wyocoyote McCoy

I have been less that C and L lately.
aerated the lawn w my friends big lawn airator. I've seen many mixed reviews, but since my established lawn is dwarf fescue rather than tall fescue and it is just recovering....kinda patchy I decided to overseed with tall fescue and I figured plugging the lawn would loosen things a bit and the holes would let seeds and added compost (i used mostly worm) get a bit deeper. So I have seeded 5 pounds ( about 1/2 recommended for establishing a new lawn) added atop this about 20 cubic yards of worm castings and organic soil mix (damnit i did have wood chips in it....kinda false advertising on the gardner and bloom bag. And will lbe adding 10 50 lbs bags of sand as well. What i slarted with was beautiful black dirt/soil created over time by the San loorenzo river, but that compacts too readily for our high traffic lawn as it dries. I have been following OLCFTCAL practices for the past 3 years since bringing in the just a bit too dainty dwarf fescue before realizing its taller sibling should be a better bet.
         Okay questions, number one being at what point can I spread corn gluten weed killer? I know I have just created a tasty place for weedage, and that this corn somehow inhibits seeds from germinating. URGENT I SUPPOSE: CAN I SPREAD IT NOW ATOP ALL ASSUMING THE SEEDS ARE BELOW ENOUGH SOIL AND HEARTY ENOUGH TO MAKE IT DESPITE THE NATURAL INHIBITOR? Have I spred oo much material at one time for my existing lawn to mix in? ANd though i know i can figure this somewhere else on these pages how long for the grass seeds to geminate and be strong enough to tread on in other word how long shall i keep the lawn moist.....right now its still supersaturated due to the massive rains weve had in coastal central california. a plus thoug looks like sunny weather ahead so i will have to water.. in other words how long before i can open the lawn?

Well, I'll enjoy it til then, its been a problematic area anyways (see my oxalia woes posts) and I may be incorrect on it being all crabgrass. have found good picks, but havent seen its skinny fingers..digits (it's Inflorescence, big word for me) as in the UC davis pics in link below.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7456.html

Not certain yet(not certain that this is indeed "crabgrass") but looks like  crabgrass has flourished where the fescues have failed in my mystery grasses front lawn.  It is hell of thick and nice despite infrequent watering. No other "weed" dares grow through. Is this maligned "weed" perhaps the ideal lawncover?
Why is it so despised?  Im in coastal mid california dry summertime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitaria
Hmm looks like it is an edible

In the battle I wage each spring against pretty yellow flowers---oxalia---in order to keep my lawn organic and yet a lawn, I have had to break the rule of thumb and mow low. Reason being at this spring stage the faux clover otgrows the grass and my fescue is light deprived, yep buried in a miniature cudzu like world. Tell me I'm wrong but If my role is to give my turf an advantage, seems like let there be light should be the goal until the grass growth speeds up and the oxalia slows down. It is still to wet and cold---for the grass and conditions are optimum for growth of the pretty weed. As the soil dries a bit, the grass will have more advantage.

well I have a lot of posts in this forum on my oxalia/ oxalis battles. More questions than answers. Though they compete for the same resources, they may just have to coexist with the grasses of my front lawn. Here in Santa Cruz California, this faux clover rears its head after spring rains, it likes wet and it likes shade. When it dries out it dies out. the best I can do is promote a thick tall turf, and mow a bit more frequently to cut the oxalia down as it grows taller quicker than my turf, so i just kind of cut its head off so the grass gets more light. I get some perverse boy like pleasure out of hacking the yellow flowers off with the push mower.
Now, my rear yard is a party grounds and well trodden. the oxalia does not like this at all. it is only found along the edges there, perhaps it would be wise to have a dance party on your lawn.Did you know in peru there is a form of this plant that has been cultivated to have a large tuber which is eaten, so have some Peruvians over at this gathering and make sure they are hungry!
We'll see over time who wins the oxalia or the grass. I think if you follow the organic lawn practices in the forum and just keep mowing at 3-4 inches but  more frequently while the oxalia is having its growth spurt, the lawn will get an advantage. this bugger aparently goes deep and and has a little bulb deep down and thats why its so hard to eradicate. Id sure like to know what ph it likes. All and all its an attractive lawn covering in itself until it dies off, having deprived your grass of much light. We'll see this is my second year battle with it. the year lawn was newly sodded last year so its a bit of a different story and we rototilled very deeply, because we we're levelling the area as well. i think that killed a lot of it prior to sodding. I wonder if your climate is similar to ours?

have been a C and L devotee in my lawncare.
http://www.allaboutlawns.com/lawn-weeds-pests/grass-rust-tells-you-how-youre-doing.php
found this highly pertinant, esp. the last paragraph. hopefully. Its an end of summer slow growth lilt. Am concerned I have under watered once deeply every 2-4 weeks depending on the looks of the grass. I just fertilized w dr earth's 3 weeks ago. the climate has certainly changed on the CA central coast to much more moisture and colder nights, but so far no rain. The surf's size has kicked in so we are riding over head waves. Pretty off topic, how can I connect it. Iam cheap and lazy so I can work less and surf more.Didnt find much specific to this fungus on the site, I found the Take a look at http://fungiperfecti.com/mycogrow/index.html ; for more info on some fungal stuff from fungi perfecti that is for creating a better turf. suggestion interesting. Something about the plants growing so much better with the product reminds me of hair growth schemes.
could have over fertilized a tad.
my front lawn, which is a conglomerate of mystery grasses, and seldom trod upon like the rear one doesnt have the rust and was fertilized the same day. Another interesting argument in the all about lawns article is the advantage of a diversity of grass. mines pretty mono- dwarf fescue with some bluegrass that I have never seen. I understand the disadvantages of overseeding, but part of my wants to introduce some copetitive grasses that might be heartier in this virtual dance floor of a lawn. I'll leave it alone. It is
doing well. if not flourishing.

My lawns doing pretty well and on the C and L program. Now that summer is ending and the fog rolls in the dwarf fescue is thriving. Have been meaning to give it an inch of compost, but all my local brands have cellulose ie bark or woodchips as major ingrediants. Skip it?
Will be fertilizing soon with DR. Earths lawn fertilizer. The ringer my garden store sells is lawn restore, whatever that means. The DR. Earth worked well last time. USE A DUST MASK AND EYE PROTECTION WHEN SPREADING FOLKS organic or no.

geeeeze,
Love my Scotts, mow at highest setting which is pretty high. Now my lawns are not an acre or anything. we properly adjusted it and it does indeed cut better that your typical gas engine one. Dont care to do any math. Ours was a yard sale find, they are only about 80 bucks new. The craftsman models do not mow high enough. Caveat....its adjustment versus shapness which makes thes work well, also your lawn needs to be, "at attention." you know sticking up. dont mow right after the hoe down. Its pleasant to me and my neighbors. Now lets talk leaf blowers versus rakes!
Another nice quiet tool. Have a long handled adjustable pair of shears that have a handle about 3 feet long. I can walk upright and clip the edges of my grass near structures, garden. not as speedy as the weed wacker, but its nice. mine is made by fiskars. those star like edgers on a wooden pole also work well next to the sidewalk, when sharp and in adjustmentWould rather be quiet during the day so i can rock out in the evenings.
Now lets talk leaf blowers versus rakes!
The shears I have refered to are the ones at the giant link below. Wish they were better quality. They are medium quality id say.
http://www.fiskars.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10101&categoryId=10268&productId=10503&page=products

May go ahead and add an inch of quaolity compost and even borrow my buddies aerator prior.
I know this is not particularly lazy. What do you think of the below links instructions? Adding sand. I think we could say to be sure that my lawn is compacted due to heavy traffic, and I hapoe to slide the grass more nutrients and to help it be less thirsty. Have been dong my best to  water alot infrequently, but around twice a month its not happy this summer. Likes weekly better. Its 3-4 inches high.
http://www.lawnandmower.com/top-dressing-the-lawn.aspx
My main concern on "topdressing" adding an inch of compost is depriving the grass of light if I over do it, and foot traffics impact on top of this layer. That and whether the addition of sand is a good plan.

Well an update on the back lawn w/dwarf fescue and mucho traffic. So far, I can follow the mow high water less often deeply ritual, but Its happier when watered once a week, Ive tried to train it to drought tolerance, but may have to give in. Boy is the grass happy under the picnic table where there is more shade and no heavy feet. I wish I'd gotten a heartier grass the name hard fescue sounds perfect. its tufty and nice and completely weed free. gets alot of browning which I attribute to traffic. Because of my particuler lazinesses, I  water at 10 PM or midnight. Ive heard 4 AM is ideal, forget that!
      We shall see next year, but it appears my front yard mystery grasses have also recovered. there has been alot of seeding of dead patches,where the oxalia had been dominant. The wild barly has been regularly decapitated dosent seem to have done any harm. The oxalis is dormant and the dandelions mostly plucked, we shall see how it fairs next winter and spring. it has no traffic and the high mow is easy 'cause it sticks straight up. because many patches have been reseeded it is watered more frequently.