What should I do with my Lawn?

15 years ago

Hello everyone.

I live in Northeast Florida between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach (in Palm Coast.) Five years ago we built our house and they put in Bahia grass. I currently have a front yard and back yard of many types of weeds and very litte grass left. It is the beginning of December. Here is my question. I need to start over but can't afford to resod the entire yard. I want to kill the weeds that are in my yard and then grow grass from seeding (I understand this will be hard.) What should I use to kill the weeds and what kind of grass do you recommend that will be easy to grow from seed and will be not get weeds as quickly as the bahia grass did. When should I begin this process and what would the entire process look like (i.e. what time of year do I do each step and in what order). Hope someone can help!

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Comments (3)

lawndivot12
15 years ago
Kyden
I am from Pa so I can't tell you much about grasses planted in Florida. One thing you are doing that I know is wrong, and it is understandable. Your putting more emphasis on getting rid of the weeds than planning a lawn that will germinate and grow if properly planned. Weeds are the bain of all lawns but more so for lawns that are recently seeded. If you get the proper seeds for your area, have the lawn area dug up very well and the existing weeds dug in, then forget weeds for a while.Fertilize the area, rake in, seed the lawn area, if it is uneven, roll lightly and mulch. Keep moist, not wet till you get germination.Once it germinates water more heavily. Remember, your forgetting about weeds for a while, because at this time they will appear again. Just concentrate on the grass, when it gets a little thick, fertilize lightly and keep watering There is no way your going to stop weeds at this time and start grass growing. They grow under different conditions and at this time your conditions favor the growth of weeds. They grow low and get the sun on them at this time. You need to concentrate on growing a thick lawn which will eventually start crowding the weeds out because the grass is getting thicker from the food and moisture, Now conditions change and are conducive to growing grass. If you do this and everything goes well and your lawn is starting to look good, remember forget about weeds still. Your controlling them quite well by cutting their heads off when your mowing and the grass itself is quietly crowding some weeds out. Mow pretty high for the seed that you planted.If you plant and do this next spring, don't do anything about weeds the whole spring, or the coming summer. Just feed and water the existing lawn. So now it is fall. Now we have a nice green well fed lawn, time to get the weeds. Several ways to do this, don't try it in summer heat. If your going to use chemicals, I would just use a hose end sprayer and get something from K Mart to spray on the weeds. Lightly, by now you have learned to live with some weeds. Next spring do the same thing, lightly, don't burn up your lawn. By the end of the second fall your weed problem should be arrested, so you should reseed the whole lawn lightly with the same seed. Do it lightly every year to replace lawn you lose during the hot months.Talk to people down there and see what they recommend and make your own plan. I have done this many many times up here and it is going to work for you if you do your part and learn to be patient. One step at a time and wait. Good luck. Lawndivot12
ronalawn82
15 years ago
kyden, you can seed with winter or annual rye grass which will give a fairly quick cover but it will die off as the weather warms up next spring.
Scalp the existing lawn with your lawm mower set at the lowest cutting height.
Sow the grass seed (1 lb./1000 sq. ft.) late in the evening (to fool the birds) and water in well (you do have a sprinkler system, right?) and do not allow to dry out until the seedlings are well established.
Plan carefully for your permanent lawn and be ready to start on Valentine's Day next year.
Contact your local County Extension Office (Flagler) at (386) 437 7464 for assistance.
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Being that you are in the PNW, you might try one of the improved varieties of Velvet bentgrass or colonial bent. I don't know much about either but that would be a unique choice and I think your climate could comfortably support it. This of course would be if you enjoy working on your lawn and want to mow it short for a look similar to a putting green. You asked about what to level the ground. If you've got extreme problems you would want to hire a tractor service to use a box blade. You might be able to rent this equipment. Otherwise you can do it manually by bringing in soil and shoveling and screeding and smoothing and packing it into place. This is a very time consuming task. So much so that *I*, as a very determined person, didn't even have it in me to completely do my back yard. You asked about ammending your soil and claim to have "poor clay soil". I am of the belief that clay soil is not poor soil. Jam packed with nutrients and retains water in case you are in eastern washington somewhere that is very dry, this clay soil will help with drought and establishment. The only reason I would suggest doing it is to improve drainage if that is even necessary such as if you were constructing a home putting green or were using some grass that really needed well drained soil. I also would not till your existing grass into the soil since you probably don't want this existing grass to come back. Even if you ignore all the advice not to till, you still need to rake out the dead grass and this will be back-breaking work, I assure you. You would want to contact your local prison and see if you can get a chain gang out there to do that!!! Now if you want to add organic matter to the soil, you simply topdress the lawn with it. You don't blend it into the soil. It will find it's way down there eventually. One more thing. Having dead grass there (mowed very short) when you reseed is very helpful to hold the seed in place in the event you plan to use seed. A heavy rain shower can ruin the entire project if you're unlucky.
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dchall_san_antonio
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If it were me and I could not afford $100 to resod, I would spend $1 to buy one flat of St Augustine. It is the dominant grass in the deep south as long as it gets water every week. Set your mower for the highest setting, water weekly, and the St Aug will spread 10 feet in every direction in one growing season. With longer season, it might spread more in your area. Fertilize on the national holidays starting with Washington's Birthday (or Valentine's Day if you prefer). If you just do those three things, the St Aug will crowd out all the grassy plants. For the broadleaf weeds you could spray them with vinegar on a hot day or Weed-B-Gone if you prefer to use chemical sprays. Please don't get tempted to try a weed and feed product in the spring. They don't work well. Just fertilize separately and follow up 2 weeks later with WBG or vinegar.

What should I do with my Lawn?

Comments (3)

lawndivot12

ronalawn82

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