I’m looking for some advice on how to bring my lawn back into good shape this spring.
Location: Minnesota
Grass type: Kentucky bluegrass sod (installed July last year)
Background:
The sod rooted well by the end of last season—I checked by pulling on it and it was clearly established. That said, I didn’t maintain it properly. I was inconsistent with mowing (sometimes cutting too short, other times letting it get too long), and I didn’t fertilize at all last year.
Going into winter, I also left the grass taller than I should have. Now coming out of winter (late April), the lawn is thick but has a lot of matted, brown/dead material. There is some green coming through, but it’s pretty limited and patchy.
Current conditions:
Temps have been ranging from mid-30s to high 60s over the past couple of weeks
Lawn looks dense but suppressed, with slow green-up
My plan is skipping pre-emergent and weed control for now and focusing on getting the grass back into good shape and improving density.
I plan to use my groundkeepers rake to do some aggressive raking to loosen up the matted grass and allow some aeration.
AI is recommending cutting to 2” and over seeding then following up with fertilizer and consistent watering.
Sometimes I feel like I just need to raking and start watering. No seeding or fertilizer. Then do the seeding and fertilizer in the fall.
Curious what everyone thinks and what would be good seed and fertilizer if I would take that route.