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lawn redo

20 years ago

Hi . I have a lawn which looks like mostly weeds. What would be the best plan of attack to make it look like healthy green grass. Do I kill off the weeds first and then replant seed? Or do I fertalize and hope the grass will choke the weeds out? TIA

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Comments (10)

yarddoctor
20 years ago
I can help better here if I know the State where this lawn is located.
softfurn
Original Author
20 years ago
I'm in NY State...specifically, Long Island. Thanks
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i guess i am the problem neighbor on my street. i only have 1 neighbor unless you count horse pasture, and part of the 2 acres i have directly next to him is garden. the rest i cut when it gets high. i cut most of my lawn every week, but the area between us is VERY uneven and will bounce you off the mower. his father used to own my house, and that area was the dirt track for all the grandkids. i told him if he wants to spray it occassionally to keep the weeds out of his yard, that is fine. i will cut it before it gets more than 10 inches high, but not much more often. i HOPE to be able to level it out this summer. once it is level and smooth, i will cut it with teh regular rotation. since i have a corner lot, only horse pasture buts up to me on the other side. the guy who keeps the horses out there gets something to kill the weeds and i spray it for him. i think it is called graze-on, it has to be a certain type so that the horses can still graze and not have to be moved from teh pasture until the weeds are dead. this helps part of my yard, but the weeds still spread pretty quickly. i just round up the 2 acres around the house itself, and let the rest grow what it wants. the bermuda grows in fine, with teh exception of 2 small areas that are almost exclusively in the shade. i have to smooth and seed those soon.
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"Now my lawn doesn't look that bad but because of the different grass types the growth of each type is all over the place making my lawn uneven." Fernalfer, that's exactly the reason you want start over. There are often other reasons, but yours is one prime example. It diminishes turf quality (appearance) and often requires mowing more often to maintain uniformity. Third week of August is too late. You want to allow 2 or 3 weeks for additional spraying. 1st week - spray, 2nd week - spray again. There might have to be a third week for a third application. That "R" word stuff is the only herbicide you can use and seeds right afterward. Others will not allow seeding for several weeks following application. If you don't want to use herbicide at all, there are a couple more options. Vinegar/water solution acts as an organic non-selective herbicide like that "R" word stuff. It also will require several applications for a complete kill. You can rent a sod cutter. It's more work and more expensive but sure is faster rather than repeated herbicide applications and waiting 2-3 weeks before seeding can take place. You can try smothering the grass by covering it with black (or dark colored) plastic to solarize and deny sunlight. This will also take several weeks and you'd have to lay the plastic very soon, but it's cheaper than a sod cutter. Yep, you want to take care and do everything right as best you can. Cutting cost doesn't factor into the equation unfortunately. I, at least, cannot suggest short cuts, as fault for anything less than success could easily be directed at me. Besides that, it's not in your best interest. Peat moss (Canadian Sphagnum) is my personal favorite growing medium. However, it is a lot more expensive than compost, which is also excellent and a great soil amendment. Please forgive if I don't enumerate all the steps and methods right at the moment. I'll post a new thread on the subject tomorrow and others will chime in with their advice also, so you'll get a complete rundown of your options. In the meanwhile, there are several threads already on the first 2 or 3 pages of the board that are extremely helpful. I am interpreting "50-60 sunlight" to mean your grass around the trees does receive at least 4-6 hours of sunlight, right? If I'm right, my suggestion to Vkolte01 above will work fine for you also. If I'm wrong, please inform. Please let us know if we can help with anything else.
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One acre is a lot of area, and without sprinklers, it's going to be hard to get a nice lawn relying on mother nature. It would be a good idea to break it up into smaller, more manageable areas that you can do correctly instead of one large half-a@#ed effort. You can also break it up into nice lawn near the house, and acceptable lawn areas further away, but that's up to you. Good to see you have your soil tests sent, because as soon as those come back you can start by amending your soil this fall, and next spring-summer. Don't be embarrassed by having someone apply things to your yard, but make sure they apply what you want, when you want. Don't rely on their schedules and products. An acre is pretty sizable, so this isn't going to be cheap. If you need lime, you are looking at 460 lbs. per application (calcitic). For synthetic fertilizer applications, you will need around 175-200 lbs per application. It all adds up, so again breaking it up to high input really nice areas, and low imput acceptible areas will help keep costs lower. For now I would focus on keeping it cut around 3 inches, and consider using a preemergent this spring to get rid of the weeds that will germinate next year. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
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CraftingMomma
20 years ago
My front lawn is the same as Softfurn's ... some grass ... lots of weeds. So I'd be interested in hearing the reply on this issue as well. I live in Massachusetts (zone 5).

An additional problem I have in my back yard ... my lawn and flower gardens are getting over run with moss. It's rather quickly erradicating any grass I had and starting to choke out the flowers in some of the garden beds. My backyard is mostly shadey (but not full shade) ... and lots of pine trees.

In advance ... thanks for any advice.

Joyce
softfurn
Original Author
20 years ago
Is the Doctor in??? I'm bringing this back up.
yarddoctor
20 years ago
Thank you very much for the inquiry. The first step is to try to identify the weeds. Some will be broadleaf and some grassy weeds. This will help us in knowing how to proceed. It is imperative that we control the weeds so that they will not compete with the grass seedlings. We will most likely apply a herbicide to the lawn, followed by seed and starter fertilizer. If crabgrass is a problem, you will need to control these weeds and this is not easy on Long Island due to chemical restrictions. For this reason, it may be best that you save this renovation for early September when the crabgrass is going to die and the grass seedlings will have the least weed pressure.

Again thanks for the inquiry.

Respectfully,

Trey Rogers
The Yard Doctor
kvs933_aol_com
18 years ago
I've read the responses to the lawn redo. I live in South San Francisco and I have the same issue with the lawn...WEEDS
What would you recommend for this area?
luvlife
18 years ago
I am having the same problem. the dandelions are so bad. what can i do to make my lawn look good. what weedkiller should i use and when do i reseed the lawn?
yarddoctor
18 years ago
Ok guys,

Thank you very much for your inquiry. I missed this thread somehow. The question of will grass choke out weeds if I start mowing, watering and fertilizing correctly is one we have pondered for some time. Time seems to be the operative word, as it will take quite a bit of it if you choose the no herbicide approach. Our belief is that if you start with a weed free lawn and perform the three practices above correctly, you can keep out the majority of weeds. We prescribe a theory we call Âresetting the clockÂ (coined by my weed scientist friend, Ron Calhoun.), where you apply a herbicide to knock out the current weeds in your lawn and then fertilize, mow and water to promote healthy turf that keeps weeds from germinating. To just knock out the weeds and not do the lawn care practices correctly will only lead to the weeds returning and your need to apply the herbicide again.

Will this produce a 100% weed free lawn? No. But, you will be able walk your lawn with a small bottle or hand dig.

So the prescription is to apply the herbicide (Bayer or Ortho all in one products are great here) , fertilize to promote grass growth, and mow following the one-third rule to promote proper tillering (spread) of the grass to keep weeds from returning. Now you know the secret.

Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more.

Respectfully

Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com
shulmsiter2820_comcast_net
16 years ago
My dad's lawn needs to be compleatly redone. It hasn't been watered (other than rain) in at least 5 years and was filled with long grassy weeds. I've cut down the weeds but I want to know what my next step should be. Should I aply an herbicide then till it, or will tilling it and removing the top 3 inches do the job? Also it's getting pretty hot here in Sacramento so should I wait until fall before resoding? This lawn has alot of potential but right now it's a mess! please help. Thank you very much for your time.
maillot_jaune_ymail_com
15 years ago
I'm in a situation similar to mike9b.. my yard is a mixture of dead grass and slowly dying crab grass.. it hasn't been watered in some time and am wondering what the best way is to reset it all and start over from scratch.. I also live in Sacramento.

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