Question
Hi Long Island Gardner,
We live in PA and have a lawn that is thin and has a variety of weeds in it. I contacted a lawn company but am concerned about all of the chemicals plus the cost quoted to do just the front lawn was $54/visit.  
How do we control crabgrass, thin out the weeds and overseed to grow more grass all at the same time? I realize it may be better to overseed in the fall but I am afraid if I do not grow grass my yard will be a muddy mess that we will not be able to use.
Help-before I paint it green!
CK

Answer
Pleased to meet you, Chris -- This is the perfect time of year to "turn over a new leaf".

I'm so glad you wrote.

Because anything they do for that $54 fee will do more harm than good.

And THAT is an understatement.

First order of business: Get a soil sample.

Yes, I know, you're thinking, WHY should I do that?  What a WASTE of money!  Who needs to know what's in their DIRT?

But Chris, that soil sample will SAVE YOU MONEY!

Because it will tell you what you HAVE in your soil that you do not need to add.

I just got a question (feel free to scroll down the pages) a few days ago from someone who went ahead and did get her soil tested.  It is LOADED with Phosphorous.  She won't have to spend a single penny on Phosphorous fertilizer for her lawn's roots to sing all summer.

She also learned that her soil is EXTREMELY acidic.  She is not going to waste a dime on seed until she raises the pH of the soil.  Who knew?

Your situation is a little different.  I know.  They had new construction and an all-brown lawn last autumn.  You have a thin lawn with weeds.  Different.  But what's in that dirt down there?  Find out.  It's really important to know.

Correction:  It's MANDATORY to know.

Look at it this way.  If you were going to make a cake, you would get out the cookbook and find a recipe, look at the Ingredients, then go shopping.

But first, you would look in the cupboard and see what you have.

Do you have Flour?  If you already have Flour, you don't need to buy any more.  Right?

Maybe you already have Eggs.  Scratch those off the shopping list.

Now, Chris, what is the oven temperature?

You have an oven, but you don't know how to set the temperature?

What's the pH of your soil?

You don't know!

A soil test will tell you what's in the cupboard, what's the oven temperature, how long was the cake in there... These are things you need to know to grow wonderful green grass.  I'll help you with that!  I know EVERYTHING there is to know about wonderful green grass.  EVERYTHING!

But you have to get a soil test.

And here's where you can do that:

The Pennsylvania Coop Ext Service

http://www.extension.psu.edu/

does soil testing.  Click on "Soil Testing Information" on their website.  PLEASE READ THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY!!!  There is a modest fee.  Spring for the Organic Matter ($5) and Soluble Salts ($5) tests.

Now, I have a question.  How much sun do you have on your property?

You need ALL SUN for great grass.  Do you have any trees?  Anything shading the grass?  What's the sun like?

This is also important to know.  Don't be optimistic.  Be realistic.  Don't study the exposure now -- there are no leaves on the trees and the sun is still moving around.  Let me know, honestly, if there is SOME sun or NO sun or ALL 100 percent sun.  The more sun, the better.  The less, not so good.  You will need a beautiful groundcover if there is not enough sun, or a shade-tolerant variety if there is SOME sun.  The right grass will be based on how much Pennsylvania sun you have.

Now for some information.

Chemicals will totally ruin your soil.  You cannot grow great grass in bad dirt.  You can put all the Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potash down that you want but if you have bad dirt, nothing good will ever grow there.  So stay away from the "lawn company".  They will search and destroy and you will be paying for it.  You don't have to do that.

You want to get your weeds under control first.  Right now, the weeds are waiting to spring forth and multiply.  So get out your credit card and run down to the garden center for some Corn Gluten Meal preemergent weed killer.  This stuff is the best thing since sliced bread.  It stops annual weeds from growing and it turns into fertilizer and feeds the grass all summer long.  It's not expensive and it's 100 percent organic.

If you give me a zipcode I will tell you where to buy it.

Next bit of information:  Your mowing height can totally change the weed situation.

Cutting grass at the right height makes the grass happy and the weeds un-happy.  To quote Martha, This is a Good Thing.  The happier your grass, what little there is of it, the better for you.

It is absolutely necessary that you mow mow mow mow mow all summer.  That means when it's 100 degrees of Pennsylvania sunshine baking down on that grass, you have to be out there with the lawnmower.  Because the weeds will be out full swing, growing forth and multiplying the first chance they get.  You have to keep that from happening.

Do you have ANY IDEA what grass is there?  Fescue?  Tall/Short?  Rye?  Bluegrass?  Combo Pack?  Mystery Grass?  Please advise.  It matters.  Different grass grows best at different heights.

Next:  What did you put on your lawn last year?  Any chemicals?  We need to know what you have there in terms of dead or alive.  You want Earthworms and on down the food chain.  They will help your grass by working your soil.  Your lawn company -- the one that wants $54/visit -- will instantly kill 80 to 100 percent of the Earthworms in the soil among other things.  That's not nice.

I think you get the picture.

Lots to digest here.  Bottom line:  I'm glad you wrote.  You did the right thing.  Chemicals are bad, expensive, unhealthy, immoral, and murder on grass.

Put away the can of paint, my friend.  You can do this.  RSVP