Newbie needs organic advice (Long)

15 years ago

Hello, everyone. Forgive the long post, but I've been reading the forums and have some questions.

First, the situation: Front yard of my in-laws' house. Lawn care for the past 25+ years has consisted of fairly regular mowing without fertilizers, watering, or any other notable attention. This has left us with a partly grassy area with a fair assortment of weeds that is sometimes green and sometimes brown. We are looking to sell the house in the next 12 to 18 months and would like to see if we can get the lawn to look decent without too much expense and without using any chemicals.

My plan:

Day One: Cut the lawn short (1.5"), power rake it, and water it heavily.

Day Two: Aerate it thoroughly, put down Milorganite, overseed, put down a .25" layer of compost, sweep it in, and water.

Day Three onward: Water a lot until grass sprouts and then regularly after.

My questions:

1) What is the earliest date I should look at starting this kind of project? I would like to get started ASAP. I'm located on Long Island in NY, Zone 6b/7a and I don't know if I need to be worried about late summer heat or not.

2) Is this a sound plan? Is it overkill to put down the Milorganite and compost at the same time? Am I going to burn the seed if I put down Milorganite at the same time I overseed?

3) Should I attempt any kind of weed control at the same time as all the other work? I have many different weeds including danedelions, plantains, quackgrass, black medic, nettle, spurge, wild violets, and a bunch that I can't identify.

4) Is anything that I've outlined above going to be contraindicated by anything I'm liable to see in a soil test result? I am going to get the soil tested, but those things can take some time to come back and I'd like to get going as soon as I can. As long as I keep track of anything I add to the soil, I can adjust the recommendations that the soil lab makes accordingly, right?

Again, apologies for the long post and thanks in advance for any advice or assistance.

Comments (4)

soccer_dad
15 years ago
1. Middle of August is generally the earliest overseeding date, though people have had success all through the year. If you can keep it irrigated you should be fine, but cool season grasses prefer cooler soil.

2. No fair asking 3 questions in one. :) I'd say your plan is sound. Milorganite might not be the best starter fertilizer, but it won't burn the seed with the compost.

3. Preferably the weeds should be killed before you start overseeding. The process of seed germination favors weeds and anything to rid what you have is a step ahead. If you are against any herbicide, then I believe vinegar or hot water or burning are organic approaches.

4. Your phosphorus level, which is important for seed germination.

You may want to search the regular lawn care forum for the overseeding posts. There are a couple that give a very detailed step-by-step guide that is very handy to have as a checklist.
spazboy357
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the quick answer and the advice. I'll give the guys over on the other forum a look.
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bergenjersey
15 years ago
What a coincidence. I just posted an article on improving curb appeal through organic lawn care.

I included a lot of the basics that you probably already know. I described this organic lawn care program that I started using. They send you everything you need when it's time to apply so it's easy to follow.

Just to add to the best time to do this, if youre going to be overseeding you want to wait until the soil temperature will be in the 60-86deg range for a couple of months. That's usually mid august, but keep an eye on the weather reports just to be sure.
Kimmsr
15 years ago
Never, ever cut grass short. Those grass blades are what provide the grass crowns with nutrients and cutting the blades short lessens their ability to do that. For cool season grasses that you find in our area of the world long is better and that will also encourage the grass crowns to put out more grass blades which will fill in the bare spots.
Any weed control you do should be done before you apply any fertilizer but after you properly water that lawn, and that you can do in mid August which is still too hot and dry for the cool season grasses to germinate and grow.
Get that soil test done before fertilizing and keep in mind that it is one tool in soil managenment. Milorganite will not burn, unless you pour a large quantity of it in one place.