New invader

I noticed this grass growing near the edge of our lot in the front yard:

I'm not sure what it is and will need to do some research to see if I can figure it out. It appears to grow close to the ground and more laterally (via stolons?). The color is somewhat grayish green, lighter in color than nearby Kentucky bluegrass.

My initial thinking is that it might be creeping bentgrass, but I'll need to investigate more. I recall seeing some foreign grass in this area last year and I actually tried to kill it with roundup, but I may have missed some if it is in fact the same thing.

Turf problems

What else is new?

So, something isn't quite right. While the rest of the lawn has been greening up quite well, the new Kentucky bluegrass that I planted in the front yard last fall just isn't. It's still very short and hasn't been nearly long enough to mow even though I've mowed the rest of the lawn several times already.

Some shots I took today of the lawn:

New grass (in center)

New grass

Mmm, look at that grass!

Recovering from weeds

New gress

Also, I have noticed some patches of disease.

Up close

This looks a lot like the disease I noticed last year, but contrary to what I thought last year, I'm thinking that it's actually leaf rust. When I rubbed it with my fingers it left an orange coloring. The Purdue publication on the disease says (my emphasis added):

Rust outbreaks are most common in late summer and early fall, although sometimes the disease is active in the early spring (especially on poorly nourished turf). Rust is a disease of slow growing turf, so factors that contribute to poor growth tend to favor rust development. Such factors include summer heat and drought stress, low nitrogen fertility, compaction, and shade.

I can certainly rule out summer head and drought stress. Also:

Maintaining a healthy and vigorous turf stand is the most effective and efficient method of rust control. Since slow growing turf in mid- to late summer is most vulnerable to outbreaks, small amounts of nitrogen fertilizer (0.2-0.5 pound of N per 1,000 square feet) in chronic trouble spots (shaded and possibly compacted areas) will help control the disease. The nitrogen will promote leaf growth and allow for regular mowing, which helps the turf outgrow rust's relatively slow infection cycle.

Additionally, I'm seeing another apparent disease that looks like this:

Up close

I'm thinking that this is likely powdery mildew. Thankfully the Purdue publication on this disease describes it as being more or less harmless:

The disease is rarely responsible for any lasting damage to turf, so its effects are primarily aesthetic.

And:

Powdery mildew occurs most often on slow-growing turf, usually in shaded areas. Pathogen activity is favored by cool, cloudy conditions that prevail in spring and fall. Prolonged periods of dew or wet weather are not needed for disease establishment and spread, although periods of high humidity favor disease development.

So, I'm starting to think that all of the above problems could be caused by malnutrition. Perhaps it needs some fertilizer? I applied some with the crabgrass preventer a few weeks ago, but since I only applied a half "dose", I only ended up applying around about .33 lbs N/1000 sq ft. I think I'll give it a try and put down some fertilizer and see what happens (as usual).

Do I pull in vain?

I just can't believe the amount of tall fescue I am finding (also some orchardgrass, but less than my last round of pulling) - I pulled all of this up last year, multiple times (and also supposedly "killed" with the selective herbicide). Or so I thought. I must be missing something.

Am I pulling it up improperly? My technique has been something like this: using a hand weeder and a piece of wood for leverage (when I first started, I was using my other hand for leverage and my finger went numb for several months after - not good), find the base of the bunch of grass and stick it down into the soil as far as possible below the roots and using the leverage push down so that pushes the bunch up from below.

My grass pulling tools

I try to get as much of the roots as possible, but this is sometimes difficult especially with the larger clumps. I must be missing some roots... It amazes me that a plant can come back over and over again after so much torture. Impressive!

Yesterday I decided to be more aggressive and less concerned about collateral damage. This has been my weakness. If the undesirable grass is intermingled with the precious Kentucky bluegrass, I try to separate the two and keep as much Kentucky bluegrass in tact as possible (often replanting it). This has probably left roots of the undesirable plant behind. But not anymore. I now throw it all out, good along with the bad.

Another thing I have done in the past is to try to put the soil back that came up with the roots. To do this I would shake at it and try to loosen it with the end of the weeder. This may also have allowed the roots back into the soil. But no more!

We'll see if these changes help, but at some point, if it just keeps coming back, I'm going to give up on pulling (as therapeutic as it can be sometimes). The areas that don't have any tall fescue this year are the areas that I sprayed with Roundup last year...