first time home owner here, yes with first time grass and grass problems. well ive been reading the threads and asking around. my problem is in 2 areas, front and back of home. front of home wheni first arrived was beautiful. green and very great looking. but that was the summer now in november i see most of the grass yellow with straw. its directly under sunlight with one tree on the side. under the tree i do see some nice green spots of grass. is this because of shade? how do i fix the yellow with no shade? ok part 2 the backyard. same as well green when i arrived now yellow and much much worse than the front also now with holes like if there where a mole somewhere. what can i do please help im lost?

It sounds like you might have a lot of native grass rather than a more cultivated type like tall fescue that wouldn't brown out so. JohnCT is right about it being too late this fall, but in spring you might consider buying some fescues to overseed your yard.

Rebel is a good fescue, also Pennington. They are medium tall fescues with good tolerance of traffic and good green color. I would also mix in some creeping red fescue with the tall fescue for the areas under the trees. It is one of the better grasses for shade although a much finer bladed grass.

You can either rake or lightly till the grass seed in after seeding, roll with a yard roller and cover with straw, or rent a verticutter which will cut slits in your soil allowing the grass to germinate in the slits. No straw is necessary for the methods where you bury the seed if you water judiciously.

As for the moles, they are going after the grubs that are just under your sod. Try some milky spore to get rid of them. There are different types. Some they recommend applying yearly, and others that you apply once and are said to last for 10-20 years.

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Terry

May the force be with you