Need advice for dead/damaged lawn

[sandy_m]

Hi folks. I just moved into a house and the lawn has seen MUCH BETTER days! After some weed whacking down what looked like a prairie, we now have a very damaged lawn.

Some parts are better than others, and some parts (especially the location I want to be the best) are terrible. We have what feels like hay, or straw, where grass should be. What do you recommend I do (and products to buy) to repair this lawn as quickly as possible? (we're hosting an event here in 5 weeks)

Below is a ~2 min uploaded video (google drive) of the lawn. Sorry about my rambling, I probably should have planned what I was going to say to cut the video down

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15z9_RF ... sp=sharing

Thank you all in advance for your quick responses and much needed advice!

 

[Chuck]

It appears that the lawn just dried up. Depending on what type of grass was there depends on if it will green up again. If bermuda grass it will probably green up again. You said you have 5 weeks. Mow and rake up all the dead thatch and at the same time scratch the surface of the soil as deep as you can, which will not be very deep. Start watering now and soak, saturate the entire lawn. After it dries enough to walk on broadcast bermuda seeds evenly over the entire lawn and water enough so the seeds make good soil contact. Keep the soil moist, do not let it get dry. You will probably have to water every day. In about 10 days the seed will germinate. Keep the soil moist, not wet. If I failed to say this earlier KEEP THE SOIL MOIST. I wouldn't mow until a couple of days before your event. You should not worry about anything except making the grass grow. Forget about the weeds for the time being and after you mow for your event you won't be able to see any weeds anyway. Oh, and keep the soil moist. Or, you could hire someone to come in, prepare the soil and lay turf.

 

[sandy_m]

It appears that the lawn just dried up. Depending on what type of grass was there depends on if it will green up again. If bermuda grass it will probably green up again. You said you have 5 weeks. Mow and rake up all the dead thatch and at the same time scratch the surface of the soil as deep as you can, which will not be very deep. Start watering now and soak, saturate the entire lawn. After it dries enough to walk on broadcast bermuda seeds evenly over the entire lawn and water enough so the seeds make good soil contact. Keep the soil moist, do not let it get dry. You will probably have to water every day. In about 10 days the seed will germinate. Keep the soil moist, not wet. If I failed to say this earlier KEEP THE SOIL MOIST. I wouldn't mow until a couple of days before your event. You should not worry about anything except making the grass grow. Forget about the weeds for the time being and after you mow for your event you won't be able to see any weeds anyway. Oh, and keep the soil moist. Or, you could hire someone to come in, prepare the soil and lay turf.

Hi @Chuck. Thank you so much for your response. That was very helpful and actionable... I will follow those instructions! You said I should let it dry out right? ;-) Just kidding... I will keep the soil moist. A couple of quick follow-up questions, if you have the time/energy to continue this chat.

1. For the mow & rake phase, how low should I go with the mower?
2. After I broadcast seeds, should I add fertilizer, or no?

Thank you again! I really appreciate the help!
-Sandy

 

[DirtMechanic]

Hi @Chuck. Thank you so much for your response. That was very helpful and actionable... I will follow those instructions! You said I should let it dry out right? ;-) Just kidding... I will keep the soil moist. A couple of quick follow-up questions, if you have the time/energy to continue this chat.

1. For the mow & rake phase, how low should I go with the mower?
2. After I broadcast seeds, should I add fertilizer, or no?

Thank you again! I really appreciate the help!
-Sandy

Kinda depends on the lawn bumpiness. For now not lower that 2" or you may find places where it scalps until you can get in there and level it. Plus the lower you cut the less moisture can be retained thus the more watering and work for you. Bermuda spreads on stolons, and keeping it a little low forces it to spread wide. Find a good height and keep it. You would find a starter fertilizer useful, one that has more P and K to help the roots bite and the body stiffen. The organics help toward water retention over time where the chemical ferts dry out. Milorganite for example, has a biomass that basically acts like a compost layer.

 

[sandy_m]

Okay great, thank you @Chuck!