Not sure if this has been asked before but why do you utilize the broadcast spreader vs a drop spreader? You obviously have great results with the broadcast, but my understanding is the drop is more accurate. Just wanted your perspective!
Beware when you are buying seed! Check the tag on the bag for really important details, like 1)the date of the seed. Don't assume that the store won't sell you seed that's out of date. 2)Mix of seed and inert ingredients. If you're buying coated seed (that supposedly helps with germination) you might see as much as 50% inert ingredients, i.e., seed coating. That means you're buying a 25 pound bag of seed that really only has 12.5 pounds of actual seed! Pay attention and do the math. 3)Check the germination rate of the seed; the higher the rate the better. If it's only 80% germination, or less, you're already losing 20% before you get started. I know someone already mentioned some of this but you'll thank yourself later if you pay attention to some of these details. A great video, and completely agree with the process. Just did my lawn (NC/VA border) last week. Another helpful tip if you can't de-thatch is use a backpack blower to loosen up thatch and any leaves that might be down at the soil level that wasn't picked up with the mower. Good luck!
I'm confused and need help! I've watched this video and also the one on Tenacity. I live in Southern California, and have crabgrass in portions of my lawn. So do I spray Tenacity now (October) and then, when the weeds die, follow the onerseeding video?
I love how you're teaching your daughter! I remember being around the same age, and having all these great memories of doing yard work with my dad. Great video as always.
Thanks for your videos. They have really helped me and my mom. We were California's before and we didn't mind paying people to do jobs ( we paid good) on our property and they did great jobs. But moving to the East Coast in 2020, to upstate NY, OMG the lack of actual good workers is astonishing. No one takes pride in their work here. Mom a 71 year old is tired of spending the money on mediocre to basically dog shite work so we thought lets learn ourselves for a change, since we cant find good workers who take pride in their work. And you have helped a lot. Finally we tried your way for seeding a few weeks ago on bare and thinning parts of our lawn and we can see those bright green grass growing. We have been trying for 2 years with Lawn Care people and it took us one time to actually see results. Thanks again for all your informative and DIY videos.
Timely Video, just started my lawn renovation today,Step 1- a short cut, and then dethatching with my Sunjoe, and then a quick mow to pick up all the dead grass. Step 2- mid week with Core Aerator and then the overseed with some BB Ultra. Fingers crossed for a rainy Fall here in Mass.
It’s truly one of the most satisfying activities… like taking a bath after being in a coal mine or a muddy fox hole for a month… definerlybtekes 2-3 weeks for the grass to get back…. Scary looking at it in the interim
One step I would add to this, that will help with seed to soil contact is to dethatch before you aerate. This helps remove dead grass and other debris you can either rake or mow. This also helps loosen the top layer of dirt that the new seed can land in. Also if you can find a seeding machine for rent I highly recommend this will "inject" each seed into the dirt and help protect the seed.
Man you sure do have a beautiful property and the far off views of the mountains are incredible. The way your surrounded by all those trees and and hills completely awesome your a lucky guy!
Was going to ask my lawn care company to do this, but I'm inspired to do it myself. Unfortunately, I don't have a bagger for my rider and my push mower is dead. Hopefully I can borrow one.
I"ve started my lawn overseeing yesterday with the application of Tenacity to kill the weeds. I'll wait a couple weeks before the aeration and seeding.
For a larger lawn like he has, I would highly recommend investing in a "pull behind" aerator that attaches to a riding mower. I paid about $350 for mine which is about the same as renting an aerator 4 times. I toss a few cinder blocks on top of it to add weight, and it does an amazing job. The pull aerator is also 48" wide so it takes a lot less time to do the job. A pull aerator doesn't have an engine to maintain, and there is no need to haul a rental unit back and forth. I have rented aerators before but it was always a hassle to get them in and out of my truck - either that or I had to rent a trailer to haul it. The only real negative of owning a pull-behind unit is that you have to store it. However if you have a larger lawn chances are you will have a place to keep it. They are easy to move around and I tip mine up and rest it against a wall behind my house (out of sight). It can easily be stored in a garage or shed as well.
Yep. If you have the storage space, consider buying instead... A consumer grade machine will usually only cost the same as hiring a commercial grade one. Worst case, maybe double. Might not work quite as well, but it's yours so you can get it out and try different things at your own leisure.
I aerate my lawn, a small lot, with my own homemade system. I attached two pieces of 1-inch plywood together with screws to make a 2-inch platform that I attached to the soles of an old pair of work boots after putting 6-inch screws every 2 inches through the platforms. Simply walk across the lawn repeatedly with these and the screw shafts puncture the surface while the threads pull out inside soil. Not as good as the machine but it worked well enough. Plus, I always have my aerator in the shed rent-free whenever I need to do it again.
One thing I learned landscaping in high school… when you send or fertilize or lime done half an application in one direction and the second half 90 degrees off so if you don’t overlap you’ll hit the area with the other pass.
Read your seed bag!!! I was buying "Contractor's Mix". It was over 80% annual seed and less than 20% perennial. There should be a USDA sticker or a tag that shows the types of grass and percentage of weed seeds. I now buy "Tall Fescue" and "Perennial Rye" and mix my own. (I'm in Chicago)
One thing to consider if you have neighbors is that you can work together and split the cost of a rental unit. Many smaller city lawns can be aerated in under an hour, so you can easily do three or four city lots within the typical 4 hour rental period and drop the cost considerably. Plus if you run the aerator across neighboring lawns it means fewer turns (which is by far the hardest part of aerating since you have to raise and lower the tines / knives to turn around and those machines can be heavy). Granted that doesn't work if there are fences or hedges separating lawns but it may work in many cases. Just remember to do the prep work ahead of time such as mowing the lawn, flagging sprinkler heads, removing any obstacles such as garden hoses or kid's toys that are sitting on the grass etc.. That way when you rent the unit you can get to work right away and not burn up rental time running around taking care of the things you need to do before you can aerate. If you have neighbors who are getting up in age and can't physically handle a power aerator, chances are they would gladly pay the rental fee for a unit in exchange for you doing the aerating for them. It can be a nice win-win. You can do the same with a dethatcher or similar equipment which you may only need once a year. Sharing the costs just makes sense. Of course this requires you to be on good speaking terms with your neighbors - but if you don't really know them, offering to split the costs is a nice ice-breaker and could be a way to start and/or improve the relationship. Good neighbors are worth the investment.
I really appreciate that. I think I might be the only channel left that does videos of real projects. What you see is the real deal here. This place is an amazing spot but it had the worse lawn I have ever seen to start with.
I use black beauty ultra too. Has worked fine in the past. (Tried to use 5 day pre-emergent technique with millorganite , did not work at all.) Going back to airate, seed, fertilize, and water.
I bought a two prong pogo style aerator and got the job done, all for $30. Plus I get to keep it and I got a hell of a workout . Try it sometime. It’s what a Marine would do. Semper Fi
Just did my own research and came to the same conclusion. JG Black Beauty is the way to go. Went to the big box store and amazed that all the seed was “coated” which basically means 50% of the bag is inert matter. Maybe the coating helps, maybe not, but I rather have 100% seed than 50% with a coating!
You might the only person that figured that out! How is that for a scam! 40# bag of seed is really 22#, absolute ripoff, but wait its better! Bernie Madoff should have done that one. I agree the JG is a nice trusted seed brand. They will probably rip us off at some point, but it hasn't happened yet!
Love your videos! Do I need to dethatch the lawn before aeration? And I have done aeration last year, do I need to do that again before overseeding? Thanks!!!
I appreciate that. So this video was really focused on just this topic but you can see the entire process here at this new house I moved to: ua-cam.com/video/193zGwu_5rM/v-deo.html To answer about dethatching, no you really don't need to do that first. Its helpful if you do and its really thatchy but not required since the holes will go right through it with aeration
Just did this yesterday for my front lawn in slightly different fashion. Did a cut the day before. Then yesterday started with a dethatch with my Greenworks using the mower to bag it all. I should have cut it shorter but I'll remember that for when I tackle the much larger backyard during the next week. I used a manual aerator to get holes made into the most severe areas. I didn't have access to a powered unit. Then I filled in a couple of low areas with some new topsoil. Then it was a spread of BB Ultra and Anderson starter. I did a couple passes over the new topsoil and then gently raked that seed into the topsoil to protect it. Basically my front yard looks like a mess right now but I'm hopeful in a few weeks it'll start looking great again. I want to start with an overseed in the spring as well to double down on the efforts. Maybe by then I'll have a powered aerator of my own.
Run dethacher, add seed, rake in. As soon as last frost happens or even 1to 2 weeks before it frosts. Thats only way to cool season spring seed! With real success that is.
Thank you, yes Mass is nice but everywhere is getting so congested and a lot of natural beauty is going away. Lots of nice pluses up here if you like the outdoors and a more quiet life.
Friendly reminder that "Other Crop" means undesirable grasses and other unwanted surprises mixed in. It could mean Poa in a KBG mix. I knowingly went with a small and cheap Scott's overseeding in the spring, which started off great but by July, I had wide blade fescue here and there, which definitely wasn't present in the spring or early summer. Stick with medium quality seed or better from Lesco, Black Beauty or Barenbrug, or a blue tag cert for a few bucks more.
What about dethatching and scarifying with a Sun Joe vs. aerating? Seems the scarifier attachment would also give the seed some little grooves to propagate.
It's even worse than people realize. Some YT'ers over fertilize, use growth regulators, etc then tell their audience.. see just use my seed and you will get this! All lies. Stick with brand names & avoid the "signature" "special blend" BS superstar blends. Probably just rebranded dollar store seed except you pay 4x as much for it.
When you say 2 1/2 inches can be misleading as some would assume that you mean on the mower. In our case a John Deere mower at 1.25in is the same height as our Scag at 2in on the cut height.
Can I seed and install the fertilizer on the same application/day ? Or should I wait 2-3 weeks after the grass seeds germinate? I think in your video you do it all in one shot and it works?
If I use the Anderson with surge fertilizer, should I wait on using this fertilizer for new grass growth? Just put the seed down and hope for the best?
No you didn't miss anything. What you saw here is it. And now 3 weeks later it looks amazing. Check out my shorts update from last week: ua-cam.com/users/shortsBli5hnZY9Iw
Could you do this at the end of the season after you do your final mow and not worry about watering it in and the snow melt from winter come spring would start the process? Or would that be a bad idea and not work as good if you follow your steps and do it in the fall prior to getting your lawn ready for winter.
When you look at it from the side it looks like a meteorite. This place was a pasture for decades before the house was here, I can only imagine how many goats stood on it.
I have KBG that I'm going to try and crowd out by overseeding with a TTTF blend that will have some KBG in it. but before I do that my question to you is. I have a fungus in my lawn. there is also the presents of Mushrooms in the lawn. should I take care of that issue first before overseeding in the fall?
Doing that creates many other issues and work as well. Its certainly an option but I never did at my old house and you be the judge of the results: ua-cam.com/video/c54WSOI-MMc/v-deo.html
The sweet spot for over-seeding or full-renovations is dependent on your area. The timing is critical because you ideally hit that period when the temperatures have started to drop, but the leaves have NOT. I had this concern last year when I did a reno of my front and back yards. I'm forced to have Linden trees (which I absolutely hate, but cannot remove due to city planning regulations. They drop a ridiculous amount of leaves. Once they start dropping you need to get them up within about 48 hours or by the end of the week you'll literally be knee deep in leaves, which decay and kill the lawn. BUT... they generally don't start until early-to-mid October. So the period from about Labor Day weekend through the third week in Sept. is the time to over-seed. That said, if you're already dropping bales of leaves you really only have two options. 1. Wait until next spring. Easiest, and a spring over-seed will be fine so long as you get it started at the earliest possible time to get that grass mature enough to survive the summer. 2. Much more complex. Do what he said, but additional work: - Mow short - Dethatch and remove dead material (can't believe he didn't mention this; it is incredibly important) - Aerate (or use a slice-seeder when you did your dethatching; ideally both). - Seed. - VERY light top dress with top soil or peat moss - Roll the entire thing to press the seed firmly into place. (can't believe he didn't mention this either; also important) - Water 2-3 times a day, letting any leaves that drop just sit for the first 4-5 days. They will actually act as a mulch-cover and assist in your germination. Once germination is in full swing... - Now you can use a leaf blower (NOT a rake) to remove the leaves every other day or so thereafter, being sure NOT to blast straight in to the ground; just the leaves. - Immediately after the first leaf removal, apply starter fertilizer. I prefer to wait until signs of germination before fertilizing because I don't want the existing grass to be grabbing all those nutrients before the seeds have even germinated and have roots to suck them in. I swear by Scotts Triple Action with mesotrione (i.e. Tenacity); it's amazing (but expensive). - Continue to remove the leaves every other day or so. Do NOT let them accumulate longer or they'll smother your tender little seedlings.. The top-dressing should hold any straggler seeds in place now that it has been firmed up over the prior week. Try to accomplish as much removal as possible without walking on the grass. The less you're on your lawn, the more it will come in clean. All of this is dependent on your grass seed as well. I use Elite Perennial Rye Grass exclusively, and it germinates very quickly (7-14 days). Fescue has similar germination times. You can hand-reel-mow both in about 2 to 2-1/2 weeks after seeding. Try not to use a heavy walk-behind self-propelled mower. Keep the leaves off every other day and hand-reel mow every 4 days or so. However, if your cultivar choice is Kentucky Blue Grass you're kind of screwed already. That stuff takes forever to germinate (14-30 days), so unless you've already done it chances are it's too late. Anyway, longer than I intended, but I hope it helps. Good luck.
Love this. How do I deal with a ton of weeds in an old neglected lawn.? Can I use a herbicide with pre emergent first or will winter come before it wears off?
Hi there. I’m in Massachusetts. I just bought my first home and the lawn if covered in weeds. What should I do this late in the game? Is it too late to kill the weeds and start this process?
I live in a apartment with a a small grass lawn in London the UK. The lawn sadly is mostly weeds. I'm worried that if this autumn I use weedkiller the lawn will look awful for a few months whilst it dies and before the new grass grows. Is it possible instead to just rake some areas, aerate and then overseed? If I do it again next spring would it work as a method for replacing weeks with grass?
I would say the hard part is watering if you don’t have an irrigation system! Definitely a pain having to move hoses and sprinklers around your yard twice a day🤪 Thankfully in the South September is decently wet so just praying for good rain after doing this this weekend….
Ok I just Dethatched over Seeded and used Scott’s Liquid Starter Fert When can I or should I fert again? And should it be a starter Fert or Regular Scott’s Turf builder? I’m in New England. Love your videos Sir 🇺🇸💯☀️
Hi SC, need some advice with lawn renovation here in MA. Our builder put seeds down beginning of summer and we had heavy rain on the following day. Don't know what kind of seeds were put down but it's all weeds and mixed grass type. We also have small rocks everywhere in the lawn which would damage the blades of lawn mover. What do you recommend we should do? Racking the rocks will take forever, so we bought electric tiller. From your videos, I made the plan of tilling the lawn, get rid of weeds, old grass through sieving then place new lawn down. Possible before winter?
Yep. Till like you've never tilled before! Pick out rocks as best you can by hand. Its gonna be annoying I know but it has to be done. You'll never get 💯 of them but the majority is key. Then shoot your cool season seed, rake it in, keep it relatively moist and inb5 to 7 days you will have sprouts. At that point only water when absolutely necessary like a dry day after a dry day. You want to encourage roots to go deep, so over water can make roots stay shallow. Struggling grass at start up means strong grass later!
@@beerbeforebreakfast do you think we will have time to put seeds down before winter or would it best to leave it for early spring? The area we trying to get rid of rocks is approximately 5-6000 Sq Ft. With raining weather, can't till much on wet soil especially overweekend.
Thanks for the video, did you install your sprinkler system? If so, do you have a video? Have you checked out the Irrigreen sprinkler? Thanks for your time. I enjoy your videos.
Hi I live in Georgia. Currently I have Bermuda grass in my lawn. It is not thick and has weeds. 1. Can I use Jonathan Green Black Beauty Grass Seeds on top of Bermuda grass? 2. Are the Black Beauty Grass seeds a good option for Georgia weather? 3. Considering the above two points, can you please suggest the best Grass Seed for my lawn?
Shorter is definitely fine. My normal cutting height is 2.5 to 3" but I have irrigation. I usually reccomend 3" as a general height for most cool season lawns.
Hi, Great video and you have a lawn to be proud of! Can you please confirm if I can put fertiliser (non starter fertiliser) down after overseeding some small patches of area in my lawn? Will this cause any adverse effects?
You definitely need to add some peat moss and top soil on top of the grass seed. It just not true that the birds won't see the seeds in your grass because they will and they will eat your expensive seeds. This is from experience and I'm having to redo my overseeding again and having to buy another bag of seeds.
I've heard nothing but good things about John Greene seed. Did you use this on your former property? I agree with others, your lawn care is right up there with the big YT lawn channels.
Love your channel. Is it ok if I forgot to use the starter fertilizer? I aerated and power raked the lawn and the overseeded and watered but forgot the starter fertilizer😢
Thank you very much, Yes it is ok. You can still add it even after the grass has started to grow. Or if you don't do it, it just means that the grass may take longer to grow and initally root development might will be a little less. Its certainly very helpful to do it but without it your grass will still grow.
@@SilverCymbal awesome thank you! I also commented on another one of your videos looking for a yearly weed, feed, fertilizer and more schedule for a NY lawn! Hope you can help me out.
I had great luck with Less for the non-irrigated project I did but I don't believe that one is even sold any longer. I also stopped buying Lesco to avoid driving to siteone, they just want to sell to dealers have nothing online and since I started with the JG stuff I have been super impressed and I get it delivered for free
Question. I live in south Carolina an I wanted your opinion on Legacy fine fescue grass seed. Would you recommend? I like how the grass looks an feels but I want it to work in my environment. Thanks
Those aerators are easily 300lbs so if renting from Lowes/HD you will ideally have a trailer with a ramp or you will need some help to load and unload.
The less time you can spend on it the better. If this isn't possible I would recommend doing your lawn in sections. Do the front in fall, and back in spring.
Thanks for watching please *LIKE & SUBSCRIBE* Grass Seed: amzn.to/3BwF3Wr Fertilizer: amzn.to/3L4sdBM Sprinkler: amzn.to/3DeXVKQ Impact Sprinkler: amzn.to/3Rz2OTu
Are you able to do stuff in the garden bed like planting weeding and that stuff ?
Not sure if this has been asked before but why do you utilize the broadcast spreader vs a drop spreader? You obviously have great results with the broadcast, but my understanding is the drop is more accurate. Just wanted your perspective!
Silver Cymbal is by far one of the best lawn maintenance channels. Incredibly
Glad I found you a couple years ago
Much appreciated, thank you
Beware when you are buying seed! Check the tag on the bag for really important details, like 1)the date of the seed. Don't assume that the store won't sell you seed that's out of date. 2)Mix of seed and inert ingredients. If you're buying coated seed (that supposedly helps with germination) you might see as much as 50% inert ingredients, i.e., seed coating. That means you're buying a 25 pound bag of seed that really only has 12.5 pounds of actual seed! Pay attention and do the math. 3)Check the germination rate of the seed; the higher the rate the better. If it's only 80% germination, or less, you're already losing 20% before you get started. I know someone already mentioned some of this but you'll thank yourself later if you pay attention to some of these details. A great video, and completely agree with the process. Just did my lawn (NC/VA border) last week. Another helpful tip if you can't de-thatch is use a backpack blower to loosen up thatch and any leaves that might be down at the soil level that wasn't picked up with the mower. Good luck!
Really love your channel. No empty talk, just everything exactly what we need to know.
I appreciate that! Thank you
This video is Perfect timing! Fall is definitely the best time for lawn growing and good reminder on how to over seeding
Much appreciated thank you
I'm confused and need help! I've watched this video and also the one on Tenacity. I live in Southern California, and have crabgrass in portions of my lawn. So do I spray Tenacity now (October) and then, when the weeds die, follow the onerseeding video?
^^ yes Tenacity first may take 2 applications, mine did 7500 sq feet of yard total.
I love how you're teaching your daughter! I remember being around the same age, and having all these great memories of doing yard work with my dad. Great video as always.
Thank you, she is an awesome helper. I wish I was as smart at her age
That is so nice to hear. I hope my daughters may write a reply like yours one day!
Thanks for your videos. They have really helped me and my mom. We were California's before and we didn't mind paying people to do jobs ( we paid good) on our property and they did great jobs. But moving to the East Coast in 2020, to upstate NY, OMG the lack of actual good workers is astonishing. No one takes pride in their work here. Mom a 71 year old is tired of spending the money on mediocre to basically dog shite work so we thought lets learn ourselves for a change, since we cant find good workers who take pride in their work. And you have helped a lot. Finally we tried your way for seeding a few weeks ago on bare and thinning parts of our lawn and we can see those bright green grass growing. We have been trying for 2 years with Lawn Care people and it took us one time to actually see results. Thanks again for all your informative and DIY videos.
Timely Video, just started my lawn renovation today,Step 1- a short cut, and then dethatching with my Sunjoe, and then a quick mow to pick up all the dead grass. Step 2- mid week with Core Aerator and then the overseed with some BB Ultra. Fingers crossed for a rainy Fall here in Mass.
Just unboxed my sunjoe yesteray, couldnt believe i got 9 full contractor bags our of my lawn!
@@keeper2960 Yes, it's amazing what the will remove of thatch.
It’s truly one of the most satisfying activities… like taking a bath after being in a coal mine or a muddy fox hole for a month… definerlybtekes 2-3 weeks for the grass to get back…. Scary looking at it in the interim
One step I would add to this, that will help with seed to soil contact is to dethatch before you aerate. This helps remove dead grass and other debris you can either rake or mow. This also helps loosen the top layer of dirt that the new seed can land in. Also if you can find a seeding machine for rent I highly recommend this will "inject" each seed into the dirt and help protect the seed.
I went to rent one today at Home Depot it cost 💲 300 for the day 😳 wow$$
@@captainlarrynosleepfishing5350I have almost 3/4 acre and did my in little over an hour. All you really need is to rent it for is 4 hrs
@@DCgamer723 Iam not as young as you 🤣. Turning 60 soon so Iam taking it easy 😂
I use this method as well. I also use the dethatch rake after seeding. It really works well getting the seed to soil contact
My neighbor stole my thatcher and I don’t have any good way to prove it’s mine but a lawyer cost more than a new one so i just gave up
I would add not to fertilizer until day 3 to prevent the existing grass from growing to tall and block the sun for the baby's. Great video.
Man you sure do have a beautiful property and the far off views of the mountains are incredible. The way your surrounded by all those trees and and hills completely awesome your a lucky guy!
I live in Mass. Followed your other guide on overseeding last week. Seed started germinating. Thanks!
So glad to hear it you. Your timing is great too sounds like you are well on your way
Was going to ask my lawn care company to do this, but I'm inspired to do it myself. Unfortunately, I don't have a bagger for my rider and my push mower is dead. Hopefully I can borrow one.
I"ve started my lawn overseeing yesterday with the application of Tenacity to kill the weeds. I'll wait a couple weeks before the aeration and seeding.
This is the best video I’ve seen so far that says everything we need to do in a concise way. Thank you so much!
Great video. Man, that MASSIVE bolder in your yard! HUGE!!!
Ooooo. Silver Cymbal got a drone. Nice touch.
That is the Best thing to do is aeration grass seed in the fall . Keep up the awesome work you do
For a larger lawn like he has, I would highly recommend investing in a "pull behind" aerator that attaches to a riding mower. I paid about $350 for mine which is about the same as renting an aerator 4 times. I toss a few cinder blocks on top of it to add weight, and it does an amazing job. The pull aerator is also 48" wide so it takes a lot less time to do the job.
A pull aerator doesn't have an engine to maintain, and there is no need to haul a rental unit back and forth. I have rented aerators before but it was always a hassle to get them in and out of my truck - either that or I had to rent a trailer to haul it.
The only real negative of owning a pull-behind unit is that you have to store it. However if you have a larger lawn chances are you will have a place to keep it. They are easy to move around and I tip mine up and rest it against a wall behind my house (out of sight). It can easily be stored in a garage or shed as well.
Yep. If you have the storage space, consider buying instead... A consumer grade machine will usually only cost the same as hiring a commercial grade one. Worst case, maybe double.
Might not work quite as well, but it's yours so you can get it out and try different things at your own leisure.
Yep. Agri-Fab has em. Put it together yourself.
I aerate my lawn, a small lot, with my own homemade system. I attached two pieces of 1-inch plywood together with screws to make a 2-inch platform that I attached to the soles of an old pair of work boots after putting 6-inch screws every 2 inches through the platforms. Simply walk across the lawn repeatedly with these and the screw shafts puncture the surface while the threads pull out inside soil.
Not as good as the machine but it worked well enough. Plus, I always have my aerator in the shed rent-free whenever I need to do it again.
One thing I learned landscaping in high school… when you send or fertilize or lime done half an application in one direction and the second half 90 degrees off so if you don’t overlap you’ll hit the area with the other pass.
What about putting down lime? After aeration?
Read your seed bag!!! I was buying "Contractor's Mix". It was over 80% annual seed and less than 20% perennial. There should be a USDA sticker or a tag that shows the types of grass and percentage of weed seeds.
I now buy "Tall Fescue" and "Perennial Rye" and mix my own. (I'm in Chicago)
Lawn looks great with all those trees around it!
One thing to consider if you have neighbors is that you can work together and split the cost of a rental unit. Many smaller city lawns can be aerated in under an hour, so you can easily do three or four city lots within the typical 4 hour rental period and drop the cost considerably. Plus if you run the aerator across neighboring lawns it means fewer turns (which is by far the hardest part of aerating since you have to raise and lower the tines / knives to turn around and those machines can be heavy). Granted that doesn't work if there are fences or hedges separating lawns but it may work in many cases.
Just remember to do the prep work ahead of time such as mowing the lawn, flagging sprinkler heads, removing any obstacles such as garden hoses or kid's toys that are sitting on the grass etc.. That way when you rent the unit you can get to work right away and not burn up rental time running around taking care of the things you need to do before you can aerate.
If you have neighbors who are getting up in age and can't physically handle a power aerator, chances are they would gladly pay the rental fee for a unit in exchange for you doing the aerating for them. It can be a nice win-win. You can do the same with a dethatcher or similar equipment which you may only need once a year. Sharing the costs just makes sense. Of course this requires you to be on good speaking terms with your neighbors - but if you don't really know them, offering to split the costs is a nice ice-breaker and could be a way to start and/or improve the relationship. Good neighbors are worth the investment.
That is an excellent idea, and sometimes one person will own a truck to make it easy to get it back. Great tip!
No need to top dress or cover the grass seeds?
Great video with lots of great information. Your new property is looking amazing! You have done alot.
I really appreciate that. I think I might be the only channel left that does videos of real projects. What you see is the real deal here. This place is an amazing spot but it had the worse lawn I have ever seen to start with.
Thanks for the helpful information, I've got a few spots in my yard that are balding.
Is aerating a must ?
I use black beauty ultra too. Has worked fine in the past. (Tried to use 5 day pre-emergent technique with millorganite , did not work at all.)
Going back to airate, seed, fertilize, and water.
Best grass seed that you can get from big box stores. Great video 👍🏼
Yes, Jonathan Green Ultra!!
Well Done 👍
I bought a two prong pogo style aerator and got the job done, all for $30. Plus I get to keep it and I got a hell of a workout . Try it sometime. It’s what a Marine would do. Semper Fi
Highly recommend JG Black Beauty Ultra. I started my overseeding last week and the grass seeds started germinating in 5 days!
Nice timing for the fall - we see what you’re doing here 😀😀😀
I will try this in the Fall (2024) 💪🏽
Just did my own research and came to the same conclusion. JG Black Beauty is the way to go. Went to the big box store and amazed that all the seed was “coated” which basically means 50% of the bag is inert matter. Maybe the coating helps, maybe not, but I rather have 100% seed than 50% with a coating!
You might the only person that figured that out! How is that for a scam! 40# bag of seed is really 22#, absolute ripoff, but wait its better! Bernie Madoff should have done that one. I agree the JG is a nice trusted seed brand. They will probably rip us off at some point, but it hasn't happened yet!
How about Scott's 5.8 lbs sun and shade mix? It is coated. Any thoughts?
Thank you, I did it your way, worked great, awesome
Love your videos! Do I need to dethatch the lawn before aeration? And I have done aeration last year, do I need to do that again before overseeding? Thanks!!!
I appreciate that. So this video was really focused on just this topic but you can see the entire process here at this new house I moved to: ua-cam.com/video/193zGwu_5rM/v-deo.html To answer about dethatching, no you really don't need to do that first. Its helpful if you do and its really thatchy but not required since the holes will go right through it with aeration
Do you have a compost heap for your grass clippings and autumn leaves?
I saw the Weatherflow Tempest. Love mine.
It's amazing for us. The lightning alert here alone is worth it.
After over seeding you’re lawn what type of fertilizer do I put down? Does it matter or not really? Or do I have to use a starter fertilizer?
In the fall I over seed with Titan Rx turf fescue cause in Texas we get very hot summer and the grass seems to survive if you water it
Can I use a starter fertilizer and overseed at the same time?
Add an over seeder after aeration for even better germination.
Always great info thanks again brother
These are my favorite videos!
Just did this yesterday for my front lawn in slightly different fashion. Did a cut the day before. Then yesterday started with a dethatch with my Greenworks using the mower to bag it all. I should have cut it shorter but I'll remember that for when I tackle the much larger backyard during the next week. I used a manual aerator to get holes made into the most severe areas. I didn't have access to a powered unit. Then I filled in a couple of low areas with some new topsoil. Then it was a spread of BB Ultra and Anderson starter. I did a couple passes over the new topsoil and then gently raked that seed into the topsoil to protect it. Basically my front yard looks like a mess right now but I'm hopeful in a few weeks it'll start looking great again. I want to start with an overseed in the spring as well to double down on the efforts. Maybe by then I'll have a powered aerator of my own.
Run dethacher, add seed, rake in. As soon as last frost happens or even 1to 2 weeks before it frosts. Thats only way to cool season spring seed! With real success that is.
Beautiful property! Leaving southern New Eng for northern someday… getting too crowded down here
Thank you, yes Mass is nice but everywhere is getting so congested and a lot of natural beauty is going away. Lots of nice pluses up here if you like the outdoors and a more quiet life.
Here in Mass an got a lot of crab grass any step to do before all of these to deal with the weeds?
Yes here is how I wiped out crabgrass with my old lawn: ua-cam.com/video/3RYe2HeOcQI/v-deo.html
Yeah this was great and exactally what I was looking to answer. Thank you for making and posting these videos!
Friendly reminder that "Other Crop" means undesirable grasses and other unwanted surprises mixed in. It could mean Poa in a KBG mix. I knowingly went with a small and cheap Scott's overseeding in the spring, which started off great but by July, I had wide blade fescue here and there, which definitely wasn't present in the spring or early summer. Stick with medium quality seed or better from Lesco, Black Beauty or Barenbrug, or a blue tag cert for a few bucks more.
What about dethatching and scarifying with a Sun Joe vs. aerating? Seems the scarifier attachment would also give the seed some little grooves to propagate.
Dethatch a yard with weedy issues and very bare imo. Aerate as well b4 overseeding
Thank you for pointing out the "scammy" side of the seed market!
It's even worse than people realize. Some YT'ers over fertilize, use growth regulators, etc then tell their audience.. see just use my seed and you will get this! All lies. Stick with brand names & avoid the "signature" "special blend" BS superstar blends. Probably just rebranded dollar store seed except you pay 4x as much for it.
When you say 2 1/2 inches can be misleading as some would assume that you mean on the mower. In our case a John Deere mower at 1.25in is the same height as our Scag at 2in on the cut height.
Don’t forget to mark a invisible dog fence as well. Very shallow wires can be punched by aerator.
What if you used the ANDERSONS 16/4/8 instead of the starter? Also I didn’t aerate I just thatched.
I overseeded almost a month ago. I did not fertilize then. Can I fertilize now? Is it too late?
Can I seed and install the fertilizer on the same application/day ? Or should I wait 2-3 weeks after the grass seeds germinate? I think in your video you do it all in one shot and it works?
I tried this seed . Used 1 25lb bag for 10k sq. Stuff is crazy expensive so I hope it’s worth it
If I use the Anderson with surge fertilizer, should I wait on using this fertilizer for new grass growth? Just put the seed down and hope for the best?
I’m not sure if if missed it in the video. What about a final overlay of topper? Isn’t that usually necessary or does the starter sub it?
No you didn't miss anything. What you saw here is it. And now 3 weeks later it looks amazing. Check out my shorts update from last week: ua-cam.com/users/shortsBli5hnZY9Iw
My lawns pretty uneven, I’m going to roll, aerate then overseed. Do you leave the plugs? Worried I’ll make the yard even more bumpy
Could you do this at the end of the season after you do your final mow and not worry about watering it in and the snow melt from winter come spring would start the process? Or would that be a bad idea and not work as good if you follow your steps and do it in the fall prior to getting your lawn ready for winter.
Big improvement to the lawn since you got the new house
Very interesting 🤔
Great video, thanks 👍🏻👍🏻
What if you have a pesky mole or a few? Will they render my overseeding project useless?
This rock really does it for me.
When you look at it from the side it looks like a meteorite. This place was a pasture for decades before the house was here, I can only imagine how many goats stood on it.
I have KBG that I'm going to try and crowd out by overseeding with a TTTF blend that will have some KBG in it. but before I do that my question to you is. I have a fungus in my lawn. there is also the presents of Mushrooms in the lawn. should I take care of that issue first before overseeding in the fall?
Just got done doing this and I feel like I went 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. Hopefully it works well!
My new house has different types of grass would I be best to just kill it all then put down just one type.
Doing that creates many other issues and work as well. Its certainly an option but I never did at my old house and you be the judge of the results: ua-cam.com/video/c54WSOI-MMc/v-deo.html
Question, what are your recommendations for preventing fall leafs from sabotaging the reseeding process
The sweet spot for over-seeding or full-renovations is dependent on your area. The timing is critical because you ideally hit that period when the temperatures have started to drop, but the leaves have NOT. I had this concern last year when I did a reno of my front and back yards. I'm forced to have Linden trees (which I absolutely hate, but cannot remove due to city planning regulations. They drop a ridiculous amount of leaves. Once they start dropping you need to get them up within about 48 hours or by the end of the week you'll literally be knee deep in leaves, which decay and kill the lawn. BUT... they generally don't start until early-to-mid October. So the period from about Labor Day weekend through the third week in Sept. is the time to over-seed.
That said, if you're already dropping bales of leaves you really only have two options.
1. Wait until next spring. Easiest, and a spring over-seed will be fine so long as you get it started at the earliest possible time to get that grass mature enough to survive the summer.
2. Much more complex. Do what he said, but additional work:
- Mow short
- Dethatch and remove dead material (can't believe he didn't mention this; it is incredibly important)
- Aerate (or use a slice-seeder when you did your dethatching; ideally both).
- Seed.
- VERY light top dress with top soil or peat moss
- Roll the entire thing to press the seed firmly into place. (can't believe he didn't mention this either; also important)
- Water 2-3 times a day, letting any leaves that drop just sit for the first 4-5 days. They will actually act as a mulch-cover and assist in your germination.
Once germination is in full swing...
- Now you can use a leaf blower (NOT a rake) to remove the leaves every other day or so thereafter, being sure NOT to blast straight in to the ground; just the leaves.
- Immediately after the first leaf removal, apply starter fertilizer. I prefer to wait until signs of germination before fertilizing because I don't want the existing grass to be grabbing all those nutrients before the seeds have even germinated and have roots to suck them in. I swear by Scotts Triple Action with mesotrione (i.e. Tenacity); it's amazing (but expensive).
- Continue to remove the leaves every other day or so. Do NOT let them accumulate longer or they'll smother your tender little seedlings..
The top-dressing should hold any straggler seeds in place now that it has been firmed up over the prior week. Try to accomplish as much removal as possible without walking on the grass. The less you're on your lawn, the more it will come in clean.
All of this is dependent on your grass seed as well. I use Elite Perennial Rye Grass exclusively, and it germinates very quickly (7-14 days). Fescue has similar germination times. You can hand-reel-mow both in about 2 to 2-1/2 weeks after seeding. Try not to use a heavy walk-behind self-propelled mower. Keep the leaves off every other day and hand-reel mow every 4 days or so. However, if your cultivar choice is Kentucky Blue Grass you're kind of screwed already. That stuff takes forever to germinate (14-30 days), so unless you've already done it chances are it's too late.
Anyway, longer than I intended, but I hope it helps. Good luck.
Love this. How do I deal with a ton of weeds in an old neglected lawn.? Can I use a herbicide with pre emergent first or will winter come before it wears off?
Fantastic video and great comments.
Thank you for not making the video 20 minutes long.
Do you recommend putting down straw over larger bare areas after overseeing & fertilizing?
Hi there. I’m in Massachusetts. I just bought my first home and the lawn if covered in weeds. What should I do this late in the game? Is it too late to kill the weeds and start this process?
Does the black beauty have a Bermuda option?
I live in a apartment with a a small grass lawn in London the UK. The lawn sadly is mostly weeds. I'm worried that if this autumn I use weedkiller the lawn will look awful for a few months whilst it dies and before the new grass grows. Is it possible instead to just rake some areas, aerate and then overseed? If I do it again next spring would it work as a method for replacing weeks with grass?
I would say the hard part is watering if you don’t have an irrigation system! Definitely a pain having to move hoses and sprinklers around your yard twice a day🤪
Thankfully in the South September is decently wet so just praying for good rain after doing this this weekend….
But more hoses and sprinklers and just swap them over at the house end 🤣
Ok I just Dethatched over Seeded and used Scott’s Liquid Starter Fert When can I or should I fert again? And should it be a starter Fert or Regular Scott’s Turf builder? I’m in New England. Love your videos Sir 🇺🇸💯☀️
Hi SC, need some advice with lawn renovation here in MA. Our builder put seeds down beginning of summer and we had heavy rain on the following day. Don't know what kind of seeds were put down but it's all weeds and mixed grass type. We also have small rocks everywhere in the lawn which would damage the blades of lawn mover.
What do you recommend we should do? Racking the rocks will take forever, so we bought electric tiller. From your videos, I made the plan of tilling the lawn, get rid of weeds, old grass through sieving then place new lawn down. Possible before winter?
Yep. Till like you've never tilled before! Pick out rocks as best you can by hand. Its gonna be annoying I know but it has to be done. You'll never get 💯 of them but the majority is key. Then shoot your cool season seed, rake it in, keep it relatively moist and inb5 to 7 days you will have sprouts. At that point only water when absolutely necessary like a dry day after a dry day. You want to encourage roots to go deep, so over water can make roots stay shallow. Struggling grass at start up means strong grass later!
@@beerbeforebreakfast do you think we will have time to put seeds down before winter or would it best to leave it for early spring?
The area we trying to get rid of rocks is approximately 5-6000 Sq Ft. With raining weather, can't till much on wet soil especially overweekend.
Very helpful. Thank you!
Thanks for the video, did you install your sprinkler system? If so, do you have a video? Have you checked out the Irrigreen sprinkler? Thanks for your time. I enjoy your videos.
Great information... love your view.
Hi I live in Georgia. Currently I have Bermuda grass in my lawn. It is not thick and has weeds.
1. Can I use Jonathan Green Black Beauty Grass Seeds on top of Bermuda grass?
2. Are the Black Beauty Grass seeds a good option for Georgia weather?
3. Considering the above two points, can you please suggest the best Grass Seed for my lawn?
What Fertilizer, weed killer, and grass seed do you recommend for my area? I live in the ft Myers SW Florida area
How tall do you keep your grass normally? Just curious since I normally take it to 1.5" or shorter to overseed.
Shorter is definitely fine. My normal cutting height is 2.5 to 3" but I have irrigation. I usually reccomend 3" as a general height for most cool season lawns.
Where in mass do I find black beauty seed?
I got it from local ace hardware one week ago.
Amazon brother
Just watch the local stores, sometimes the seed is old: amzn.to/3BwF3Wr is their Johnathan Green reseller so its fresh stuff.
@@SilverCymbal Is it common to have some small percentage of weed seed, my seed tag for black beauty ultra says 0.03% weed seeds
@@SilverCymbal thanks
What grass species is the black beauty you used? Is it good for warm season areas?
No, it’s a cool season grass.
Hi, Great video and you have a lawn to be proud of! Can you please confirm if I can put fertiliser (non starter fertiliser) down after overseeding some small patches of area in my lawn? Will this cause any adverse effects?
Exactly what I’m doing today😂. Grass seed prices are through the roof! 😳
Very cool! Sure are expensive I bought all of that seed but I wont likely do this again for 2 years and will do less seed then
You definitely need to add some peat moss and top soil on top of the grass seed. It just not true that the birds won't see the seeds in your grass because they will and they will eat your expensive seeds. This is from experience and I'm having to redo my overseeding again and having to buy another bag of seeds.
Great video! 👍
Thank you! 👍
I've heard nothing but good things about John Greene seed. Did you use this on your former property?
I agree with others, your lawn care is right up there with the big YT lawn channels.
Love your channel. Is it ok if I forgot to use the starter fertilizer?
I aerated and power raked the lawn and the overseeded and watered but forgot the starter fertilizer😢
Thank you very much, Yes it is ok. You can still add it even after the grass has started to grow. Or if you don't do it, it just means that the grass may take longer to grow and initally root development might will be a little less. Its certainly very helpful to do it but without it your grass will still grow.
@@SilverCymbal awesome thank you! I also commented on another one of your videos looking for a yearly weed, feed, fertilizer and more schedule for a NY lawn! Hope you can help me out.
Did you stop using Lesco seed OR was that just for the area where you do not have irrigation?
I had great luck with Less for the non-irrigated project I did but I don't believe that one is even sold any longer. I also stopped buying Lesco to avoid driving to siteone, they just want to sell to dealers have nothing online and since I started with the JG stuff I have been super impressed and I get it delivered for free
Question. I live in south Carolina an I wanted your opinion on Legacy fine fescue grass seed. Would you recommend? I like how the grass looks an feels but I want it to work in my environment. Thanks
Those aerators are easily 300lbs so if renting from Lowes/HD you will ideally have a trailer with a ramp or you will need some help to load and unload.
Can you use your lawn (ie. kids and dogs) immediately after overseeding or do you have to wait some time to let the grass grow?
The less time you can spend on it the better. If this isn't possible I would recommend doing your lawn in sections. Do the front in fall, and back in spring.