Is My Lawn Renovation a Fail?

DIY Identification Forum
1

Hey guyz,

I’m reaching out for some advice and to see if anyone else has experienced something similar. I live in Zone 8a of coastal Virginia and recently took the plunge to renovate my entire lawn. Here’s what I did:

  1. I Round-Up’d my entire lawn and leveled the yard with a mix of about 1” of 70% Topsoil and 30% Compost.
  2. I applied Tenacity immediately before seeding.
  3. For the seed, I used a blend of 90% Tall Fescue (TTTF) and 10% Kentucky Bluegrass (KBG).

I’ve attached some pictures of my front yard and the back yard, which looks worse, partly due to my dog’s activity. I’ve been diligent about keeping the lawn moist, but there were a few hot days when I came home to find it drier than I’d like due to work commitments.

It’s now 9 days since seeding, and I’m starting to feel concerned. Should I be worried about the current state? I’ve noticed a lot of bare spots, especially in the back yard, and I just laid some additional seed to help fill those in.

We had some heavy rain (1” over 3 days), and I’ve noticed the soil seems to have more clay or sand than I expected from the mix I ordered. I’m really hoping to see more TTTF germinate soon and that the KBG will fill in as well, but I’m feeling unsure.

Any insights or encouragement? Should I be worried about my lawn renovation failing, or do you think it will fill in with time?

lawn renovation
lawn renovation1080×1440 770 KB

2

Growing grass with dogs is challenging. If they’re dragging a line across the ground, it makes it even harder. One suggestion is to rake up some of those twigs. It looks like there are a lot of them, which might be blocking the seeds from growing.

3

I tell my customers i can put down seed but they need to water water water. Plus they wont see there full yard tell the next year

4

I’m on day 9 too, and it looks like yours has grown more than mine. I’ve been watering mine well, both at night and in the morning for longer periods. Today was the first day I really noticed it starting to grow. Stay positive…

5

Get a bunch of sprinklers and put them on a timer. 5 minutes, several times a day.

6

For what it’s worth I seeded with a similar blend 12 days ago and only got like 60% stubble by day 7. In the last 5 days it has made HUGE jumps.

7

Definitely be patient! If you’re worried about the bare spots, you can add more seed there. The best thing to do now is to keep watering and avoid cutting the grass for three weeks. A lawn mower can really harm the seedlings.

8

Kentucky Bluegrass (KBG) takes 14 to 28 days to germinate, so you still have plenty of time. Tall Fescue (TF) germinates in up to 14 days. Just make sure to keep the soil moist all the time.