Question
Hi there, thanks for taking your time to listen.  My lawn took such a beating last year that I killed it off, rototilled & replanted with perennial rye.  It came up in about 10 days, although it had some bare patches.  But it grew nicely & filled in.  I sprayed a few weeds that propped up with Weed & Feed & it killed them without harm to the nearby grass.  A month went by & it was fine.  But this past month, the good grass is yellowing & crabgrass & what looks like broadleaf plantation is taking over.

This is near Cleveland, OH.  The area gets plenty of sun, & we've had plenty of rain, so I haven't been watering.  I also have not been fertilizing.  I am so frustrated.  I never had any problems with my lawn at my previous house, Even though I did not fertilize.  My neighbor had a couple lawn renovations in the past 7 years.  My other neighbor moved out & weeds have totally taken over his yard.  I'm not sure if it's something in the area or bad soil, although I took some samples up to the nursery & they told me the soil looks great.  They did not test it though.  Is it supposed to be this difficult?

Answer
Not it is not supposed to be difficult.

I recommend that you send a soil sample to the county extension office (check with Ohio state)

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1132.html
http://ohioline.osu.edu/county/index.php

Normally the soil tests are cheap ($10-20) and they will give you advice on soil pH management, fertilizer etc

I don't know why your lawn turned brown. I suppose it could be due to insect damage (have you tried to tuck on the grass. Does it come up loose like a carpet ?? if so, it may be grubs. You can check soil and see if you find c-shaped white maggits).

Some lawns go dormant easily in hot summer months when daytime temperatures are consistently above 90F especially if not watered manually (but is typically not a problem if
you had plenty of rain). This may not be it.

Crabgrass in lawns in summer is almost impossible to avoid unless you start a crabgrass prevention program in early spring (april). Apply fertilizer w/crabgrass fertilizer latest mid april (the time when yellow forsythia bushes flower).

In your area, fertilize in late spring, early fall and late fall (you can also fertilize in early spring as above if fighting crabgrass. then use a fertilizer w/crabgrass preventer). Do not fertilize cool season lawns in hot summer months because that does more harm than done.

In hot humid summers with lots of rain, lawn disease is sometimes inevitable. Some lawn diseses will turn the lawn yellow and may worst case kill it. There is not much you can do now. Just wait until cooler temperatures of fall comes around. If you need to reseed do this, otherwise fertilize in early september and again in late october. Then do not fertilize again until early april.

Soil conditions are seldom a problem for growing grass. MOst grass will grow in most soils. You may just have been unlucky. It do recommend a soil test, however, as certain things can be adjusted (such as soil pH) and the better conditions you give your soil, the better your grass will grow. it is very unlikely that your soil can not support grass growth (if it can not, you may have much more severe problems that you dont even want to think of). A soil test is a good first step.