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I topdressed and overseeded my lawn with bluegrass last fall, the result was very good. But after the snow melted at the end of April I noticed that grasses in some parts of the lawn started to thin out. Here's what my front yard looks like today:




The right side of the lawn does get more shade than the left side, is this the main reason for the poor result? I am planning to topdress and overseed that part in early September with bluegrass again.

Here's a close up of the right side:

Left side:



My second question is that my backyard has been invaded by a type of grass about a month and a half ago, which looks like:


Ironically they are keeping most of backyard very green, is this a type of weed like crabgrass?

Take soil samples at root level and compare soil moisture content of the two areas.

SeniorCitizen said:

Take soil samples at root level and compare soil moisture content of the two areas.

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also, you could dig a spade full of grass in each area, and compare the roots. The browner grass may not have as good of root system developed or it did not get enough water, or a combination of those two things.

That is almost certainly UNDERwatering with or without compacted soil. Put out small cups and water again. Check the water level in the cups. I also use two different moisture meter probes. That browning can also be from excessive fertilizer.

Keep your mower blades semi-sharp and don't cut the grass so short.

If both of those sides have been getting the same amount of water I would start looking for insect damage, rock under a thin layer of soil, disease etc. Are you sure that was bluegrass or a mix with rye in it? That is crabgrass in your back yard. Leave it grow and mow it regular. Come fall seeding time use the crabgrass to hold the ground and your seed.

Both sides have been getting same amount of water, the right side also get about 2-3 hours of shade time during the day, the left side is pretty much exposed all during the same time.

seiyafan said:

Both sides have been getting same amount of water, the right side also get about 2-3 hours of shade time during the day, the left side is pretty much exposed all during the same time.

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How do you know this ?

MowerMark said:

How do you know this ?

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Because I just let nature take care of the watering :smile: , this place has been getting about 1 inch of rain every week since late spring so I didn't bother with watering myself. But only half an inch of rain fell in the past 10 days and there will be 5 more sunny days with temp around 90 this week.

possum said:

Are you sure that was bluegrass or a mix with rye in it? That is crabgrass in your back yard. Leave it grow and mow it regular. Come fall seeding time use the crabgrass to hold the ground and your seed.

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I am pretty sure it was a mixture of 3 bluegrass types (Blue Note, Rugby and one more which I don't remember).

So that's the infamous crabgrass. Funny thing is that before the invasion my backyard looked pretty much like the brown part of the front yard, now it's very green!

We could use a little history to help with the diagnosis.

About how long have you lived there and has this area always been different as we see it now.

Tug on some of the grass to see if it pulls easy. If it does grubs have cut the roots.

Soil - all soil doesn't retain moisture the same. To your knowledge was this area ever filled in with soil from another area?

SeniorCitizen said:

We could use a little history to help with the diagnosis.

About how long have you lived there and has this area always been different as we see it now.

Tug on some of the grass to see if it pulls easy. If it does grubs have cut the roots.

Soil - all soil doesn't retain moisture the same. To your knowledge was this area ever filled in with soil from another area?

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Great question. I moved here about three years ago. Since the seller left the house on market for about a year the entire front lawn is pretty much either brown or covered with weed. I applied weed killer in spring and planted seeds in the fall. The next year condition has improved but the left part is still problematic. I remember at one point the mowing guy came then left and told me there was no point to mow a desert. In Fall I topdressed and overseeded the entire front yard (took me two days to moved about 3 cubic yards of soil with a shovel, lol!), but hard work paid off, a month later the entire yard turned green! I pretty much had the best looking lawn in the neighborhood in October. Then came last winter, the lawn was covered with snow for about 4 months. When the snow finally melted away I discovered that much of the grass on the left side didn't grow back, I am not sure if the cold has killed it or not. That's what I know about this area from the very beginning.
This fall I am going to focus on just the left part. I am pretty sure I will get good results going into the winter but I am afraid the same thing will happen next spring.
How deep should I topdress? half an inch?

So if I'm reading this right, rather than tugging on the brown grass to see if grubs killed it or checking soil moisture and even going to the extent of doing a soil test you are going to repeat the same mistake and expect different results?

Thanks for your input, I will investigate.
But if it's due to soil issue would that mean I need to remove and replace the top 6 inches or can I just add topsoil on the existing lawn?

Here are some pictures I took today, how does it look? It had light rain yesterday that's why the soil was still moist when I took the picture around noon time. The grass was very hard to pull out when I tugged.









By the way, I start seeing light green color grass growing on the front yard, are these crabgrass too or fescue?

The weeds coming up are crabgrass or another grassy weed like them. We have crabgrass here this year more than normal. Lots more than normal. That is mostly why we are mowing every week in the summer heat. The more I see your grass it looks like the typical problem with Blue grass seed. It fails to grow in fast enough and seed already in the ground or in your seed you planted gets up first and chokes the bluegrass out. That is also where winter kill often comes from. Bluegrass gets up to late and to weal to survive the cold. That grass really looks like one of the rye grasses after it hits hot dry weather.It could be rough bluegrass as well but hard to tell in a photo. Use a seed that has very little seed in it other than bluegrass or try another type of grass.

I applied Crabgrass Pre-emergent in late April when the temperature was about to reach 50 degrees, but much of the lawn hadn't turned green yet, I wonder if that choked the newly planted grass from last fall.

Very strange I must say.

I recommend taking one of those samples to your county extension service to see what they say. Someone specializing in turf may even want to come look at your lawn.

Could it possibly be a fungus issue?
I am going to bring a sample to Cornell University Cooperative Extension on Monday.

seiyafan said:

Could it possibly be a fungus issue?
I am going to bring a sample to Cornell University Cooperative Extension on Monday.

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That's a real good idea. You'll be more likely to get your answer there. I'm at a complete loss and have never seen anything like it.

Keep us posted if you can find the time.

While I am waiting for the person who does soil analysis to be back next week, I did compare soil samples at the root area from the troubled area to a good area. The trouble area had sandy soil mixed with some tiny gravel, whereas the good area had loamy soil and also darker in color. Could this be the culprit?

If this is indeed the culprit, what would be some of the ways to improve soil condition that can be done with one person? Like dump more topsoil over the troubled area?

seiyafan said:

While I am waiting for the person who does soil analysis to be back next week, I did compare soil samples at the root area from the troubled area to a good area. The trouble area had sandy soil mixed with some tiny gravel, whereas the good area had loamy soil and also darker in color. Could this be the culprit?

If this is indeed the culprit, what would be some of the ways to improve soil condition that can be done with one person? Like dump more topsoil over the troubled area?

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I am also curious

I took two soil samples each from the two areas to see if that can provide an answer. I am expecting the results to be available early next week.

Here's the result:

seiyafan said:

Here's the result:

<img src="http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/attachments/lawn-care-landscaping/27153-why-does-part-my-lawn-look-so-bad-drought-capture-png"/>

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Need some good fertilizer with sulfur

Thanks! I will be putting down some milo soon.
Does anyone think the brown side could be due to sandy soil and drought condition. I am going to seed TTTF, hope they do a better job than KBG.