Restarting Dead Lawn

7 years ago

My back yard lawn is dead and infested with weeds. I live in the inland areas of Southern CA (USA9b). The area is the NorthWest part of my house with shade in the area immediately next to the house and full sun in the rest. The ground is hard, very compacted and needs lots of loving care.

My intent is to dig/till the area to loosen the dirt and also to add some much needed compost. Then plan to seed with clover/alfalfa knowing that they will help improve the soil. But what I have been advised to do is to mix in some grass seed so that when they die back in the summer, the grass will show. Anyone have any suggestions on what kind of grass would grow well with the clover/alfalfa without being choked out.

I'm thinking I will seed this fall with clover/alfalfa, and when spring comes, over seed with the grass seed before they die back.

Foot traffic tolerance in a must as I have dogs and we plan to get chickens in the near future (may let them graze). Preferably low/no mow and definitely drought tolerant with low water needs.

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Comments (3)

kimmq
7 years ago
Is the existing grass dead or dormant? How much water has been put on that lawn? What kind of temperatures have you been having?

Has a good reliable soil test been done? What is the soil pH and nutrient levels? Alfalfa does better in soils with a pH in the 6.8 to 7.5 range while clovers do better at lower soil pH numbers.

More than likely that soil needs organic matter and compost is one form of organic matter. What other types of organic material is available that may be less expensive? You will need a lot of organic matter to get the soil to the optimal level of 6 to 8 percent organic matter, it takes about 10 tons of material to raise the amount of organic matter in an acre of soil 1 point.

Perhaps these simple soil tests may also be of some help.

1) Soil test for organic
material. 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 drains’ 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.

kimmq is kimmsr
meisocal
Original Author
7 years ago
@kimmq

The lawn is completely dead, and has been for at least a year. There is very little of the sod fescue left and we have been having 100+F weather. I haven't done a soil test, but I know that they soil is not healthy. The soil smells ok when wet (not as earthy as compost) but there is very little earthworms in each shovel full. Drainage is OK, but I will double check again when I do your #1 suggestion above. When I break up the compaction, I will probably add compost, and probably some leaf litter that I will have once the fall leaves start.
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If you were planting veggies, then you could rototill or dig; however, for a lawn, digging or rototilling is not a good idea. The reason is you cannot dig every inch to the same depth. But you can level it all perfectly. That leaves you with different depths of fluffy soil. As that fluffy soil settles back to a structured soil over the next 3 years, it will settle unevenly leaving you with a very bumpy lawn to mow. There is a class of machines which vertically rotating blades or thrashers. You can rent one under the name vertacutter, slit seeder, dethatcher, and a few other names I can't think of. That machine rides across the surface but the blades can be adjusted to dig down into the soil about 1/2 inch. By using a controller machine like that, you can loosen the surface all to the same depth. It will also chop up all the vegetation leaving you with a lot of raking or blowing to do before seeding. You said you have 2 trees. Kentucky bluegrass needs full sun to thrive. In the shade of trees it will thin out and disappear. What you can do is mix 10% KBG with 90% fescue seed and have a lawn that will adapt to shade or sun as appropriate. Fescue is a bunch type grass which will need to be reseeded every fall to keep it dense enough to fight off the weeds. That is a small price to pay - it makes a great lawn. If your parents neglected fertilizing for years, then at least you don't have any chemical damage to deal with. If you are inclined to organics, here is a picture of what organic fertilizer can do... This picture was posted by mrmumbles here back in 2011. He had applied a handful of alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) to his zoysia lawn in mid May. The picture was taken in mid June. You can see the improved density, color, and growth. Alfalfa is a common ingredient in organic fertilizers and obviously works fine all by itself. He got his where we all get ours, at a local feed store. The application rate is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can apply it any time of year without fear of hurting anything. And organic fertilizers will improve your soil. If you think your soil is compacted, I can practically guarantee you it is not. Compaction occurs when all the air is driven out of the soil by mechanical means. For example if you have a pond where cattle walk through it, that soil near the edge of the pond will be compacted. But if your soil is hard, I can also practically guarantee you it can be softened with baby shampoo. Apply 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet using a hose end sprayer. Follow that up with a full inch of water to get the shampoo down deep into the soil. A week later apply another full inch of water. A week after that, repeat the shampoo and inch of water. That should leave you with soil which becomes very soft underfoot when it is moist and then hard again when the soil dries out. That is normal soil. You can measure an inch of water by placing several cat food or tuna cans in the yard. Turn on the sprinkler and time how long it takes to fill the cans. That is an inch of water. Use that time EVERY time you water the lawn. You should only need to water it once per week in the summer and back off to once per month in the cooler months. That shampoo treatment should last many years unless the soil becomes flooded for a week or unless it receives no water for months at a time.
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kimmq
7 years ago
Spend some time now getting that soil into a good healthy condition even if you may not be able to properly water that lawn. Cooler, and sometimes wetter, weather is on the way and that would be a good time to establish ta new lawn, provided you will be able to properly water it.
If watering restrictions are not lifted starting a new lawn would not be a good idea.

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Restarting Dead Lawn

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kimmq

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Restarting Dead Lawn

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kimmq

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kimmq

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