My lawn is dead/dying. How do I save it or is it too late?

Question

I moved into a rental about 5 months ago in southern california. The lawn was nice in green back February but has slowly died as the weather got warmer. Once I realized that the sprinklers were not working properly I began to water the lawn when I got home from work. The lawn progressively started to die quicker. After research, I realized that watering at that time of the day may have helped kill it. I went to home depot and bought some scotts turf builder and some more seed. I laid it down and followed the instruction but nothing really happened.

Now the grass is pretty much dead every where except a few spots. I water it in the morning or noon time only. It's very dry this summer and I have progressively been watering with more and more water with no success. I read that I may need to have it aerated and re-seeded. Is this true? Can I do it myself? If not, what is the price to have someone do this?

The ground is very firm and fyi no plants are dying etc.

Answer 1

Buy a good lawn feed. It's easy to aerate it yourself. All you need is a spike long enough to go down about six inches. Make holes with the spike about I foot apart. Follow the instructions for lawn feed and keep well watered.

Answer 2

You could call your landlord and ask what kind of grass it is. Many grasses go dormant in hot, dry weather and will recover when it gets cooler. It may be normal.

Fertilizing a dormant lawn can cause further decline. Seeding is not effective in hot, dry weather, best to seed in fall or very early spring.

If you are going to water, you need to add 1 to 2 inches of water at a time (put small cans in several places over the lawn and water until at least one inch of water is in the cans) and water no more than once or twice a week. Once you choose to water a dormant lawn you have to keep doing it.

If still looking dead in mid to late September, you may need to reseed, but consult with landlord and local garden centres as to what kind of grass will do best in your area.

Answer 3

Water daily (in the evening) also get some fertilizer fish meal is what i find works the best!

Answer 4

Whatever it is you do, don't play badminton on it.