Help with neglected lawn

9 years ago

Hi. I'm renting a house. Its my first house so I've never had a lawn. All I know is what my dad taught me growing up. I uploaded a picture but it isn't the best because it was taken for another reason but I can't get in there to take more pics until we move in next week.

The previous renters did not care for the lawn so it completely died off. It previously had full grass including on the sides of the house that now appear empty.

We want to clear all the weeds and such out and regrass the lawn. The landlord tried to round up it twice to no avail a few weeks ago. At this point I'm planning on just using a manual weeder to get the weeds as the lawn is only about 300sqft maybe 400 at most. We have clay like soil. Not sure what its called. Can anyone tell me anything about the other non weed growth in the picture? Clover like plants. Do I remove this and there root system like a weed?

I also am unsure what they are and couldn't get them on photo but there's these hard stalky like short things that really hurt if you step on them even with shoes. It almost feels like stepping on a giant sun flowers stem after its been cut but much dryer. How can I remove these?

Lastly would it be cheaper to use roll out sod or just reseed? I'm in a suburb of Los Angeles in a desert like area but its actually a valley. Should I use a cold or warm breed of grass? Sprinkler system is there and working. Any help would be appreciated. Need to do it on a budget since I'm renting. Landlord will only round up and reseed which obviously isn't working. Thanks!!

Amanda.

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Comments (3)

avalanche_327
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Try a few applications of weed b gon, should take care of it all.

Send in a few soil samples to see what it needs for the grass to actually grow.

Then to get grass to grow you will need to agitate the dirt and seed. You can't plant seed ontop of dirt.
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neilaz
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I grow rye on top of dirt every fall. Have done Bermuda that way as well. If you are out in an area of 90+ temps you may need Bermuda. Call a sod farm and see what they sell and if you are able to pick up the sod yourself you can probable get what you need under $100
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Hello everyone. This site is so much help. I have a few questions and concerns. Sorry this is so long, just want to make sure you guys have the info to access my problem. I just bought a new home march of this year that has been empty for two years. The only thing that was done to the yard over that time was someone cut the grass. Don't know how often thou. The grass that I have is a Bermuda hybrid I believe. It was rolled out in sod. I posted some pics of seed heads that have poped up over the last month and someone on here told me I have common mixed in with it. I have seen common Bermuda seed heads and they look tall and have 4 prongs. Mine are short and have 3 prongs. I hope he was wrong and my tifway is making seed heads because it is really stressed which can happen I read. The grass took all the way to mid may before it almost completely greened up. After it greened up I core aerated it all over good because I have water pooling in serveral places. After that I fertilized my yard for the first time. I went to cardinal chemical and the "turf pro" recommended I put out two 50 lbs bag of 24-5-11. I have around 20,000 sq ft. of yard approximately. He also gave me some triplet to get rid of this weed poping up all over my yard. Told me to mix one oz to a gallon on it. After about a week went by I noticed burn spots around the yard. Guess I didn't run the sprinklers long enough after I put out the fertilizer. I also have a lot of weeds poping up now from aerating it. I read weed b gone max was good and sprayed yard with hose end sprayer. Now my yard has faded in color(from weed b gone)and has spots from fertilizer burn and the places I sprayed the triplet has turned that grass light brown too. All I want is a deep dark green thick lawn. I go back two days ago to get more fertilizer and pro gives me two 50 lbs bags of 24-5-11 again. I have been cutting grass around 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 because I have quite a few lumps around my lawn and I have scalped it in several places. Those spots aren't green also :( I have a ant problem in my yard. They are making mounds all over the yard. Makes my grass problem worse. I was wanting to lay out sand next week to level my yard but I'm scard if I do that it will further hurt my lawn. I don't know what to do at this point other than just wait. Should I hold off till next year for the leveling job? What is a good way to get rid of my ant problem. I think they are fire ants. What can I do to get my lawn green? Any tips and pointers you can give me? What are some of the things you would do to get this yard looking good. I have the Bermuda bible and plan on following it. I appreciate y'all's help. Thanks. Eric. My yard Another view of my yard. See it's not green. Closer shot of the brown areas One of the places I sprayed triplet to kill this type of weed poping up overt lawn. Close up of how I wish all my grass looked like. Seed head of what I hope is just stressed hybrid. Confirm this If you can.
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Thank you MQuinn. I imagine you are right about the type then. The yard is terribly uneven and that is one if the things we (probably *I*) need to address. With 3/4 of an acre there is no way will the hubs use anything but his riding mower, but I did inform him after the initial advice from the responses that he should be mowing lower to let light get to it, as opposed to what we previously were doing). I am trying to get him to understand that more perrenial beds means less mowing and kess work for him. That battle wages on. I can probably get away with mowing our front lawn with a push mower, but the rest is just too big and he will need (and want) to use the riding mower. After I get those tests completed I will know if I should add compost, wait then add sand or just go straight for the sand. I am betting it could use some compost first, but I could be very wrong about that. We can lower the mower and I can ask him to mow more slowly so that he can adjust the height as needed to accommodate for the high spots. Not for all of them, I know that, but the bigger areas. Or with Bermuda, can he scalp it to help level it? I am guessing that would be -you know what -on the mower blades. It's new, so they are still steadfastly in love with one-another.
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Start with a good reliable soil test. Generally from November to April soil testing in NC is free. You may also want to use these simple soil tests to learn more about the soil this lawn is growing in. 1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsÃ¢ÂÂ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. Here is a link that might be useful: soil testing in North Carolina This post was edited by kimmsr on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 6:19
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neglected lawn
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Hello, We bought a home in Richmond, VA area last year. We were busy and the yard was already neglected so we didnt do much. This year, we have more time on our hands finally and I really want to make the lawn look good. From my reading, it looks like bermuda naturally grows in the area very aggressively, but is a warm weather grass in a climate more likely suited for a cold weather grass, like tall fescue. Our yard is mostly covered in weeds at this point. So some questions: 1. What to do in the late fall when it's time to seed? Do I kill everything in the front yard and start over? Do I aerate and plant fescue and hope it overtakes the bermuda/weed combo slowly (year after year)? Put down sod? 2.Even though I know I was a little late in the season, I tried planting some tall fescue in mid-late April, and its nearly a month later and I cant see any fescue growing. (I spread lime as well). Do I need to cut the grass higher to give it a shot to grow in? I have been cutting it short so the weeds dont look terrible. IMO its a eye-sore. 3. For this region, from what I can tell tall fescue is what you want to grow (green 8 months/yr and requires less water and can grow in shade). Is that correct, or should I encourage the bermuda? 4. Is it worth it to install a sprinkler system since our yard is so terrible right now? Seems like most people around us dont have sprinkler systems, and the area seems to get enough rain. Not sure, though. If It helps, I'll upload a pic of the lawn later today. Cant right now.
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dchall_san_antonio
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Please go ahead and name your community. I grew up in SoCal and have lived all over. Since you called it desert, I'm assuming you are east of Diamond Bar or Corona. It makes a difference where you live because of the soils and micro climates.

Don't let anyone talk you into rototilling to prepare for new grass. You can do this small project just fine with hand surface tools only.

We all started out with what our dad's told us. Beyond that I took a couple turf classes at Cal Poly. My wife at the time got a full blown ornamental horticulture degree and I helped her study for that. Still, I have learned more at this forum than in all that time before. In fact I had to forget everything I learned from my dad and from school. Here is a summary of what I think I know about lawns after reading here and other forums for 12 years.

Watering
Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means one inch all at one time. Don't spread it out by watering 1/7-inch every day. That is the opposite of what you want. Infrequently means once per week when the temps are in the 90s, once every other week with temps in the 80s, once every 3 weeks with temps in the 70s, and once a month the rest of the year.

Mowing
Mulch mow most grasses at the mower's highest setting. Bermuda, centipede, and creeping bentgrass should be mowed at the mower's lowest setting. Other people will fine-tune their mowing height based on the variety of the grass, but you don't need to.

Fertilizing
You can use chemical fertilizers, but the more people who try the modern organic fertilizers, the more success they seem to have. With chemical fertilizers it is very easy to make a mistake or have problems with Mother Nature. With organics it is really (REALLY) hard to screw up. You can apply double or triple the amount and not have a problem. It can flood the next day and you won't have a problem. And temperature is not a problem. Basically you can't do it wrong. And if you get your fertilizer a the feed store, the cost will be comparable with chemical fertilizers. I would suggest starting with alfalfa pellets (Rabbit Chow) at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. They really work, and no, they do not attract bunnies unless they are literally starving. When I first started at the lawn forum, all the gurus were using chemical fertilizers. Now it seems they are all organic. It really works.

If you follow these rules, you should not have a weed problem and will likely have the nicest looking lawn around.

Assuming you live where I think you do, the best choices for you are going to be St Augustine or bermuda. You will find a lot of Marathon fescue lawns, but those waste a lot of precious water to keep them looking good. St Aug and bermuda are perfectly adapted to your area. St Aug would be a slam dunk until you get out past Moreno Valley or Redlands. Past there the heat slows down the growth in the summer. Bermuda is a great lawn, but it is a lot more work to keep it green and keep the weeds out. It needs monthly fertilizer and 2-3 times weekly mowing to keep it dense enough that the weeds don't encroach. St Aug grows only from sod while there is bermuda seed available. You can sod any day of the year but bermuda seed will only germinate in the heat of summer.
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Help with neglected lawn

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avalanche_327

neilaz

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