Last summer I started fertilizing with only organic fertilizers. This spring, I purchased Paul Tukey's book, "The Organic Lawn Care Manual". I really learned a lot from reading it and this fall I plan to do some major work to my lawn to improve it organically. Paul recommends dethatching, aerating, spreading compost and reseeding. The idea is not to replace the existing lawn, but to introduce some better grasses that require less nutrients and water to the existing lawn.
There's a whole chapter on different types of grasses. I have a mixture of blue grass and fescue, but I can't find the label that has the exact kinds of blue grass and fescue. I'm pretty sure it was not tall fescue. As I read the descriptions of the different types of grasses, I realized that blue grass is very demanding of water. My lawn is on a slight slope facing south, so it can completely burn up if it doesn't get water for about 5 days. There's about 6 inches of topsoil on top of lots of sand, so it drains very quickly. Some other types of grasses seem to be more tolerant of dry conditions which would save me a ton of money on water.
I had decided that perennial rye and tall fescue both sounded like good grass choices until he said to get a lawn sample identified so you know what's already growing. "Otherwise, you might be disappointed if you plant course tall fescue in with your Kentucky bluegrass..." I can't really figure out what the problem is with mixing the two.
I was hoping some of you might be able to help me decide what to overseed with. Here's what I currently have:
Pretty thick and healthy mix of bluegrass and fescue (very thick and green when it gets lots of water)
Zone 5 Northern Michigan
6 inches of topsoil over lots of sand
full sun
kids play on it some, but not too much
Goal: Less water, greener grass, more organic matter in soil
Thanks,
Rob
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