Greetings all,

I've searched and searched for information on how to handle a yard as destroyed as ours. I've found a lot of info on killing off the old weeds, prepping the soil for new seed, what to do after spreading, etc, but there's so much of it, and it all varies by some degree, that I'm unable to make a solid game plan. Just looking for a little direct guidance. Bear with me

Our backyard is garbage. It's behind a house that's over 75 years old, so it's probably been abused that long. About 3000sqft, surrounded by a privacy fence. Four larger trees, multiple ground level stumps, ruts and bumps, roots, lots'o'

Gravel, weeds galore, random railroad ties buried for some reason. The soil is pretty dusty and packed everywhere. Our front yard isn't horrible, so it's decent dirt to grow in, this back yard has just seen betting days. It's a mess and I don't know how to fix it. My original plan was to spray down all the green back here, try to get everything as brown as I could, then take a heavy tiller and tear it all up. Rake out as much of the rocks and roots as I could, level it out as well as it'll go, then spread the seed and fertilizer. I ended up reading somewhere that a tilled yard takes like three years to begin settling flat. I don't know what to do. We're planning on taking down a tree or two when the budget allows, but I just don't know where to start otherwise... help.