I moved into this house in May 2006, and last year the neighbor's complained to the city twice because of my lawn. (Welcome to the neighborhood!) The last owners let it go, and there are a lot of bare spots. Partly, I think because before I bought it the neighbors on one side let their dog go on it, but I can't prove that. But what's the best, cheapest, way to make it look like a lawn? I don't want to just pave it with rocks, although other homeowners have done just that. Could I just buy some grass seed and scatter it? I'm a house and lawn newbie. P.S. They let the back yard go, too, and it's bare spots alternating with weed choked areas.
Lawn. You seem to have problems. Yes you could just scatter seeds and pray it rains, but the best thing to do is to start from scratch, which is what I did when I moved into my house. I got tired of mowing a lawn filled with weeds, so I rented a Troy-Bilt tiller added lots of manure from the big box and compost and use Turf Builder every spring. I dig up the crabgrass when it sprouts and use weed killer when necessary thanks to the neighbors and I can say it was worth worth the effort to start from scratch. It is something that I am proud of when I get my weekly exercise.
We are in a similar boat, although the neighbors are not complaining. We are about to start over in the back, as our lawn has tons of weeds and lots of gravel from the old owner.
Additional Lawn Advice I agree with bullthistle. If you just spread grass seed around, if the soil is not healthy then your efforts will be useless. You really need to turn the soil by starting from scratch and use fertilizer to make the soil healthy. When you are finsihed spreading the seed it is helpful to spread hay over the top of the seed. This acts as a moisture agent and prevents the birds from eating the seed.
The cheapest: Replace your dead spots Dig down 3 inches and remove the dead area. Mix your soil with peat moss or some other organic material, replace the soil and seed with some starter fertilizer, and water like you would water a new lawn. The best: Completely renovate your lawn Because it sounds like your lawn is overgrown and has dead spots, I would suggest what everyone else has suggested. You can optionally kill off all your existing lawn with herbicide, till, aerate, dethatch, fertilize, whatever, the whole 9. You can find how to do this through google. Good luck!
Before you panic or start ripping up the whole yard, How large and how many bare spots do you have? What does the soil look like? What does the rest of the grass/lawn look like? Is it healthy or not. Patches can be worked on without costing much. Kill off existing weeds by pulling or working the soil. You will want to scratch the surface so seed has a good contact. In small areas, you can use "Patch Master" looks much like Hydro seeding but you apply by hand. Keep watered daily so seed can germinate and continue so seedlings can take root. Once germinating seeds dry, they die. Straw/hay contributes to the weed problem. If you like, use fresh grass clipping as a mulch/insulator. No need to dig up old soil if it is in good shape, just work it. If you till the whole area, you will have more weeds as turned up seeds germinate. After your new patches have been mowed a few times, you can use a herbicide to kill weeds. The best time to apply weed killers is in the fall. Depending where you live you will want to use a cool weather (Z6/7 and lower) Z7 and higher you will want to check warm weather grass. Is it sun or shade, it makes a difference. Apply a starter fertilizer and remember a good fall feeding. If you feel the need to start over, than do so. Using Round-up, your soil will be workable in 10 to 14 days. Remember, tilling will waken more weeds seeds. Any questions, feel free to ask me. Ron
First of all ...decide. Are you a person that likes to work in the yard? Mow, weed eat, fertilize, etc. If not, I'd go with the rock or gravel.You wouldn't have much maintenance with that. I have seen some pretty yards with the rock and catcus, but if you like 'green', I would start from scratch. You'll be glad you did!
Landscaping Construction It is a fantastic and artistic to have a landscaping design at your garden. Adds beauty to the ambiance. Seems like there's still no place like home!
I personally am not too much in favour of lawns in areas where they wouldn't grow naturally . But a great way that is catching on is sustainable lawns managed with goats . The idea is that instead of firing up that noisy lawnmower you get in a herd of goats , fence off areas that you don't want to be eaten , spread grass seed generously and let the goats in . The goats will eat weeds, long grass and all the time they are at work their hooves will be pushing the grass seeds down . At the same time the lawn will be getting organic fertilizer in the form of goat urine and droppings . You can read it here http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2003/09/02/getting/ if you don't believe me . It might not be the best solution for you especially with your neighbors but it is worth giving a thought if you have huge lawns.
Till or work the soil in the bare spots, seed and water frequently. (twice per day until established well) Aerate very well, and overseed, then add a good atrter fert after seeding. Apply a weed an dfeed in the spring and continue with a good fert program. Th weeds will begin to dissapear with good fert practices and with cutting the lawn at a proper height. Mowing too short encourages weed growth, Mow your lawn at a higher height to choke out the weeds.
We have had really good luck this year with aerating twice in the spring, then seeding and fertilizing. We also applied lime to the yard. It really greened it out and made it grow better.
