Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I am in dire need of your advice. Am in Long Island myself, and decided to grow a new lawn from seed in the backyard, some 4500sqf. The backyard consists of old turf from prior owner, which i used a sod cutter to remove, and half of the area was never maintained for 40 years, and was part used as a garden. I thought I did a good job prepping, and used Round-up as per instructions. I planted on July 29th, using a sod-quality KBG blend of three compact types. Everything was going great, until around Labor Day, when I thought it was coming in too slow, and had a suggestion to put more starter fertilizer, but by accident I put a 10-10-10 fertilizer down. Within a week, the lawn thinned out a little, and then it seemed new grass started coming in like gangbusters. Turns out it is Poa, and in some parts, it overtook the kbg and is nearly half the grass. At first I thought I got contaminated seed, but I read another post of yours of someone who also put down fertilizer that caused it.  Now, I do not know what to do. Ive been trying to pull it up but its so much that its almost hopeless,  its as if I have two colors on my lawn... dark (from Moonlight seed) and light (from Poa), and with a ton of seedheads popping up now. Today is day 60.  I almost want to cry I am so upset, all this work every day and not even allowing kids to use backyard for two months. I didnt want to sod because of the cost and because supposedly they don't use the really dark types I wanted. I'm praying I don't have to start over. Please tell me what I need to do right now so save this lawn. Thank you in advance.


ANSWER: Mistake Number One: Planting KBG in July.  Remember, these are Cool Season Grasses.  They DON'T GROW when it gets hot.  They evolved over millions of years into Grass that SHUTS DOWN operations in the heat of Summer.  They do not have the equipment to grow full speed ahead in Summer.  This is why they call it Cool Season Grass.

Mistake Number Two: Round-Up.  We won't go into the bad things about Round-Up right now but you should understand that as damaging as it may be (you do know that people die making and using it, right? How non-toxic is THAT?) Round-Up won't kill Seeds that haven't sprouted yet.

Mistake Number Three: As you know already you overdosed on the juice.  Fact is, you overdosed even more than you realized.  Unless your Soil is totally sterile, your Grass almost certainly does not need ANY fertilizer.  If your Soil IS sterile, fertilizer is the LAST thing your Grass needs -- you need to enrich your Soil.

And you're almost right, it is hopeless.  You've got a beautiful Poa crop now.  Change directions.

Pity, the Moonlight would have been beautiful.

Time for a fresh start.  Hey, at least you didn't aerate.  Before we begin, I'd like to point something out.

WE LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES!

Boy, it hurts sometimes.  But you have learned a whole lot from all this sweat.  I don't know if you realize it, but you now know more about growing Grass than 99 percent of the homeowners around here.  Half these people CAN'T grow Grass; they hire someone else to do it, and they often end up with plots soaked with 2,4-D and carcinogens while the Grass is showing brown splotches from Fungus attacks.

First thing you have to do -- and I know you must have seen this somewhere because you read some other posts -- you have to get a SOIL TEST.

What's in YOUR Soil?  Long Island Compacted Clay?  At best that's an educated guess.  You don't REALLY know what's down there.  What's the pH?  Salt content?  Iron and Phosphorous and Magnesium and Nitrogen and Potassium?  What's your Soil's Cation Exchange Capacity?

Cornell University runs one of the premier Soil testing labs in the world, and it's right here in New York State:

www.css.cornell.edu/soiltest/Soiltest.html

Get the whole works.  Follow the directions carefully.  Every decision you make will be determined by what your learn from that Soil Test.  Do that tomorrow.  Or today.  ASAP.  Market's crashing, the world is falling apart, take the day off.

Next, dig up all the Weeds and COMPOST them for next year's beautiful Lawn.  Do that asap -- before it gets too cold.

For the sake of morale, I would order some Spring Bulbs en masse from Van Engelen Wholesale Bulbs:

www.vanengelen.com

Pick out ONE Tulip or Daffodil and throw it in the ground, 12 inches underground, in a Sunny spot you can see from the Window.  These are better than the ones you'll pick up at Home Depot, disease-free, and probably cheaper.  Besides, you're already in digging mode.

Now, order a COVER CROP to replace the Weeds you have dug.  A Cover Crop will pour nutrients into your Soil that haven't been there for years.  A Cover Crop will build up your Soil, from the ground up so to speak, and give those Grass Roots next Spring a very nice home.  Because you CANNOT grow beautiful Grass without beautiful Soil.  This does not mean you're off the hook with the Soil Testing.  You want to make sure your Soil has everything it needs but NOT TOO MUCH of anything, because, to make a long story short, TOO MUCH of certain nutrients will block uptake of others your Grass also needs, but CANNOT GET because it's blocked by the other nutrient(s).  You want to find that out, along with your Soil pH and other details they can give you.

The Cover Crop:  You didn't mention where on the Island you live, so I'll give you an internet source: Outside Pride:

www.outsidepride.com

I'd put down a layer of Hairy Vetch and Crimson Clover and Rye.

'Hairy Vetch is a hardy, viny, annual or biennial legume, attaining a height of 24 inches when planted alone ... Hairy Vetch has a taproot that extends 1 to 3 feet deep... Fall-planted Hairy Vetch flowers in April and ripens seed in May-June... Hairy Vetch tolerates Cold well and is more Winter hardy than Common Vetch. If well-established in Fall, it tolerates frozen Soils, remaining dormant until Spring.  Warm Spring temperatures bring rapid growth...When planted alone as a Winter cover crop in Annual vegetable rotations, it can provide substantial amounts of Nitrogen (N) to a following crop.  Hairy Vetch offers excellent Spring Weed suppression...'

Add to this their Gardenway blend of Rye, Austrian Winter Peas, Common Vetch, Crimson Clover and Annual Rye and you have a very healthy Winter Soil Builder going.

In Spring, mow and till.  Amend as directed by Cornell Extension BUT DO NOT USE ANY CHEMICALS.  Reason being, you will wipe out the microbes in the Soil by fertilizing with chemical fertilizer -- these are 'Salt' by definition, and you know that's not good for your Grass, or the active microbes that will help them grow.

The Poa is probably the biggest Lawn-wrecker around.  Good thing it's an Annual, which means it can't survive beyond a year.

Thick turfgrass can and will beat out Poa.  It's been done.

P.S.  You do not have to buy a lot of Lawn 'care' products to have a first rate Lawn.  Most Soil has ALL the elements you need to grow a beautiful Lawn.  But Madison Avenue wants your business.  Don't waste your money on them.

Sorry this is a bit long.  There's a lot to go over.  If you need elaboration on anything here, let me know.  Good to see you again.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Am in Rockville Centre, Nassau County. So am I trying to save this lawn? Or is this advice to reseed in spring? You said to dig up all the weeds, which I assume is the Poa, too. The KBG came in very thick in most of the lawn, though a good 30% of area its almost half and half, but the rest 70% area its maybe 5%. Here are some fourteen photos. http://picasaweb.google.com/diclemente/LawnPhotos#5251179054177597890

ANSWER: OK.  You don't have a TERRIBLE Poa problem, and certain sections may not even be noticed.  Let's see if you can just improve the Lawn.

For starters, we should identify the enemy.  Poa annua, yes.  But truth is, Poa is really not THAT annua.  The REAL Annual Bluegrass,  Poa annua, var annua L Timm, is not so common on Long Island.  It's just too cold here.  But it's much more complicated than that.  This is a highly variable species In the Northeast, at our latitude, we see more of the stoloniferous Poa annua, var reptans (Hauskn) Timm, which flowers and sets seed in the Spring; then, instead of retiring (which is what a decent Poa would normally do), it just keeps on giving, and giving and giving.

Different regions actually grow distinctive Poa ecotypes that respond differently to temperature and moisture conditions.  Most are Cool Season, but at least one is capable of handling an 85 degrees F day; the others cannot.

Another problem is that these Seeds are held VERY close to the ground, 1/4 inch.  Practically ground level.  Yet it will adapt if you keep your KBG tall and flower/seed at 6 or 8 inches, too.  Millions of Seeds ripen, then blast into the atmosphere.  When they settle, ideal conditions for germination are between 50 and 65 degrees F.  Contrary to popular belief, Poa Seeds are perfectly able to germinate in the dark.  And although studies show that mowing 'Rough Bluegrass', Poa trivialis, keeps it from flowering and setting Seed, Poa annua manages to escape mower blades no matter what you do.

Michigan State's Crop and Soil Science Dept studied cutting edge Plant Growth Regulators ('PGRs') for their effects on Poa in a Bentgrass plot.  Top scores went to the Scott's Miracle-Gro product, Scotts TGR (made of Syngenta's Paclobutrazol) and an experimental herbicide identified as V-10029.  Before you get excited about the research, listen to this:  The top scorers could not get better than 80 to 95 percent control of Poa.  That means you'd have to settle, with the strongest chemicals on the market, with the best research we have, for a plot that's still 5 to 20 percent Poa Weeds.

Seems like the best solution will be to put down the pre-emergent Corn Gluten Meal (which may be hard to find this time of year but is sold at Hicks Nursery in Westbury and on the internet) asap to halt germination of Poa in your Lawn NOW.  At the same time, plan to build a very strong plot of KBG that will compete with Poa.  And win.

Poa revels in compacted Clay, because the shallow Poa roots suck Water like a sponge off the puddles that collect on the Soil surface before KBG even knows it rained.  Top dress your Soil to improve drainage.  When you water, get the Soil really, really soaked, a good 6 inches down -- and then let it dry out.  Poa LOVES to be watered frequently.  But if you water deep, then leave it alone, the top 2 inches will dry out first -- targeting the Poa's shallow root zone.  Drought-stress the Poa; irrigate the KBG.

An application of an Organic Nitrogen fertilizer with a very low Nitrogen number on the container should go down now as you put down your Corn Gluten Meal.  Do not apply any more Phosphorus or Potash.

In Spring, I would put down more Corn Gluten Meal and more Nitrogen for a Cool Season boost.  It is important you not use Chemical fertilizers in this situation; as I said earlier, Thatch builds up because microbes are not breaking it down, and that's almost always because fertilizer Salts wiped out the population.  Mow at 2 1/2 inches regularly, resist mid-Summer dormancy (which is when Poa takes off), and you should see some results next year.

I hope I was clear on this.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Double Thank You for the advice.  Another question... I have seven lbs or so leftover of kbg seed.  Should I be using it ?  Or does the corn gluten also block germination of the KBG, too ?  Thanks.

Answer
Corn Gluten Meal is a VERY tricky product -- but when it's working, it throws a wrench into ALL germination.  And it doesn't care if it's a Weed or a brand new scarce KBG with limited distribution that cost you $100 a bag.

Autumn is usually the best time to fertilize turfgrass -- and remember, I'm not advocating chemical fertilizers here, I'm talking strict organic non-salt Nitrogen fertilizer.  This is the rush hour for Cool Season Grass.  They thrive in the mild air with the Warm Soil around their roots.  Pure have.  Bring on the Nitrogen.

But if you want to deal with a Poa infestation, it's another story.

In that case, you don't want to fertilize in Fall because Poa is sprouting all over the place.  So you instead save it for a Spring day.  This is designed to build a denser Lawn, one that will fill in and defend your Soil from more Poa annua plants.  Application varies of course, but you would typically use half to a quarter of the normal rate.

If you have sections that are 90 percent Poa, dig those up, compost the plant material, and amend; then overseed taking care to make sure there is NO Corn Gluten Meal on that spot.

In case you don't know this, the Corn Meal Gluten requires no additional application of fertilizer.  Any areas you use CMG will be feeding N by Spring as the product breaks down.

Anything else?

L.I.G.