That strip is called a "hell strip" because it is hard to grow anything there. Usually watering is the issue because, being between two hot pieces of concrete in the summer, you have trouble keeping it moist. Still, we can help you. All is not lost. But we need some more information. Where do you live? Did you plant grass and if so, what kind of grass did you plant? Or do you know what kind of grass you have? I just zoomed in on it and it looks like neglected bermuda grass. It is also possible there was a chinch bug infestation last summer. They love hell strips. A word about watering. Daily watering is the worst kind. Sure you see people doing it everywhere, but they are doing it wrong. They end up paying more for herbicide and possibly fungicide. A much better way to water is to apply deeply and infrequently. Deeply means 1 full inch all at one time. Infrequently means once per week in the hottest heat of summer and backing off to once per month in the cooler months. For your area right now, I would put a black soaker hose out there and turn it on to a trickle. What is a trickle? A trickle means 1 cup per minute as measured at the faucet. It is just a little more than a drip. Turn that on and let it run for a full week - maybe 2 weeks - to moisten the soil down deep. The extremely slow rate will allow the soil to moisten but also allow air to move in and out. If that is bermuda and you live somewhere where the grass is still growing, then it should rebound in that 2-week period. You should start seeing greening along the runners on top of the ground. Another thing you can do to really improve your soil is to apply an organic fertilizer at least once per year. You can apply it any day of the year without fear of hurting anything. You can apply it the same day you apply a chemical fertilizer if you find that convenient. If that is bermuda, search the Internet for the Bermuda Bible. Memorize that and follow it. It's not that had to follow. There are a couple rules that boil down to mow low every week, water once a week, and fertilize heavily every month.

A couple weeks on... I applied a 6-10-10 fertilizer and a sparse sprinkling of epsom salts to the garden and the potted plants. Am watering less frequently. Have switched from commercial potting mix to homemade compost as my primary potting medium. It definitely drains better. The basil is beautiful, both in the garden and the pots. I've got way more than I know what to do with, since I never cook with it anyhow. The English thyme's growing at an agonizingly slow pace. About 2-3 inches tall at most. It's spreading laterally more than it is vertically. The potted lovage has come back from the brink, and while still only an inch high, looks healthy and is sending up new stalks. Divided the thorny Mexican coriander. Still tiny, but also a healthy color. Since it cooled off, the parsley's FINALLY gaining some height. The dill's flowering and attracting moths and the occaisonal butterfly. Keeps flopping over. VERY few leaves. No more bouquet. Next year, I'm gonna try fernleaf or dukat. It'll be a miracle if the greek oregano comes back in the spring. Tiny plants that've made no progress in a month. The rosemary's stopped growing. I transplanted it today to a 3-gallon plastic pot. It's a really irregular plant. Smells and looks very healthy, though. How do I prune it so as to encourage growth, rather than kill it? I really appreciate all the help I've gotten here. It's made a world of difference. :)

Well, you guys have convinced me. I have some crabgrass that is hit and miss in small spots around the yard but I also have some pretty good sized concentrations. Even the smaller spots with just one or two plants, the plants themselves are mature, large and spread out so that it would be fairly easy to spray just that plant and not get too much else around it. Also, the RoundUp I had for another area where I didn't want anything else growing back for a while was the RoundUp Extended Control. Regular RoundUp says you can replant after 3 days. So, I think I'm going to try and hit the worst of the infestation with RoundUp, then I'll go over the whole yard with a light spray of Tenacity for the Yellow Nutsedge. When the crabgrass starts to knock back and die off, I'll rent a dethatcher and go over the yard with that, then rent an aerator, then a power seeder and reseed and fertilize. Oh, and unless we have an unseasonably cold fall or a really fast-coming winter, we can stay in at least the mid-40s at night and mid-60s to mid-70s all the way until Thanksgiving around here. It's really hit or miss and, my luck, we'll have a really cold fall, but I'm really not too worried about sowing grass in mid to late September. I've looked at some of the information from the local county extension agents and they say that as long as the seed is in the ground by the end of September in our area, the grass should have time to be well rooted before winter hits. Sometimes it will still be good when seeding as late as mid-October but, with the way the weather is around here anything past the end of September and I'd really be pushing my luck. Soooo, that gives me a month to kill the worst of the crabgrass, dethatch, aerate, power seed and fertilize. Oh, I need to find the time to close down and winterize my pool too. It looks like September is going to be a really busy month! I may have to cancel my vacation days before Thanksgiving and take a few Fridays off instead to extend a few weekends and get everything in. Thanks for the advice guys. - Byron

UPDATE: On Wednesday afternoon the yard was Harley raked. I then borrowed the neighbors tractor and pulled my heavy drag to smooth everything back out. I then spread the seed. And drug all the area with a piece of wire fabric used for concrete reinforcing. This just barely moved any of the dirt to try and get 1/8" coverage over the seed. Thursday and Friday I started watering a small strip about 50' x 130'. My plan was to wait for a rain to start watering the rest and to see how watering is going to go. I realized watering is going to be quite the problem. I don't have great enough water pressure to run 2 sprinklers and trying to water 1 and 1/4 acres with 1 sprinkler is physically impossible to water it all in one day. The same guy who Harley raked Harley raked is going to come by and use his hydroseed machine to spray the mixture minus seed over the area to help retain moisture. This hopefully will happen this morning since we have a good chance of rain this afternoon and tomorrow. After the rain this weekend I will start watering the whole yard. I'll tinker with the pressure reducing valve on my side of the water meter to see if I can get enough pressure to run two sprinklers. If I can't, Im not sure I'll be successful getting this seed going. Time will tell. Oh yeah, after Harley raking me, my wife, and kids picked up 15 more 5 gallon buckets of rocks plus a wheel barrel full. So many rocks, but I think I've gotten most them on the top inch of soil. I'll update more as everything progresses.