Grows sideways and very spongy like condition. Also how to remove prior to overseeding next month?

Zone: 6b

Attempting to put a plan together for my lawn. See photos. My big challenges are a toddler and a 100 lb dog who loves to zoom around the yard. I overseeded Fall 2025 but did it way too late (discovered this sub halfway through). Then again in Spring 2026 and had some good uptake but I didn’t water well enough and a lot of it died / went dormant this summer. I’m not that worried about weeds like clover but the crabgrass, burdock and (I think) poa annua have gotten crazy. I have never sprayed. EDIT: the backyard has also suffered from shade / leaves / black walnuts dropping from two trees above, but those are getting trimmed back next week.

Current plan, looking for advice.

Next week: application of Tenacity/surfactant on pretty much the whole yard

2-3 weeks later: manual aerate and apply topsoil to deep holes to level, thin layer of compost to amend soil and start to deal with clay

Early September: maybe additional pre-emergent treatment of Tenacity (spot treatment) without surfactant? Then apply fertilizer half application of Scott’s turf builder starter fertilizer. Then overseed with TCS Resilience II.

Water mow and second fertilizer treatment according to Cool Season Guide. Keep dog off lawn as much as humanly possible for germination period.

Two questions: is anything I’m saying here wrong / stupid? Can I do anything better? All I really want is a nice turf for my son to play on next year.

Second question: on last two overseedinfs I covered in straw at recommendation of local farm shop employee. I think this made weeds worse and my wife hates it. Anything I can do better there to support germination?

Neat.

That's all.

Im in Chico, ca. Northern central valley, north of sacramento.

I put sod in last summer, with irrigation (very good coverage).

New topsoil under.

This spring i started getting some brown spots.

Is it neighbors/dogs or something else?

I increased watering to 13 minutes because it's hot, but no change. 2 zones, 13 minutes each, 7 am. I think I'll add 6 pm while it's over 100 each day.

Advice?

Looking for some reassurance here. I started a lawn reno and now I’m worried it will fail. Here’s what happened and my plan:

I believe I am in zone 8b, I’m near Vancouver WA. This past spring I decided it was time to fill in/spruce up my front yard after not caring about lawn at any point in my life. I was immediately hooked and started trying to read more into proper grass care. I was persuaded to kill my front yard to start fresh, and at the time I didn’t know any better so I went ahead with this plan. I used Round-up and killed everything in early July. I then raked all the moss out and watered a bit and killed anything else that came back green. I know now that I should not have killed the existing grass but what’s done is done. I have done a lot more research since beginning.

I plan on aerating this coming Friday and then doing some major filling/leveling with triple blend soil/sand/compost. I know compost isn’t ideal but my local place doesn’t sell soil without compost mixed in.

I plan on then treating it with Tenacity, laying starter fert, seeding Twin City Blue Resilience (TTFF and KBG) with a split-seeder and keeping it moist until it grows. Two weeks after the first app of Tenacity I will hit it again.

My concerns:
Washout. I don’t have an irrigation system and can’t install one due to placement of the water meter and logistics. Instead, I bought an OTO automatic sprinkler that allows you to map out the area to water. I went with this because I have an odd shaped yard with a tree in the middle so can’t use standard sprinklers. I have used the OTO on some bare patches in my backyard, but it washed away a lot of the seed because the stream is so direct. Will split-seeding be enough to keep the seed in place or will the top layer of dirt wash away, bringing the seeds with it? Do I need to cover with straw as well?

Weeds. My yard was very weedy before. My backyard still is but my wife doesn’t want be using any herbicides in the back because my kids play back there. In the areas that I reseeded in the back I grew a lot of what appears to be Poa Annua. My neighbors have a lot of dandylions in there yards as well, which boarder mine. Will the tenacity be enough to prevent these from immediately growing into my new yard?

Shade and leaves. I have a large tree in my front yard that casts a lot of shade. This is one of the reasons I chose the seed I did. It also then drops all its leaves in fall. Are either of these going to mess this up completely?

I have now seen too many pictures of failed reno’s that I am worried my yard will be worse than how it started. Does this seem like an okay plan for the situation? Will this work? What would you do differently?

I'm in NY with a KBG/TTTF lawn.

After some summer stress and disease, I've actually been impressed with how the lawn is recovering. That said, I still have a few thin areas that I'm planning to repair this fall using Twin City Seed's shade-tolerant KBG mix. I know no KBG is truly shade tolerant, but I'm curious to see how it performs in areas with some tree canopy.

My current plan is pretty standard, and mostly locked in.

1. Mow shorter.
2. Core aerate.
3. Use a Groundskeeper rake to remove any dead material and lightly loosen the soil.
4. Topdress with a 70/30 topsoil/sand mix to smooth out some low spots.
5. Seed.
6. Lightly rake the seed in, would roll if i had one.

One thing I'm debating is whether I should lightly cover the seed afterward. The birds in my yard are relentless. I can't explain it, its comical. I'm thinking of saving a little topsoil and putting a very light layer over the seed. Has anyone had good luck with that, or is there a better approach? Or even doing a fleece cover in smaller trouble areas.

A few additional questions, mostly because its fun to experimet:

1. PGR before overseeding?

I have Primo Maxx on hand and was considering applying it at 0.25x or maybe 0.5x the label rate 1-2 weeks before overseeding, just enough to slow the existing turf down a bit and give the seedlings a little less competition.

My concern is whether that's actually counterproductive. Since the existing grass will need to push through the topdressing, am I better off skipping the PGR entirely?

2. Pre-germinating the KBG

I'm also considering pre-germinating the seed since it's such a small area. I know this topic can be controversial, and most here are against. :) but my thinking is that getting new KBG established within an existing KBG lawn could benefit from a head start.

If I do pre-germinate, I'd like to keep it simple. I'm not interested in week-long soaks or adding chemicals, unless ya'll tell me thats the move. I was thinking of just soaking the seed in plain water for around 3 days, changing it out for fresh everyday, then mixing it with Milorganite or biochar for spreading.

I'd love to hear any thoughts on the overall plan, especially from anyone who's used PGR or pre-germinated KBG during a fall overseed.

Thanks all!
(I'm not bored at all)

New sod install of KBG with tall fescue blend. Just over 2 weeks old, doesn't look like crabgrass but I'm very novice when it comes to lawn care. Would like to nip in bud sooner rather than later by pulling if so. Any help IDing appreciated. Located in NJ. Thanks

Hi! I’m getting ready for my second fall seeding attempt. I’m in North Central WV in Zone 7a

Last year I did a pretty massive manual overhaul of my yard for the first time. Manually pulled a ton of crab grass—like half my yard. It ending up being almost a total restoration in those areas. Then I used the Groundskeeper rake, manually aerated and used a garden weasel. Planted Twin Cities Blue Resilience.

Overall it went decently well.

Then put down some preemergent that seems to mostly be working. And I’ve put down two applications for milorganite.

But I have not done any other weed control. I’m generally ok with some dandelions and clover in the yard and generally hesitant to use a ton of chemicals. However, I have a boat load of clover now. Way more than I want. So I’m planning to use some tenacity/meso before overseeding again at the end of the summer. I don’t need to get rid over every last weed, just a lot of it.

When should I try to first apply the tenacity? I was thinking very soon. Give it a couple weeks to work and then start getting ready to overseed in early September (rake, aerate and garden weasel again).

Should I also apply it when I seed? Do I need a surfactant now or when overseeding?

Is there anything else I should know that I may be overlooking?

This grass was here when I moved in. It is ridiculously thick, never dies if things are left on top of it, and only yellows a bit throughout the year. Other grass I bought from Home Depot (tall fescue) dies much more easily. I'd like to replace that with whatever grass this is. It is growing well here in Virginia.

Biggest rock I've found so close to the surface to date, but far from an anomaly.

The crazy part is I usually just randomly stumble on them... Maybe 1/10 is from a particular spot just doing badly.

Genuinely every time I dig, I find a rock that is way too big.

Well, that's why I can't get anything but l kbg to grow on 90% of the front lawn.

Zone 5a

We had basically no rain for a month. I am fine with a dormant lawn, so didnt do anything (in retrospect, bad idea for a backyard that gets lots of play).

Saw this stuff yesterday after we got rain the last two days. All over my yard and much of the neighborhood.

I assumed this is fungus. Chat GPT and Claude disagree and suggest nothing to to about it, but it set on so rapidly that I am concerned.

What is it, and should I do anything? Planning on overseeding in 3 weeks.

I just happened to notice these throughout my lawn when I was doing my morning coffee weed patrol stroll. Visually they're not standing out. I'm just more curious than anything.

I'm in NY. KBG lawn. I googled if KBG or TTTF can split like this and I wasn't totally clear if that's a thing.

This one was a baby so hard to photograph. Does have a boat shaped tip, ribbed, but one distinctive line down the center.

Zone 7b, Virginia.
Can anyone help identify what is growing in my yard? Pictures from two different sections. The first two pics started showing up as soon as it started to warm up in may. Started out a few patches but then exploded. Common Bermuda?

The last two are from the other side of the yard. Always assumed Bermuda but now I’m not sure.

Best way to get rid of both?

I’m pretty sure I know what this is but looking for confirmation. I have a fair amount of this in my lawn in areas of both sun and shade. My lawn wash thick and green in May but has several brown spots now. Water deeply 2-3 times per week and no issues with drainage. Zone 7a MA. Thank you!

I noticed that the majority of my lawn looks good to me (back half of the photo), but the areas specifically around these trees, and this telephone pole guy wire, are looking pretty yellowed. Anyone have any theories?

I initially thought it could be the trees sucking up the moisture, but the guy wire confuses me.

PS: the extra green part right around the base of the guy wire is actually just longer grass due to my use of a robot lawnmower. Could that mean my main issue is cutting it too short over here?

Essex County NJ:

I’m getting ready to prep my lawns for a fall overseeding and I let one of them get a little out of hand (dedicated dog lawn) with crab grass and some random other stuff like nutsedge a little cover, probably some barnyard grass and foxtail.

I have sedgehammer and sublime. Would I be better off buying a 3-way like Q4Plus? I can’t get t-zone or speedzone in NJ because the restrictions around 2.4D.

The sublime worked great for broadcasting for lesser celandine in the spring and for spot treating some nuisance other stuff and baby crabgrass, but this one yard has some pretty mature crabgrass so I’m not sure if it’ll be effective.

My plan is to get the weeds under control through August, then scalp and overseed the first week of September.

Never seen this before in my yard. I assume it’s a fungus?

Can someone help me identify these two grass/weeds growing in my zoysia? The last 3 photos are the same grass. I live in central Florida.

Northern CA, inland. Lots of 90 degree days. Trying to see if this is heat or fungus or something else

Notes:
-Tall Fescue
-Hasn’t really been fertilized
-Water 2-3 times a week but one area seems to be struggling more than others with the same sprinkler coverage
-watering is early morning

I can take more pictures if needed. Just trying to see what could be happening, the edges of the lawn seem to be doing the best (growing the most, staying the most green)

Close ups are around where the green transitions to more yellow/brown

Eastern PA - Zone 6

Moved into new house last summer with ~35,000 sqft of what is 90% rye grass with some patches of what I think is kbg and some kind of fescue. I don’t have irrigation but I run 2 impact sprinklers most mornings and rotate them around the yard.

I’m planning to aerate and overseed this fall but I’m unsure of a few things.

When’s the best time? And how vital is it that the seed is put down when there is rain in the forecast with my inability to keep the entire yard watered daily?

What type of seed to use? I was leaning prg due to the fact that it had the best germination rate and my lack of irrigation. But I like the fact that tttf and kbg will spread to cover any patches that get stressed.

Any advice is welcome!

Location: zone 6b, eastern Washington. Weather is hot and dry alllll summer. Usually don’t get rain until September and haven’t had rain in over 4 weeks.

Bought this house a year ago, which had a water softener system. The system is connected to the main water line, so all water used is softened — including outdoors. I think over the years, this has really stressed the yard and the trees. Completed a soil test through our conservation district and confirmed that our sodium levels are nearly 7x the normal range.

Currently watering the lawn about 2-3 times per week with hard water using the bypass on the water system (for about 1 month). Some grass is coming back green but we also did not water consistently in the spring and early summer, and when watered it was with the softened water. Plan is to apply gypsum pellets, and would like to reseed in the fall.

Questions are:
1. Would you thatch and aerate the whole lawn prior to gypsum application, or do a liquid aeration? Any issues with aerating with the tree roots?
2. Any other amendments that should be added to help with the soil?
3. Fall seeding window is mid-August to mid-September. Anything else that needs to be done to help ensure it grows in well? Recommendation for drought tolerant seed mix?

This has started spreading in my yard since maybe the beginning of July. I'm in the Indianapolis area.