June of 06. Cincinnati, Ohio

Fertilized once with scott's turfbuilder plus in August. Grass is
green and thick in most spots.

when should any of the following be done:

a) plant grass seed in bare spots and thin spots?

Yes!

b) fertilize again?

Wait at least 8 weeks from the previous feeding. You can use
"half-rate."

c) use weedkiller (for crab grass and cloves)?

No. This is not the time of year to apply crabgrass control nor weed
killers. Weed killer is especially harsh on young grass. Spot treat
weeds and apply a crab-grass pre-emergence next spring.

d) how low should grass get cut?

Do not remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade length. The height
depends on the kind (bluegrass, fescue, etc) of grass.


I have heard to fertilize right before it snows... which I planned on
doing. Any reason to fertilize now, then again in November? Can I
wait until November?

Be careful of overfertilization. You can apply it twice, but use
half the recommended amount both times. If you can use an organic
fertilizer (at full strength) all the better. Organic fertilizers
include Milorganite, palletized chicken manure, seaweed, fish
emulsion, etc. A yearly soil test is a very good idea.


In addition any "pre-winter" outside home maintainance anyone suggests?

wrote:
you can re-seed any areas that need it provided you'r enot too late in
the season. you're in OH so as long as you're not putting down sees
too close ( 2 weeks before) before first frost you'll be ok.

i personally would not fertilize again this late in season, if you
already put some in august. especially if it contains any sort of
crabgrass prevention additives, as this will also inhibit the growth of
new grass.

if crabgrass is a problem, put down some crabgrass preventative down
before spring (late winter). this will help control the germination of
the dormant crabgrass seeds.

grass length depends on the species. here in upstate NY i have
rye/fescue/bluegrass mix in my lawn which, from my experience, is best
cut 2.5-3" long. do some research on your lawn type and determine
proper length.

make sure you mow one last time after you rake leaves up. you don't
want a pile of wet leaves on your lawn, that will cause all sorts of
problems.

another thing you'll want to consider is aerating your lawn with a
plug/core aerator at least 1 time per season, more if you have heavily
packed soil or if its got high clay content.

hope this helps. good luck. a beautiful healthy lawn takes alot of
work and continuous upkeep but it will make you very proud!

-mario


jIM wrote:
New Construction house which closed in December 05. Grass planted
(seeded and strawed) in June of 06. Cincinnati, Ohio

Fertilized once with scott's turfbuilder plus in August. Grass is
green and thick in most spots.

when should any of the following be done:

a) plant grass seed in bare spots and thin spots?
b) fertilize again?
c) use weedkiller (for crab grass and cloves)?
d) how low should grass get cut?

I have heard to fertilize right before it snows... which I planned on
doing. Any reason to fertilize now, then again in November? Can I
wait until November?

In addition any "pre-winter" outside home maintainance anyone suggests?

I agree with the last guy, don't fertilize now, you will encourage new
growth which is more sensitive to cold and will die off. This goes for
everything, not just grass. Let everything slow down naturally at this
point and harden up. I've started trying to cut the grass short before
winter because the grass blades die anyway, and this leaves the new
growth in spring uncovered by the old dead stuff; like the guy said the
rest of the year I leave it long. Another thing people recommend,
although I haven't done the double blind definitive experiment, is
right about when the ground is beginning to freeze, give everything
(perennials trees and shrubs as well) a huge long soaking because that
has to hold them until spring, and it's the dryness as much as the cold
that gives plants a hard time in the winter.

jIM wrote:
New Construction house which closed in December 05. Grass planted
(seeded and strawed) in June of 06. Cincinnati, Ohio

Fertilized once with scott's turfbuilder plus in August. Grass is
green and thick in most spots.

when should any of the following be done:

a) plant grass seed in bare spots and thin spots?
b) fertilize again?
c) use weedkiller (for crab grass and cloves)?
d) how low should grass get cut?

I have heard to fertilize right before it snows... which I planned on
doing. Any reason to fertilize now, then again in November? Can I
wait until November?

In addition any "pre-winter" outside home maintainance anyone suggests?

Also, don't be too surprised if you find the lawn somewhat sparse in
the spring. If you look at the labels on the so-called "contracters'
blend" seed mixes, they very often contain a large, sometimes 90%
proportion of ***annual*** ryegrass. Grows up nice very quickly (has
to, being an annual, in order to compete with established plants) but.
as the name suggests, dies over the winter. Don't necessarily blame the
contracter; they might not know what the seed they use looks like a
year later.

Scotts' hotline at (800) 543-TURF is pretty good at giving free lawn
advice.

Shaun Eli
www.BrainChampagne.com
Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm)
Now with a comedy video on the website (clean-- no adult topics, no
foul language)