New House,New yard, has "bald Spots" relatively unhealthy grass,what do I do, have been told2 aerate,should I?

Question

to aerate or not to aerate??

Answer 1

yes, aerate it. the grass "chokes" itself out and becomes unhealthy when it is over crowded. After you aerate, throw out seed and water well...you might turn over the dirty...if the dirt is too hard packed the grass seed will just blow away or be ate by the birds! Another thing is put down some lime. It is really inexpensive at a place like Lowe's or Home Depot...this is like a natural fertilizer in a way and helps break down old grass and debris. If your soil is sandy you might try adding some mulch. If you have a clay type soil add both mulch and sand...it will all help to get your grass growing green and healthy...the grass grows better if it is a bit cooler than summer so fall is great for it plus keep it very well watered...don't "drown" it though.

Answer 2

The general condition of the lawn is a matter of soil condition, you may need to aerate, dig up a small spot and see haw compacted the soil is. Feed the grass, mulch, compost, fertilizer, lime, ash there are a mirad of possible answers. Pick up a simple soil tester or send samples to a lab and they will tell what and how much to use. As far as the bald spots they may be something under the surface that was easier to bury than to haul off, but my experiance with a new house was that the builder had cleaned out his cement mixer and dumped the water and cement or stucco on the ground, nothing except a few hardy weeds will grow. Dig it up, and take out several feet of it and replace it with fill that you know is not contaminated.

Answer 3

Aerating won't hurt it... but what I'm wondering if under those few unhealthy patches isn't a hunk of concrete buried a foot or so underneath, blockign soil, nutrients, and water. It is very common in new consturction for builders to just level the yard w/ the debris in it.

Another trick my DH does is to water only the unhealthy spot. Just stand there w/ the hose, watering just that spot. The healthy grass comes over and takes over the bad grass in an attempt to get water.

Worse case, you can just dig it up, then water the bare hole to encourage healthy grass to come on over.

Answer 4

Yes it would be a good idea to aerate because the recent construction has compacted the soil beyond belief. However if you think that your builder has the green thumb. It's more like the green palm. At this time of year it could be grubs or fungus I would contact a Credible lawn service to have a look. check the soil in those areas for grubs yourself and check the grass blades for signes of fungus that you can diagnose yourself with the help of an ORTHO lawn disease book. Good luck

Answer 5

It really depends on where you live. Turf grass isn't native to the United States. It could just be too dry where you live or maybe the soil is in bad shape. Think about putting some plants or a rock garden in what is now turf. Save a turf area for recreation, but get rid of the ornamental part. You'll be doing your water bill and the environment a huge favor.

Answer 6

Had grub worms cause that one time.