Question
QUESTION: I live on long island and my lawn is not really a lawn.  Since my wife and i moved into our home a couple of years ago we have been looking at a lawn made up of moss, weeds, and crab grass.  Whenever it rains hard the water will sit on top of the lawn for days.  Can this lawn be saved?
ANSWER: Good morning, John!

Yours sounds like the lawn in front of EVERY house on Long Island.  John, You have lots of company!  You've heard of our famous Clay soil, haven't you?  And the moss is a dead giveaway.

The only thing you did not say -- and I wish you had, because it would make things a lot easier -- you did not say that you "neglected" your lawn.  You may have put down a few doses of weedkiller or grubkiller, mosskiller or bugkiller, etc.  If you didn't, if you had totally NEGLECTED your lawn, it would be SO much better.  Please clarify.

It is, my friend, the most perfect season to begin working on a new lawn.

You say your "lawn is not really a lawn" -- does that mean you are happy with the little bit of grass there and you want to save that, or are you able to demolish and re-build?

Think that over.

My gut feeling is that the full renovation is going to be needed if this is going to ever be done before retirement.

Let's get the basics out of the way.

1.  How much are you willing to do?  I have to ask because some people are very passionate about their lawns.  It's part of that American Dream, picket fences, etc., and it's not even about gardening.  It's The Lawn.  To other people, a lawn is just the stuff you pass as you walk out the front door.  To Real Estate Agents, it's the frame of the house, the curb appeal, the first impression.  What is this lawn to you?  Is it the "view" part of a "Room with a view"?  Is it where you walk when you BBQ in the summer?  How up close and personal are you with your grass?  I have to know.  Because there are a dozen ways to approach this.  Fast, slow, intense, armchair, etc etc etc.  Let me know.  Where does this lawn fit into your life?  What is this lawn to YOU?

2.  How much sun do you have on your lawn?  Are there trees?

3.  Do you own a lawnmower that works?  Can you use it?  What kind?

4.  Where exactly is the Moss growing?

5.  What did you do, and what did you not do, last summer?

Now, let me just throw my 2 cents in here, John.

Your Lawn may be sad.  But you can make it happy.  Think about the answers to those 5 questions.  Don't think too hard, just come up with a basic answer.  It doesn't have to bee long, you don't have to explain anything, just the facts sir just the facts.

While you are think about those answers, John, do me a favor.

Go out today and get you and your wife over to the garden center and pick up a big, beautiful birdbath.

And then pick out a birdfeeder.  If you have a tree, get one you can hang from the tree.

And get some birdseed.  Yeah, I know, people complain that the birdseed drops out of the birdfeeder and grows all over the place.  Don't worry about that.  It doesn't matter.  Other things matter.  You want to put out the Welcome sign for all the local birds.  You want your lawn to Sing in the morning.  You want robins, bluejays, sparrows, and all the ones migrating back from south, you want them all to come visit your lawn, and John, they will make your sad lawn Happy.

How do I know?  I do.  I just do.  I know these things.

So think about those answers, and get your birdbath and your birdfeeder and seed.  'tis the season to be jolly.  Spring is has sprung.  Enjoy your breakfast.  RSVP

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

QUESTION: 1.  How much are you willing to do? What is this lawn to YOU?
I would like my front lawn to look like I actually take care of it.  My backyard, approx. 3 times the size of my front yard, I would be happy if it looked descent and not afraid to walk on because it gets mushy days after it rains.  Also, I do have two dogs that love to run back there.


2.  How much sun do you have on your lawn?  Are there trees?
I have a couple of trees in the front, one big tree in the back, and a perimeter of trees in the back that shade the back lawn by late afternoon.
3.  Do you own a lawnmower that works?  Can you use it?  What kind?  I have a ride on mower that I started using last fall.  I have 1/2 acre.

4.  Where exactly is the Moss growing?
Randomly throughout the entire yard.

5.  What did you do, and what did you not do, last summer?
Mostly neglected it.  I try to keep it as short as possible and keep it clean from any debris.

Answer
Fescue to the Rescue, John.

Tall Fescue in the back.  Fine Fescue in the front.

TALL FESCUE is grass with guts.  It's great in semi-sun, even greater in drought, and greatest of all under stampeding horses and football cleats.  They race horses and play baseball and football on this stuff.

Louisville 's Ulmer Stadium, where the Cardinals play softball, won the National Fastpitch Coaches Assn Turface Award/Midwest with its rough and tough Tall Fescue outfield.

At Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, Sandy Hill Sod Farms planted 'Tifway 419 II', a custom Bluegrass-Fescue blend.  They say it can 'stand up to the punishment that 300 lb players can dish out for 3 hours'.

Tall Fescue.  Grass with Guts.

One secret behind Tall Fescue is its deep taproot.  That tap root grows about 4 ft long.  It has access to moisture that's completely out of reach for weaker grass.  Tall Fescue is also thicker, its blades tougher, and it does not need a lot of extra Nitrogen.  It does not do well in deep shade, but I think you have the kind of light that it won't mind too much.

FINE FESCUE is a soft, dainty, shy turfgrass that doesn't do well in traffic.  But makes up in shade tolerance what it lacks in muscle.  It can't take a beating or a heating, especially over 90 degrees.  But it will grow in dry shade with no complaints, which is quite amazing.

Cornell University's Lawn Care website (http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/lawn/lawncare/index.html) addresses your situation in its 'Coping Witsh Shade' page: "Lawn grasses need at least 4 hours of direct sun a day.  If they receive much traffic or wear and tear, they need a minimum of 6 hours.'

It sounds to me like you have more sun in the back, a lot less sun in the front.  The high-traffic grass -- Tall Fescue -- will get more sun and the lower traffic grass -- Fine Fescue -- will get more shade.  Perfect!

Since you love your dogs, of course you don't want them to come in contact with any Agent Orange or other weed killer.  You want to build up your soil, so that when your grass is planted, your lawns, front to back, can take whatever your wife, you and Man's Best Friends will dish out.

The most important thing now, however, is not to buy our grass.

It's to fix your compacted, muddy soil.

It's already damaged from all that mud and traffic.  Without healthy soil, you cannot grow healthy Fescue.

The front will be easier.  The back is a problem.  Because I just know you are going to want to take those dogs out back and walk all over that muddy grass before it's ready.

You need a few expensive things.  I rarely advise this, and I just know it's not something you want to hear, but I think it is worth the investment.

You have got to fix that Clay.

The biggest problem with Clay soil, from a lawn perspective: Lack of oxygen (needed to support microbe populations).  You can tell when the water starts to pool and turns the Clay to mud.  Would you breathe that stuff?  Neither would I.  Neither can those aerobic Bacteria and Fungi.  Your soil needs Oxygen and Air.  Right now, it's like you're living on the Moon.  It's sterile, it's Nitrogen deficient, it's got very little Organic matter and the Moss growing on it is having a field day.

Moss, by the way, thrives on compacted clay, in shade, with tons of moisture.

How to fix it?  Easy.  But the question really is: How to fix it QUICKLY?

Adding Air, Organic matter and microbes would accomplish that.  Air is filled with Oxygen and Nitrogen.  Microbes need that to breathe and live.  Organic matter has Sugars, Starches, Proteins, all of which spells G-O-U-R-M-E-T F-O-O-D to soil microbes.  So we really, really want to add Air and Organic Matter to that Clay.

There are 2 ways to do this quickly and simply.

One is to plant a 'Green Manure'.  Walk over and sprinkle on that Clay Soil the seeds for Alfalfa, White Clover, We can do that easily.  We can plant Green Manures.  ANY kind of Clover, Alfalfa, etc., can be a Green Manure.  And by the way, if someone tells you that Moss itself is a sign of Acid soil, you can tell them that Moss will grow on any high-Clay, compacted soil in shade, even if the pH is high (Alkaline).

You've heard of the Scotts 3-step program?  Here's your own program.  We'll call it John's 3-step Program:

John's Step 1.  Go down to the Garden Center and pick up as much Humus, Organic Compost and Aged Manure, maybe a few bags of Sand, you can get into the trunk and the back seat.  If you have a pickup truck, terrific.  Bring out the pitchfork when you get home and LOOSELY fork these in.  Praise the Lord every time you notice an Earthworm -- these little critters wiggle around, making soil good, keeping microbes happy, pulling down air into the soil; they are your best friends.  Note:  DO NOT DO THIS WHEN THE SOIL IS WET.  Damp soil, OK.  But WET SOIL IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER.  Wrecked and ruined Tilth.  You do not want to deal with that.  You have enough problems.  And any grass you have there, may as well leave.

John's Step 2.  In the back only, grow some Green Manure.  Simply growing a Green Manure will break up your Clay soil and condition it.  Alfalfa roots for example reach up to 12 feet deep into the soil and actually draw nutrients up to the surface.

John's Step 3.  Now you need to build Microbes back into the soil.  You can buy Microbes -- look for the FENIC F-68 Soil Conditioner (http://www.biconet.com/soil/f68plus.html) or any other product with lots of beneficial bacteria, algae and microorganisms.  HOME DEPOT DOES NOT SELL THIS.  You may have to get it by mail order.  Follow directions and you're in business.  This is just a short-cut fast-forward way to re-regenerate your dead Clay compacted soil.

Now, I know this all sounds pretty strange, my friend.

You probably never heard of F-68 before a few seconds ago.

It's one of many things made by some very specialized companies.  It's not expensive -- less than anything you'll buy from Scotts -- but it will do a lot of good things to that dirt in your yard.

See after the weather warms up if you don't think the soil is looking better.

And at the end of the summer, when your cover crop of White Clover is covering the soil, and the microbes are exploding with nutrition, and your soil is feeling healthy, you will be ready to put down the grass that will change your life.

Either seed or sod.  Sod of course is so much quicker.  Seed will work.  I can explain any of this in detail, and I would be happy to do that -- just ask.

After that, all you do is mow on time with that fancy lawnmower of yours, on schedule.  You can do that.  I'll bet it's a lot of fun riding around on that thing.  No fertilizer needed.  Just mow and relax.  Have a beer, Neighbor.  Throw another fish on the barbee.  Woof!