Backyard Gardener: Invitation for lawn renovation
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Hello Mid-Ohio Valley farmers and gardeners! Summer heat is hanging on in September, but mild temperatures are on the way as summer fades into fall. The fall equinox and the first day of autumn arrive on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 8:04 P.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere.
Fall means football, watching the leaves turn color and fall off our deciduous trees, and of course another opportunity to garden. Milder temperatures, fewer pests, and fewer diseases make fall a suitable time to plant vegetables. Some plants to consider for your fall garden include arugula, beets, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, parsley, peas, radish, spinach, and turnips.
Many cool-season crops will tolerate light frosts, and it improves the flavor of many of these veggies. Peas & cauliflower survive frosts at 28-32 degrees Fahrenheit while broccoli cabbage, chard, carrots, kale, lettuce, spinach, and parsley can survive hard freezes at 25-28 degrees Fahrenheit.
Have you taken a good look at the yard lately? As we work in and around the home, sometimes the lawn takes some abuse. Over the years bare spots can result from foot traffic and other use. A renovation is a lot cheaper than tilling up and reseeding the whole lawn.
Before beginning a lawn renovation, take a note pad and take a 10-minute walk around the yard. Are there many bare spots and weak areas? Is the lawn more than 50% weeds? Is the lawn filled with ruts and rough spots? Fall is a good time to renovate, so if the lawn needs to be upgraded, let's get to work.
If you have not already, you need to take a soil test. This is a free service offered by WVU and will give you a starting point of your nutrient levels and where your pH is. I cannot stress enough the importance of lime for the lawn. Lime "sweetens" the soil, and most of our plants need a pH between 6.0-7.0 to extract important nutrients from the soil. Plus, lime is a lot cheaper than fertilizer.
The WVU Soil Test Results will provide you with lime and fertilizer recommendations for your lawn. Contact the WVU Extension Office for questions about forms and more
information. Make sure you take samples from several different locations around the lawn, about 2-4 inches deep in the soil. For many of us, our lawn problems may be as simple as low pH (below 6.0) or lack of nutrients like phosphorus or potassium. Fall is a great time to add compost or good fertilizer to the soil, as well as applying lime.
Late summer to early fall is the best time for seeding grasses for a lawn renovation. Suggested times of seeding for West Virginia conditions are September 1 to October 1. Fall typically provides cooler temperatures, more adequate moisture, and less weed pressure for grass seedlings to get a good start.
Many homeowners want to know what the best grass seed is to sow in their lawn. This depends on location. Sunny locations with heavy traffic are different than shady areas. A mix with turf -type fescues, and improved varieties of perennial ryegrass or bluegrass work well in sunny locations. Fine fescues like creeping-red fescue are good choices for shady locations.
I can remember the line from movie City Slickers when Curly says, "There is one thing, just one thing." When renovating the lawn, that one thing is "Seed to Soil Contact". No matter what type of grass seed we sow, it must make contact with the soil to germinate.
When seeding, cut the lawn down short to on inch or less, and us the grass catcher or rake grass clippings for a clean lawn. If there is a lot of decaying organic matter and the thatch layer is soft and spongy, you may need to dethatch the lawn. The thatch layer is a build-up of roots, dead rhizomes and stems. You can use a dethatcher, a lawn rake, or using an old section of chain link fence and pulling around the lawn can help loosen old thatch.
When you have limed, fertilized and prepared the soil, now proceed to overseeding. Overseeding is planting new seeds to fill in bars spots and improve overall lawn density.
How heavy do you apply seed? Recommendations are 4-6 pounds per 1000 sq. ft. for most grass mixes. Seed should be applied uniformly over the area to be renovated. In order to ensure uniform coverage, apply the seed in two directions made at right angles to each other. Enough seed should be applied to provide 15 to 25 seeds per square inch.
Enjoy! Contact me at the Wood County WVU Extension Office (304)-424-1960 or e-mail me at jj.barrett@mail.wvu.edu with questions. Good Luck and until next time, Happy Gardening!
Question of the week: When is the best time to harvest horseradish?
That is a "hot topic"! Nothing gets the sinuses cleared in winter as some good horseradish sauce. Most recommendations are to harvest after the first frost for improved flavor. Dig carefully to avoid damaging or breaking the large roots. After the roots are dug, the main root is harvested while the offshoots are replanted. Year-old roots have the most flavor. Older roots will be woody, pithy or hollow and not good for eating, although older plants can be dug to divide to start new plants.
The bite and sinus-clearing aroma of horseradish is produced by the volatile compounds that are released when the root cells are crushed. The roots are prepared by cleaning them, peeling them, and grating them finely. The grating is best done in a food processor with a little water added to aid in the grinding process. Ground up fresh horseradish is very potent (more than chopped onions) so good ventilation and eye protection is strongly recommended.
Once the root is finely ground, it's time to add a tablespoon or two of vinegar to the mixture. Vinegar stops the reaction of the volatile compounds and controls the hotness of the ground horseradish. The grated horseradish can then be transferred to jars. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a month and can be used in a variety of recipes. Most backyard gardeners believe the taste of fresh horseradish is far superior to the supermarket options.