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Jim: Hi my name is Jim Luzar from
Purdue Extension Vigo County
we're doing a yard makeover today
the purpose of this event is to establish new turf
from existing turf
as you see, this lawn
it has existing turf, weeds, Kentucky Bluegrass,
Zoysiagrass, and Tall Fescue
Now one of the issues was
was with this turf... a lot of thinnest,
a lot of weeds taking over
where there wasn't a good stand of healthy turf
that's our first line of defense over weed control
is healthy turf
The other thing is that the problem with this existing turf
was the fact that warm season grass and
cool season grass was mixed together
They're not going to look good aesthetically and
it's going to be a challenge to manage as far as
one's Kentucky Bluegrass, for example,
likes cool weather
spring and fall
Zoysiagrass prefers a warm season
and it'll be brown until the early spring
and again to turn brown later fall
so the management of this
what we're planning to do
is start over and establish a good stand of new turf
the first exercise I have to do is till this soil up
to get a good seed to soil contact
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That tilling was a lot of work on this yard
but it really needed it
it's a good soil, it's nice silk soil
it has a bit of clay
um good texture though
But, one of the problems is again
good seed to soil contact
got to have plenty of soil
that's loosened that's available
I can't tell you how many times I've had homeowners
express the concern and the frustration
where they threw grass seed out on top of the lawn
and nothing really happened then
It's going to take seed to soil contact
Another thing before we can start seeding the actual
grass seed is if you notice this lawn, once it's been tilled
uh tremendous amount of dead rhizomes
from the Zoysiagrass
uh clumps of the dead cool season grass,
the Kentucky Bluegrass
so, this material again just prevents
good seed to soil contact, now this yard was
treated with Roundup 2 weeks ago
and so we got a good kill on the existing vegetation
so these are actually nice, crispy, dead rhizomes
but you do want to make sure that you have these killed
before you enter into a reseeding environment
We'll be raking these up, getting these extracted from
the lawn side, and then we'll be sowing the grass seed
I was actually in the store the other day
and this person was checking out
and they said I have some grass seed, and the clerk said
"what type of grass seed?"
The client said I don't have a clue, it's just grass seed
isn't it?
Well there's a big difference in grass seeds
in terms of the varieties
and so for this lawn as you see, we're out in full sun
this lawn gets sun all day long
And so it would be considered a full sun yard
uh we definitely would not want to go with something
in terms of a cool shady mix
You want to go with a full sun mix
so we've got a mixture here of Kentucky Bluegrass
and also uh Perennial Ryegrass Seed
in this mixture that we will be applying to this
Again, you can't skimp uh good quality seed
we're only talking about a few dollars
to sow this paddock
And, so why skimp?
buy the best seed possible
the best quality, the best termination
Know about your seed
and if you have questions
Purdue Turf Grass Department or Purdue Turf Tips
website has plenty of information
about selecting the appropriate grass species for
your lawn whether it's shade, sun, or a mixture there of
The finishing touches to this turf renovation
involved putting down a mulch layer
with organic mulch material straw mainly
Again, good quality straw
because it's not to be substituted
You need straw that is free of wheat seeds,
that's clean,
that we can apply not too thick not too thin
just a nice light layer as you see
just enough to give the grass and the grass seedlings
some protection
Also, prevents some of the broadleaf weeds
that will be trying to terminate this summer
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