Last week I killed quite a bit of my grass with fertilizer. As a newbie gardener (plants, trees, grass - anything one grows in soil), I bought Vigoro to fertilize my grass - to keep up with my neighbour and his amazing lush lawn that was void of weed. Not until afterwards did I realize what a BAD person I am for using this weed killer, let alone how quickly it can kill the grass if you use too much. I think I am the "Lucille Ball" of the Gardening World - I am just making all sorts of goofups. Thinking more was better I used the whole bag on my small lawn, using a spreader not recommended (Home Depot didn't have the recommended type). I couldn't find the recommended settings on-line...so...I just made sure I covered it "well." Overnight I had killed, in stripes, a good part of the lawn. I had parts that were lush green and others that were hay yellow. I emailed Vigoro my dilemma. Luckily, they have a 100% guarantee on their products (which I will use), suggested I water the heck out of the lawn post-mortem, and they very kindly tried to talk me down from drowning myself in some remaining liquid fertilizer I have on hand. Unfortunately, it did little to alleviate my embarassment !! My question is this...Why do you have to wait 4-6 weeks to re-seed? I am interested in understanding. Signed, silly me... joZ
Okay. New gardener mistake. Always remember when it comes to chemicals - More is NOT Better! Less is Best! You have learned from a mistake we all have made at one time or another. Now to your question - The chemicals that killed your grass will break down and weaken over time. With watering and time it will get to a level that will let new seed sprout. Right now they may sprout but they will die just as quickly from the same chemical that killed your grass initally. So that is why your have to wait for the four to six weeks before you can reseed. Gene
Early fall would be a good time to reseed. Lawn fertilization and herbicide treatments are a significant source of water pollution, next time do find out exactly how to go about it beforehand.
Now those answers are GOOD !! Now I get why (the chemical reason)I need to wait. Thank you, thank you. I guess it makes sense, now that you explain it that way. And thanks for being so kind in saying that many newbies have done what I did. This UBC Botanical forum has really got some kind, understanding contributors. Sincerely, joZ
joZ, so sorry to see your burn. Most likely in due time you will see small tuffs of grass start to re-appear. Hopefully more then less. Do note that if you re-seed those burn areas, you will likely not get the same blend of turf grasses already existing in your lawn. This will mean that for ever you will have spotty looking clumps of different coloured and types of grass all over your lawn. This can be worse looking for the long term vs. leaving the burnt patches to slowly come back on their own, and they most likely will if you just keep watering those areas. Or, if you were to evenly over seed the entire lawn area, you could avoid this problem for the most part anyway. Just thought I would give a little future insight. Best of Luck, Jim.
