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should I put in a new lawn in summer?

14 years ago

Hi there,

My husband and I are desperately trying to fix our landscape. I am hoping someone might be able to answer....I really appreciate the expertise that this group has!

We are in the process of renovating an area of our lawn that is pretty unusable and in the process we are going to put in a new lawn. Is it a terrible time to do that ? I live in massachusetts and it is almost July.... I know this is not ideal (though it has been raining nonstop for a month straight here presently!)

We are just so desperate to get this area done, but I have concerns... one is that I know summer is not a good time to do this. Secondly our town has put water restrictions on that say only hand watering by sprinkler is allowed. I am not sure if this is enforced for people putting in new lawns. I am hesitant to call the town and ask in fear of putting myself on their "radar". I feel terrible using up valuable resources like water, but it will be a really hard summer if we can't get this area completed because we have no back yard... only this side yard, which is dirt and weeds right now.

We want to get the area re-graded so my son can play out there. There is a dangerous ugly stone rock garden that we want removed and made into something more safe and attractive.

The thought I had was to just do a small section that we were planning to use for a play area for my son and then wait until september to do the much larger area. The small area is quite small and wouldn't use up too much water.

Would it be better to put in sod in the smaller area... would that be less likely to have weeds come up?

Also we have terrible grass in our front lawn. Most of the grass is very thick and rough. I believe the lawn is mostly a mix of KBG, perennial rye and different kinds of fescue's. I know one landscaper mentioned my grass and said that when the soil isn't great that this particular grass likes to dominate. I am not sure which kind it was... maybe rye grass? Does anyone know? I could take a picture if it would help.

I was wondering if overseeding it with just the more favorable types of grass would work, or will these not do well in my soil if the other grass has already overtaken the area?

Thank you so much!!!!!

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Comments (2)

bpgreen
14 years ago
It's tough enough to get a new lawn to make it through the summer if you can water regularly. With watering restrictions, I'm afraid that if you put a lawn in now, you're almost sure to be doing it again late summer/early fall after the heat breaks.

If I were you, I'd hold off and put up with what you've got until the fall.

You might be able to make it with a small sodded area.
auteck
14 years ago
I concur with BP, water restrictions is your biggest problem.

Sod still needs to be watered, but stands a MUCH better chance surviving the summer.
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