Have you called some one to get some estimates? We live east of Raleigh NC and have an area about the same size in our front yard. We had several estimates from about 2000 to 2500. They were to regrade the slope, fertilize and establish grass. While it is hard to tell from pictures, It looks like you need additional grading to move the water from behind the walled patio to a swale to carry the water from the back yard to the street area

I've been trying to mow about twice a week. If there is one thing I've learned over the past couple of months it's that waiting too long between mowing is one of the worst things you can do with bermuda. Most of my neighbors pay people to mow their yards, so it's always done at most once a week, or once every two weeks so their yards always look scalped and brown. I'm really looking forward to the leveling next year because I know that the lower I mow the thicker the grass will become. I was talking to my next door neighbor a few weeks ago and he said that the guy who lived in my house before it foreclosed hardly ever mowed the grass and never did any kind of lawn maintenance. This would explain why the grass was so patchy and thin and also why there were two large areas in the yard that had no grass which resulted in serious erosion of the top layer of clay/soil and I have a brown driveway to show for it. BTW samlawn, I noticed that we live in the same part of Cobb Co. :)

Is watering going to be an issue for you? Because a normal turf type lawn that size would need about 80,000 gallons per week to provide 1 inch. Most swimming pools are less than 40,000 gallons. When you say Kentucky, do you mean bluegrass or another grass called Kentucky-31 or K-31? In my opinion 3 acres of flat grass is pretty boring. For that reason I have made the following list of alternatives to turf grass for large properties. alternatives to grass on large acreage accent lighting in trees arbors (for vines) bamboo beds (perennials, annuals, bulbs, herbs, ferns, roses, hostas, container plants, rock, and fruits). bee keeping benches butterfly garden decks decorative gates (may be free standing) dog run or kennel edibles (veggies) fences (accent) fences (privacy) fountains fragrance garden gazebo greenhouse ground covers hedges herb garden hot tubs hummingbird garden Japanese garden jogging track moon garden (plants and lights for night time viewing) orchard ornamental grass garden other groundcovers out buildings (like sheds) outdoor theater overhead sunshades parcours (exercise stations) parking area party room (free standing for games, theater, pool table, etc.) patios picnic or barbecue area play yard for children ponds or garden pools pools potting bench or shed putting green rock garden rolling hills rose garden screened rooms (free standing) screens (foliage hedges or growing on a wire mesh) sitting or reading area sports courts statuary steps storage buildings sun room (free standing) swimming pools tool shed topiary trees (shade) trees (accent or decorative) tulip garden vining plant garden walkway (formal paved) walkway (informal path) walls (retaining) walls (accent or decorative) wildflowers Zen garden

Back yard I did a soil test last year for my dog's backyard (yes, it's hers lol). The ph levels were off so I used lime to correct it in two separate applications; followed the lime application advised by the lab report for lime. baxkground: At that time, this area was compacted clay, lespedeza, creeping Charlie, wild violet, white clover and a type of yellow flowered oxalis that spreads by underground rhizomes.. This was the state it was in when I purchased the yard that spring. The previous owners had two 100lb+ dogs and had apparently decided that having a weed infested swimming pool every time it rains was preferable to a nice lawn.. After killing everything there, tilling the soil, letting things regrow for a week, and then tilling it again with soil amendments mixed in, I spread the most robust stuff on God's green earth: KY-31. Established quickly. Over the past year, we've had several "dog days" with 20+ dogs in our backyard playing, peeing, pooping, etc.. This is on top of dog's regular, daily playing and "trail creating." Ky-31 has held up great but there are some thin areas and patches after so much abuse.. That is why I decided to overseed this year with Titan RX, which accordingly has the ability to slowly fill in / repair itself with tillering and also with rhizomes. I've been doing my best to follow the basics from what I've read on here while lurking for about a year: deep & infrequent watering, mulching grass and leaves, mowing high and often, etc. I've also been adding coffee grounds, Milorganite, sawdust, and Jonathan Green's magical calcium to promote a more organic soil/lawn in the backyard. I've even used a garden sprayer with baby shampoo per instructions on here to address hard soil. :-) I don't want to use chemical treatments back there because of the dog(s). The only synthetic I used this fall was a starter fertilizer when I overseeded Titan RX; I'll probably use a crabgrass preventer in the spring (considering corn meal but have some concerns about ants and my dog eating it...) I would love to feed the lawn with alfalfa or soy pellets but I don't even know where to begin to find a seed and feed store in the suburbs. I figure I would do a soil test in the spring (about a year after I switched from chemicals/synthetics/herbicides and started focusing on organic. ) Front yard This has been the topic of discussion and focus in this particular thread. This lawn was in decent shape when I purchased the home last spring. The homeowners probably put down a tri-mix because I have found bluegrass, fescue and a small amount of PRG in the front Unfortunately, there was a fair amount of the same weeds as the back: lespedeza, creeping Charlie, wild violet, white clover and a type of yellow flowered oxalis that spreads by underground rhizomes. in addition, there was a LOT of crabgrass, dandelion, plantains and other broadleaf weeds. Last year, I decided to just focus on mowing and feeding. With a limited budget, I couldn't afford to renovate both the back and the front. I applied Turf Builder early last fall, and the Turf Builder Winterizer near the end of the fall. With the cultural practices and feeding, the lawn transformed before my eyes and looked remarkably improved (despite the weeds) This spring and summer, I decided to focus on preventing & combating the weeds. I applied Tuef Builder Weed and Feed in the early/mid spring, followed by Turf Builder with Halts Crabgrass Control 6 weeks later. In the late spring and through the summer, I fed with Milorganite. kept it watered as needed using sprinklers (no irrigation system). By June, almost all of the broadleaf weeds were gone. However, the clover and oxalis were persistent and actually started thriving. Two hose-end applications of Weed B Gon to the area took out the clover, but the Oxalis just laughed it off and continued on its tour-de-force. I followed up with spot treatment using weed b Gon in the ready to spray bottles. No effect; the oxalis just continued to thrive, spread, and choke. During this time, the overall lawn looked good (ezcept for those yellow oxalis flowers covering about 1/4-1/2 the lawn!) When the summer heat kicked in during early July, I decided to give up on weed control. Too hot to do anything about oxalis with a chemical without my lawn being negatively impacted. Manual removal would just make the problem worse (the seed pods explode when disturbed, right?). I decided I would just continue to apply Milorgsnite (once per month) to help the unaffected areas "hold the line" against the invasion. In August, I knew what I had to do: round up the oxalis areas. I killed off a relatively large area, watered the area, killed it again, tilled the area up a few inches using a manual garden cultivator and a rake., watered, and then did another roundup. A week later, I plugged/core aerated the lawn, spread Turf Builder starter with Weed Control (mesotrine), spread some KBG and lightly covered with peat moss. I also broadcast KBG across other areas of the lawn (why not? I had already aerated). aeration was a big mistake; i must have exposed oxalis seed via the plugging. I'm an idiot, I know. In some areas where the new KBG didn't take very well (too much shade, I suppose), I out down some Scott's EZ seed (TTTF and the Hybrid Bluegrass) across the hell strips, near the driveway, and some other areas where the KBG had trouble coming in. I also used this in an area where I didn't have reliable sprinkler coverage. (The mulch grows to envelop the seed when moist, and held the moisture from the morning hose watering until I returned home from the office to give it another drink). As covered above in a previous post, I'm also applied some Titan RX to areas where nothing germinated (about a month and a half after seeding). I did have a seriously heavy rainfall not too long after seeding, which could have washed some. of the KBG away. I'm also convinced that the mole tunnels probably disturbed the seed and/or seedlings to some extent. I know I'm slacking on the soil test. I plan on getting one done, probably in the spring. That is going to be my focus next year: working on the soil (for both the front and back) for the entire growing season (and thereafter). In the short term, my objective is to get some more competitive KBG and TTTF types established in the front yard this planting season.. I believe the Titan RX TTTF and the various KBG types (including the hybrid Thermal Blue in the EZ Seed) that were sown will be more successful than the older (and probably low-quality) existing grass types that were already established when I purchased the home,