Question
QUESTION: I bought this house almost a year ago.  As a 1st time homeowner, how do I start solving the problems of thin areas and bare spots in my yard?

ANSWER: We need to know a few things before we can make any decisions here, my friend:

1.  Where are you growing this Lawn around your house?  It's a big world out there -- let's narrow it down with your Zipcode or at least the nearest big city.  Otherwise we don't know if we're talking Northern/Southern Hemisphere, the Philippines, Tokyo, Tijuana, New York, Greenwich, Dublin...

2.  What kind of light does your plot get?  Take a good look AFTER Trees leaf out in the Spring; this way you'll be getting a real answer together.  In Winter, EVERYTHING appears Sunny.  In Summer, there's Shade all over the place, changing with the hours.  Take a good hard look at your property and report back to me please how many hours of Full Sun your plot gets.

3.  What kind of Soil do you have?  Your pH?  The Calcium/Magnesium/Phosphorus contents?  Get a Soil test -- and once you give me your zipcode I can tell you where to get one nice and cheap that will SAVE YOU MONEY.

4.  Has anyone mentioned the NAME of any Grass you've got?  Often a diy homeowner will just pick up a bag and never read it before having it used on their own plot.  

Congratulations on your first home, now rsvp,

The Long Island Gardener

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

QUESTION: 1. My zipcode is 11365, Queens, NY.

2. My house is a corner house, no tree around it.  In the morning, the house itself is blocking the sun, so not much light to the backyard in the morning.  Same thing happens in the afternoon, not much light to the front yard.

3. I have no idea what kind of soil I have.

4. Once again, no clue, sorry.

Thank you.


Answer
Hello Neighbor.  Let's get started.

Your Sun situation narrows down your Grass choices to super-duper ultra-expensive Supina Bluegrass (a shade-loving blueblooded Turfgrass hybrid) and serviceable Fine Fescue.  Both need Sun, but less than Kentucky Bluegrass, Rye, Tall Fescue or Zoysia.  You should pick one and over-seed everything with this.

Your first step here, however, is to get a Soil Test.  There's a reason for that.  One word:  M-O-N-E-Y.

A Soil Test will save you MONEY.  So you'll have more to spend on your Seed.  God knows, as a new homeowner, you need money right now.

How does a Soil Test save you Money?  Glad you asked.

If your Soil has Phosphorus, you don't need to spend a dime on any more Phosphorus.  Right?

If you have Magnesium, you don't have to buy Magnesium.  If you have Alkaline Soil, you don't need to buy Lime.   If it's Sandy, or Clay, you'll know exactly what you need to buy to turn it into Wonder-Soil.

Et cetera.

It's a bit of a pain in the neck, but you will get some great information that you can use to grow Grass like the intelligent man you are.  Any scientist would get this done in a heartbeat.  Soil Tests are done by one of the world's great agricultural research centers, Cornell University, in their laboratory.  Their New York City satellite telephone number: (212) 340-2900.  Tell them you would like to get a soil test and you need to obtain a kit and the address for submitting it.  Here is their website and application form:

cnal.cals.cornell.edu/forms/documents/CornellSoilSamplingInstructions-2008.pdf

You will need Adobe Acrobat to open it.

You just moved in so this is an important step you're taking, getting your Soil tested.

While you're waiting for your results, you should do everything possible -- and I mean EVERYTHING -- to keep any Weeds in your yard from flowering.  Because flowers make Seeds.  An ounce of prevention, my friend...

Pull them up by the roots, and find a secluded place in your yard, out of the way, to make yourself a Compost Pile.  This is where all your Orange Peels, your dead Leaves, your potato peels go.  Turn these into Compost for your future beautiful Lawn.  (NO dairy products, NO meat, NO fat! Fruits and vegetables, flowers and leaves and grass clippings ONLY!)  I'll get into it if you want.  Right now, just get started.

Then after you have all the Weeds up, run over to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up some bags of Composted Manure and/or Humus.  You have a fairly small plot, so you can go crazy with this stuff.  If you put a layer on top of your Soil around 3 inches deep, and lightly till it in (Read that carefully please: LIGHTLY till), it will be mixed thoroughly by the organisms in the Soil.  You want to keep the ones down there happy -- happy enough to go forth and multiply.  Once they have their families living down there with them, they'll just mix and till and enrich your Soil while you watch.

NO SAND please.  This is the shortcut to building a parking lot.  Unless you want to scrap this Lawn idea, and build a parking lot instead, DO NOT add any Sand to this Soil.  I only mention this because it seems to be the first solution in newcomers' minds for correcting compacted Soil.  It's not.  But you don't have to find that out the hard way.  Just don't do it.

hances are you may notice some Grubs down there under the Soil.  Don't panic, sir.  These will be around less and less once you get Ground Beetles and Birds hanging around your house.

Now, you did not mention this, but if any of your plot is on a hill, you should re-think this Lawn idea.  Because it is very hard to mow Grass on a slope like that.  And people tend not to do it.  Which is bad for Grass.  Let me know.

Finally, make sure you have a working Lawnmower, a spreader, and a sprinkler ready to use.  If you need a mower, I highly recommend one of the German engineered Brill units.  These are push mowers that do not use gas or electricity.  Which is nice with gas headed to $4 a gallon this Summer.  Or even at today's prices.  I can tell you these things make no noise whatsoever and they are very, very easy to use.

Any questions, please advise.

L.I.G.