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hello,

my lawn is very thin, and has some bare spots throughout the lawn. i would like to overseed this coming fall. my question is, must i dethatch before putting down the seed? also, is it fine to overseed healthy grass too? should i aerate before i overseed? i feel like the soil is very compact and hard, and the grass don't grow well. ty.

asong said:

hello,

my lawn is very thin, and has some bare spots throughout the lawn. i would like to overseed this coming fall. my question is, must i dethatch before putting down the seed? also, is it fine to overseed healthy grass too? should i aerate before i overseed? i feel like the soil is very compact and hard, and the grass don't grow well. ty.

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I personally am not a big fan of over-seeding. The transition from the winter grass to your already thin grass will not help it as you'll have grasses competing with each other. Aerate, fertilizer and water the grass you have to make it stronger instead of hiding it.

Golf course's who use to be a big fan over over-seeding are now getting away from doing it, most feel that it does more harm than good.

ty.

it is very hot here right now in chicago, mid 90's the whole week. is it ok if i fertilize right now? also should i rake the lawn to loosen it up a bit, so that the fertilizer can go deep into roots?

asong said:

ty.

it is very hot here right now in chicago, mid 90's the whole week. is it ok if i fertilize right now? also should i rake the lawn to loosen it up a bit, so that the fertilizer can go deep into roots?

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No need to rack. Do you have a way to "water in" the fertilizer? Late spring and early fall in the preferred times to put out fertilizer, I wouldn't do it now if your grass is already stressed due to the heat.

hitmanharleyk said:

No need to rack. Do you have a way to "water in" the fertilizer? Late spring and early fall in the preferred times to put out fertilizer, I wouldn't do it now if your grass is already stressed due to the heat.

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i have a hose, is that ok?

asong said:

i have a hose, is that ok?

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hitmanharleyk said:

Golf course's who use to be a big fan over over-seeding are now getting away from doing it, most feel that it does more harm than good.

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I don't understand the reason here. Why would spreading some seeds over the existing lawn harm the lawn? If you don't overseed, how do you fill the bald and thin areas?

panabiker said:

I don't understand the reason here. Why would spreading some seeds over the existing lawn harm the lawn? If you don't overseed, how do you fill the bald and thin areas?

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was wondering the same.

Bald area's you can because there is no competing grasses, thin area's you need to encourage what is the to grow healthier.
As I said earlier, golf courses are slowly getting away from overseeding because of the transitioning period being so tough. Their summer grass is trying to come in but at the same time the overseeded rye is hanging on, so the are competing for the same food/water/sunlight.

Do as you'd like, I was just passing on what a couple of greenskeeper friends have explained to me.

I've had very good success with slice seeding. It has thickened up thin areas and overall health of my turf is improved significantly. I've done it twice in 14 years. The key is to do it either early spring or wait until early Sept to do it when fall growing cycles are conducive to grasses. Select the proper seed to match your existing turf to the extent possible. I am a slice seeding fan and have not observed any negative effects from it; only improvement. Running a slice seeder is wrestling an 800 lb gorilla, so know what you are signing up for.