Preventing Grub Worms
With grub worms, an ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. They can best be prevented by treating your lawn with an appropriate insecticide in the spring months. These preventative treatments either stop the grub from feeding or hasten the molt process, both of which kill them before they have a chance to begin feeding on your lawn. These products should be applied in April to mid-May.
There are several good preventative products on the market including Merit, Mach2, Proxol and Ficam.

Killing Grub Worms
If you know you’ve got a grub worm problem later in the summer, there are still plenty of products available to stop them in their tracks. Sevin is a common one. Merit also works well on feeding grub worms. Mocap, Dursban and Diazinon are other popular grub killers. The grubs consume these curative insecticides and perish quickly.

Depending on your climate, grubs may be active into mid or late October, so keep an eye out for telltale brown spots up until the first frosts of the year. If you have to kill them one year, plan a preventative does of insecticide the next spring so that the problem isn’t repeated.

With diligence, you should be able to prevent or minimize grub worm infestation within a year, reducing the need to treat the lawn every spring and fall. Keep in mind, however, that a preventative application of grub killer is the best way to protect your lawn from being destroyed by these insidious pests.

Benefits of Aerating your Lawn
The roots of grass plants need oxygen in order to thrive. So do the tiny organisms that inhabit the soil, loosening it and depositing nutrients for the grass. Aerating the soil allows the grass and organisms to breathe as they should.

Secondly, aerating the soil loosens it so that water and fertilizer can penetrate to the roots where it will do the best good. When you water soil that is too compact, the water stays too near the surface where it evaporates without benefitting the lawn.

Finally, aerating the lawn stimulates new growth in the roots, stolons and rhizomes of the grass plants, creating a fuller, healthier lawn.

When to Aerate your Fescue Lawn
Cool season grasses like Fescue should be aerated in the fall. September is a good month to do it in cooler climates. Wait until October in warmer climates. Be sure that the lawn has 4 weeks to recover before frost is expected.

Choose a time to aerate when the soil is moist but not soggy. Dry soil is harder to aerate too. Aerate a few days after a good rain or after you’ve given the lawn an inch of water with the sprinkler.

How to Aerate your Fescue Lawn
Using a mechanical aerator with hollow tines, a core aerator, is the best method. You may be able to find one at the local rental shop. A gas-powered machine will have the power to do the job effectively.

When aerating, go over the lawn at least twice. For example, travel east-west the first time and north-south the second time. Then count the number of holes per square foot of lawn. If you’ve got at least 10-12, you’re in good shape. If there’s less, go over the lawn again.

You may not notice immediate results from aerating especially if your lawn was fairly healthy beforehand. However, aerating on a yearly basis, or every other year, is the kind of preventative lawn care that can keep your lawn healthy year after year.

Here is a step by step guide to overseeding Fescue grass.

Overseed in Late Summer or Fall
In cooler climates, overseeding in mid-August to mid-September is ideal. In warmer climates, early October is better. Daytime temperatures should be in the 60s to mid-70s. Make sure you start 4-5 weeks before frost can be expected. A second choice is to overseed in the spring. Wait until the risk of frost has passed and temperatures during the day can be expected in the 60s at least.

Select a Quality Fescue Seed Blend
The best choice for most lawns is a good blend of Fescue varieties rather than a single variety. You don’t need a top of the line blend, but a mid-level blend is preferred to cheap Fescue seed.

Mow your Lawn and Bag the Clippings
When mowing Fescue grass, it is usually best to mulch the clippings and leave them in the lawn to add Nitrogen to the soil. However, when preparing to overseed the lawn, you want to make it as easy as possible for the seed to get into the soil.

Aerate your Lawn Before Spreading Grass Seed
You may be able to rent an aerator locally. If not, most landscape companies will do it for you at a reasonable price. Shop around for the best deal. Go over the lawn at least twice, once north-south and once east-west, for example.

When the lawn has been aerated, drag a section of chain link fence or heavy bar over the lawn to crumble the soil plugs. This helps, but is not essential.

Overseed with 3-5 Pounds of Seed Per 1,000 Square Feet
That’s about half the amount used to start a new Fescue lawn. Use a broadcast spreader or a verticutter with a seed bin. For best seed to soil contact, go over the lawn with the backside of a leaf rake, oscillating the rake as you go. This will help the seed settle down into the grass and into the holes from the aerator.

Water New Seed Consistently
Give the lawn an inch of water immediately after seeding. See our article entitled Watering Fescue Grass to learn when your sprinkler has distributed 1” of water. Unless rainfall provides enough water, add ½” every 3-4 days for 3 weeks. Then you can go back to watering 1” per week in a single application.

These guidelines represent the best practices for overseeding Fescue grass. As you follow them, you should notice your lawn becoming thicker and more attractive in 3-5 weeks.

Starting a Fescue Lawn from Scratch
This is a cool season grass, so it thrives in spring and fall. The best time to seed a new law with Fescue is the late summer in cooler climates or the fall in warmer climates. Start at least 4-5 weeks before frost is expected. Spring is okay too, but doesn’t offer conditions that are quite as good as fall. If you start in the spring, wait until frost at night is no longer a risk. The grass will also need 4-5 weeks of growth before 90-degree temperatures are expected.

Ideal daytime temperatures for getting Fescue started are 60-75 degrees, with significantly cooler nighttime temperatures. A soil temperature of 60-65 degrees is also ideal, but not crucial.

Preparing the Soil for Planting Grass
If weeds or other grasses are present, spray the entire are to be seeded with a non-selective herbicide 2 weeks before planting seed.

Tilling the soil to a depth of 6 inches loosens the soil and gives Fescue a much better chance to get established. Rake the tilled dirt and remove stones and debris. Fill in low spots and reduce ridges where possible. Use a water-filled roller to gently compact the soil.

Planting Fescue Seed
Choose a high-quality seed blend that contains several varieties of Fescue. Spread it at a rate of 6-8 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet. Using up to 10 pound is okay, but not necessary. Covering the seed with a thin layer of wheat straw will help hold moisture in the soil, producing more rapid germination. Use about ½ small bales per 1,000 square feet, and remove any clumps of straw.

Apply ¾” of water immediately after seeding. See the article entitled Watering Fescue Grass to learn how long it takes for your sprinkler to deliver that much water. Apply another ½” every 3-4 days. Continue to water the lawn at a rate of 1”-1 ¼” per week until a week after the first frost.

Planting Fescue Sod
Avoid laying sod in the warmest 6-8 weeks of summer in a cool climate, or the warmest 10-12 weeks in a warmer climate since high temperatures can cause the grass to go into dormancy. The root system won’t establish when in dormancy.

The first step is to prepare the soil as outlined earlier in this article. The night before you start laying sod, irrigate the soil with about ¾” of water. It should be sticky but not muddy.

Start sodding on a long, straight boundary. Lay pieces end to end. Stagger the second row the way a bricklayer staggers bricks. Use a small, flat spade to trim sod pieces. A sharp hatchet works too.
Once a large enough area has been put down, start the sprinkler. Give the new sod ½” of water. Apply ½” of water every 3-4 days unless it rains enough to supply that amount. Keep a rain gauge handy so you know how much water you need to give the lawn.

Starting a Fescue grass lawn isn’t rocket science, but it is hard work. Follow these guidelines and your Fescue lawn should respond with healthy growth and beauty.

Most Fertilizers Work Well on Fescue Grass
All fertilizers are formulated with a blend of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K). The formula is printed on the bag, something like 16-4-8 or 15-5-10. These show the ratio of these three elements, in that order – N-P-K. As long as the fertilizer has a high first number relative to the others, the Nitrogen number, it will stimulate growth and be suitable for Fescue grass.

Follow application directions on the label, buying enough to cover the entire yard with the adequate amount of fertilizer.

Fertilize in Every Season But Summer
Fescue is a cool season grass, doing most of its growing in the spring and fall. This is when it should be assisted in the process with fertilizer. Depending on how long your winters are, fertilize 3-4 times per year. In warmer climates, fertilize in February, April, late September and late November. In cooler climates, fertilize in March, early May, mid-September and early November.

Why not fertilize in the summer months? Fescue doesn’t grow much in the warm months, so adding fertilizer at that time, when the grass won’t process it well, can be harmful.

Adding Lime to the Soil Helps Fescue
Every few years, you may want to lime your lawn to produce a pH number that Fescue prefers. Applying 20 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet twice a year will create soil conditions more conducive to healthy grass. Lime the lawn in mid-spring and mid-fall for best results.

How to Fertilize Fescue Grass
Drop spreaders and cyclone spreaders work well for fertilizing. Buy a quality spreader with an accurate dial, so you know you’re delivering the right amount of fertilizer.

Spread the fertilizer in 2 applications, with half the amount being put down each time. Apply the second half at a 90-degree angle to the first half. For example, if you travel east-west on the first application, travel north-south the second time. While this is not essential, it will produce a more balanced application.

Summary
This all may sound more complicated that it really is. In practice, you’ll soon be very comfortable with fertilizing your Fescue lawn.

Tools for Watering Fescue Grass
There are several tools that will help ensure successful watering. First, you need to know how much rain your lawn gets, so purchase a dependable rain gauge. Like most grasses, Fescue does well with about 1” of water per week. Record the amount of rainfall your lawn gets, so you’ll know how much water you need to provide with the sprinkler.

Secondly, don’t skimp on a cheap sprinkler. Buy a top-quality one that you know will deliver a balanced application of water over the coverage area. It is important to know how much water the sprinkler delivers in one hour, so use the rain gauge to measure it. To do this, you should place the rain gauge at several locations in the sprinkler’s watering pattern, for an hour each time. Then, average the results.

Another option is to use 6-8 plastic cups, each with a small stone at the bottom for weight. Space them around the sprinkler’s coverage area and run the water for an hour. Use your rain gauge to measure the water in each cup and average the results. If there is an average of ¾” in each cup after one hour, or ¼” for every 20 minutes, you’ll know it takes an hour and 20 minutes to deliver one inch of water.

Next, make sure your hose and sprinkler produce a tight fit that doesn’t leak. You may need a new rubber washer for the hose or a new hose entirely. Leaking hoses apply too much water in some locations while slowing down the watering process. If you pay for water, they waste money as well.

Occasionally, you’ll want to make sure the sod is moist down to 4-5”. A small hand trowel or narrow flat spade allows you to do this without damaging the yard.

Fescue Grass Needs One Inch of Water Per Week
Use 1” as an average, but if it gets ½” to ¾” of rainfall some weeks, you probably don’t need to water it. Fescue can even go a couple of weeks without water unless it is also very hot and/or windy, conditions which dry it out quickly. In hot, windy weather, you may want to give the lawn up to 1 ½” of water. In cool, humid weather, watering less is a good idea.

Keep an eye on your grass. If it starts to look wilted, give it a drink. If your lawn ever starts to turn yellow, stop watering it for a couple of weeks. Too much water in the soil will rob the grass of nitrogen and oxygen and may cause rot. This won’t happen if you follow these guidelines, however.

Water in the Early Morning
Perhaps you’ve heard that watering in the evening is best. That may be true in very arid climates, but in most climates, that’s a bad idea. Grass that is moist too long is susceptible to fungus and disease. Watering in the morning gives the soil a good soaking but allows the grass to dry sooner.

Does it sound like watering your grass is a complex chore? It won’t feel like it, once you get the hang of it. After the first season or two, you’ll learn to water by sight more than anything. You’ll know your Fescue grass well enough to understand when it needs a drink and when it’s doing just fine without one.

The Right Height for Fescue Grass
Every type of grass has an ideal height. For Fescue, that’s between 2 ½” and 3”. This variety of grass looks its best when it’s allowed to grow into thick, rich turf you can sink your feet into. Keeping it on the short side will produce a trim, manicured look. Allowing it to grow to the full 3” or a little more will give your lawn a more robust appearance. By the way, if you’ve got a lot of Fescue in shady spots, maintain it higher – about 3 ½” for better results.

Remember the One-Third Cutting Rule
The tried and true rule of thumb for maintaining a healthy lawn is that you should never cut away more than 1/3 of the grass. If you plan to keep your Fescue at 2 ½”, you should mow it before it passes 3 1/8” in length. For a 3” lawn, you can allow it to grow a little past 4”. If you have a rainy spell just after you’ve fertilized, and your lawn grows beyond its acceptable limits, you may have to raise your mowing blades and cut it back to its normal height in 2 sessions instead of one. If you like it at 3” and it grows to 5”, cut it to 3 ¾” and then a week later, cut it to 3”.

Mow Consistently Every 7-10 Days
Mowing your lawn on this schedule should allow you to keep the height right where you want it. If you find it’s growing too fast, delay your next fertilizer application by 2 weeks.

Keep your Blades Sharp
Dull cutting blades are hard on healthy grass. They tear the grass blades rather than cut them, leaving them vulnerable to disease. Torn grass also tends to turn yellow at the tips when the damaged tissue dies. That’s not attractive, and it’s not good for the grass.

Use Mulching Blades
Mulching the cut grass is a better method than bagging it. If the clippings are not especially wet or long – if they’re not clumping up – then mulching them back into the soil is the best idea. The clippings add essential Nitrogen and nutrients to the soil, reducing the need for fertilizer.

Early and Late Season Mowing
When your Fescue lawn first starts to green up in the spring, give it a trim. Take off the top ½” to 1” in order to remove dead growth and give the roots a chance to get more sun and oxygen. Then fertilize as required.

In the fall, raise the blades on your mower ½” to 1” to allow the lawn to develop some bulk that will insulate it for winter. Watch the weather forecast and cut the grass for the last time 7-10 days before frost is expected. It will soon go dormant and be ready for a winter’s nap.

Fescue grass is really quite easy to care for. These Fescue grass mowing tips will help you keep your grass properly maintained throughout the growing season.

Spring Bermuda Grass Maintenance
The months from March through May are vital for getting your lawn off to a vigorous start. The first step is to begin mowing the grass within a week of when it starts to green up after being dormant all winter. Don’t bag the clipping unless they are clumping up significantly. Leaving them in the lawn adds nitrogen and will reduce your need to fertilize. Bermuda grass does best when cut to ¾” to 1 ½”.

As for fertilizing, use a fertilizer with a 4-1-2 or 3-1-2 ratio of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, or using their elemental symbols, N-P-K. Popular formulations you’ll find at the store include 16-4-8, a 4-1-2 fertilizer using the common denominator of 4, and 15-5-10, a 3-1-2 fertilizer using the common denominator of 5. Read the label carefully and find a product suitable for Bermuda grass. Apply the quantity prescribed per 1,000 square feet of lawn. See our article on Fertilizing Bermuda Grass for more complete details on this important lawn care step.

After fertilizing, water the lawn thoroughly. Bermuda grass likes about 1” of rain per week or just a bit more. If the soil is sandy where you live, divide the watering into 2 sessions 3-4 days apart. Use a rain gauge to determine how much rainfall your lawn is getting and make up the difference through irrigating it with the sprinkler.

If you’ve had weeds in past years in your Bermuda grass, apply a pre-emergence weed killer that will prevent weed seeds from germinating and growing. Do this about the time the forsythia is in bloom. Read the product label to be sure it is intended for use on Bermuda grass. Then, in May, treat the lawn with a post-emergence weed killer for those weeds that got by your first line of defense.
If you’ve got more than ½” of thatch in the turf, mow vertically in May to remove it. Make sure the lawn has greened up and water it thoroughly after dethatching.

Replant bare spots in your lawn with either sod or sprigs, but not seeds.

Summer Bermuda Grass Maintenance
In June, July and August, keep up your practice of mowing the grass every 7-10 days to a height of ¾” to 1 ½”. Make sure the lawn is getting about an inch of water per week. If weeds show up, use a post-emergence herbicide to control them. Fertilize every 6-8 weeks. Finally, August is the right time to add an insecticide if the lawn is being damaged by white grubs or mole crickets.

Fall Bermuda Grass Maintenance
Continue to mow the lawn into the fall. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and plan to mow for the last time a week or so before the first frost. Raise your mowing blade to at least 1” for the last cut of the season. Water the grass as needed in the fall. Watch for it to start to look stressed before you irrigate. If one-third or more of the grass is starting to wilt, add water.

If you’ve had a problem with weeds, apply pre-emergence week killer during this period. Also use post-emergence herbicide if weeds are present.

Winter Bermuda Grass Maintenance
If your Bermuda grass is not overseeded, you can put the mower away until March after the last cut of the year. However, if you’ve overseeded the lawn, the secondary, cool season grass will need to be mowed to about 1” through the winter. Don’t fertilize pure Bermuda in the winter either, but if it is overseeded, use a winter application of fertilizer in December and February.

If the winter is relatively dry, warm and/or windy, you should maintain a watering schedule of at least ¾” per week, or 1” if overseeded.

Summary
Once you’ve gone through a full season of caring for your Bermuda grass lawn, you’ll feel like a lawn care pro. You’ll have a good understanding of your lawn and will intuitively know when it needs fertilizer, water, cutting or weed killer. Your lawn care chores will progress from being a hassle to becoming a hobby you might really enjoy.

Keep your St Augustine Grass Healthy
A healthy lawn is less vulnerable to the encroachment of weeds. Therefore, keep your St Augustine lawn fertilized and watered on a regular basis. We have included specific articles on fertilizing and watering St Augustine grass in this guide. See those articles for all the details. When your lawn is healthy, it may actually crowd out weeds, winning the competition for nutrients, water and oxygen.

Give Weeds a Hand
If there are just a few weeds in your lawn and you’d prefer not to use weed killer unless you have a major weed issue, you may want to pull them by hand. Use a hand trowel on tough weeds to make sure you get them out, root and all. When your lawn is relatively weed-free, this can be an effective method for keeping it that way.

Apply Weed Killer in the Spring
In March of each year, as the St Augustine begins to green up, apply a pre-emergence weed killer. By definition, this type of herbicide stops weeds before they get started. Many homeowners choose the time when the forsythia plants are in bloom to apply pre-emergence herbicide.

Then in May apply a post-emergence weed killer that will eliminate any weeds that have managed to take root in the lawn. These herbicides are primarily designed to get rid of summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. Don’t apply post-emergence herbicide until the lawn has been green for 3-4 weeks. If no weeds are present, there’s no need to use week killer until they appear.

Read the labels carefully before applying any week killer to your lawn. Make sure it is safe for use on St Augustine grass. If you know what type of weeds your dealing with, that may also help you find the right product, though most herbicides cover a broad spectrum.

Cut your Grass Regularly
St Augustine grass will look better and grow more uniformly if it is mowed every 7-10 days. Its ideal height is 2” to 3”. In addition, regular mowing will keep weeds from developing seeds and spreading.
It takes a comprehensive approach to keep weeds out of your lawn. When you do, your St Augustine grass will thrive, adding beauty, value and enjoyment to your home’s landscape.

The Best Fertilizer for St Augustine Grass
This variety of grass does well when it is fed a fertilizer with a 4-1-2 ratio of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium or N-P-K. For example, if you go to the home improvement store and see a bag labeled 16-4-8, broken down into the least common denominator, the formula is 4-1-2. The ratio does not have to be exactly 4-1-2. Fertilizers that are 3-1-2 work well, such as those labeled 15-5-10. Always choose a slow-release fertilizer that will keep feeding your lawn for 8-12 weeks rather than releasing all its nutrients in to the soil at the first rain. Your lawn will look better and be more resistant to cinch bugs and disease.

How Much Fertilizer St Augustine Grass Requires
St Augustine responds very well to ½ pound of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. Here’s how to determine how much fertilizer is needed to apply that much Nitrogen. Divide the number 50 by the first number in the formula, the one that stands for Nitrogen. In a 16-4-8 product, that number comes out to 3.125. 50/16=3.125. That means you need 3.125 pounds of fertilizer for every 1,000 square feet.

How Often to Fertilize St Augustine Grass
See our article entitled St Augustine Maintenance Schedule for a year-round schedule that includes fertilizing. In general, you should fertilize for the first time each spring when the grass is about 50% green. Then, fertilizing every 6-8 weeks will be sufficient to maintain a healthy, thriving and green lawn.

How to Fertilize your Lawn
Both cyclone spreaders and drop spreaders can do a good job distributing fertilizer. The key is to buy a high-quality model with an accurate dial so you can be very sure you are applying the right amount of fertilizer. Then, fertilize the lawn in two separate applications. On the second application, travel at a right angle to the first application. So, for example, travel east-west on the first application and north-south on the second. This will ensure balanced feeding over your entire St Augustine lawn.

Summary
While this may sound complicated, you’ll see that it is quite easy after a few applications. You’ll quickly get the hang of it and be very comfortable feeding your lawn properly by the beginning of the second season.