My lawn is a disaster

[anthony21078]

Moved into a new home last June and the front and back yards were in semi-decent shape but they need a lot of help. I wasn't able to tackle this project in the fall when I should have but I would like to attempt to correct the yard in the next 2 weeks.

Ideally I wanted to use a sod cutter and remove everything to start from scratch. I don't have the ability to to dump all the material so I'm hoping there's an alternative to grow a respectable lawn. I'm not looking for a golf course but rather a respectable green lawn. There are quite a few areas along the fence that are heavily shaded. This is what I came up with so please tell me if this would work.

1)Spraying the problem spots with RoundUp for Lawns to hopefully take care of the weeds/dandelions. Ive never used this stuff but I figure its worth a shot since I will be re-seeding the whole yard. Was planning on spraying tomorrow to get the ball rolling

2)Aerate entire yard

3)Add a layer of topsoil to entire yard and fill in uneven spots

4)Over-seeding entire yard. I would like to use Jonathon green grass but not sure which type to get. Fall Magic and Dense shade mixture. Opinions?

5)Starter fertilizer on top

6)Water 2-3x a day

[guisertj]

If you are going to go all in with a complete reno, if it were me, I’d bite the bullet and wait for fall. Use this spring and summer to get a game plan together, materials, and work on improving soil. You’ve lived with it since June already. And the results will speak for themselves.

[anthony21078]

Yea I think fall is the better option with the heavy machines but I would still like to get some nice green for this summer if possible. The yard really wasn't that bad last June but I think I can make it so much better. Just looking at it today makes me think its going to look terrible. But when I looked back through my photos, I found this picture from August of what the yard looked like. Maybe it will come back like this.

But I do know that there is a lot of crab grass, dandelions and weeds right now

[PW405]

First thing's first - your hopes of having a nice lawn in the summer of 2019 need to be tempered a bit. Likely too late for seed (especially Kentucky Bluegrass) to get rooted and growing enough to survive summer. Couple of notes on your items above:

1. Roundup for Lawns, a post-emergent herbicide, will help to kill many of the weeds already growing. I would certainly take this step, but know there are many other products that achieve the same results. (Note - read the label carefully, many post-emergents will kill grass if it gets above 85° that day).

2. I would only aerate if you are positive your soil is physically compacted to the point that roots would have trouble growing through it and water/air can't penetrate. This often is not needed (lawn care companies love to sell this service though). May I instead suggest to make soil conditioner and apply frequently? https://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=117

3. Layer of topsoil to even yard - good idea, be mindful of where you source the soil! You don't want to get soil full of weed seeds!!

4. Overseeding - Many members here will suggest to wait for fall. Is it impossible to have a successful spring seeding? No, but it is often a wasted effort unless you just luck out with a much cooler than average summer.

5. Starter fertilizer can be helpful, however it would be better to get a soil test to see if your soil even needs the additional phosphorous that is in starter fertilizers.

6. Water 3x a day when trying to get seed to germinate is important, but otherwise I would save the water for the fall seed/fallow.

If I were you, I'd make the game plan something like this:

-Focus on killing weeds & leveling soil (and any other prep needed for fall) this summer
-Any other landscape projects you may want to complete since you just moved here
-Read the Soil Forum and how to post a test for interpretation. Take a soil sample, mail the dirt to Logan Labs in Ohio, post results in Soil forum (This will save you more time and money than just about everything else).
-Continue to use this summer to get your soil nutrients corrected, research which grass types are a good fit for your lawn & area, plan, plan, plan, for the Fall 2019 seeding.

Do you have a sprinkler system?

PS - With bad weeds, some people even go through a "fallow" period. Fallow is where you kill the yard (RoundUp) then kill it again as needed (Roundup, again) water the dead yard 3x daily to force all the weed seeds to sprout, then kill them. If you do this ahead of your fall seeding, it can reduce the amount of weeds that sprout along with your grass seed, saving your much heartache when your new lawn starts to grow.

[anthony21078]

First thing's first - your hopes of having a nice lawn in the summer of 2019 need to be tempered a bit. Likely too late for seed (especially Kentucky Bluegrass) to get rooted and growing enough to survive summer. Couple of notes on your items above:

1. Roundup for Lawns, a post-emergent herbicide, will help to kill many of the weeds already growing. I would certainly take this step, but know there are many other products that achieve the same results. (Note - read the label carefully, many post-emergents will kill grass if it gets above 85° that day).

2. I would only aerate if you are positive your soil is physically compacted to the point that roots would have trouble growing through it and water/air can't penetrate. This often is not needed (lawn care companies love to sell this service though). May I instead suggest to make soil conditioner and apply frequently? https://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=117

3. Layer of topsoil to even yard - good idea, be mindful of where you source the soil! You don't want to get soil full of weed seeds!!

4. Overseeding - Many members here will suggest to wait for fall. Is it impossible to have a successful spring seeding? No, but it is often a wasted effort unless you just luck out with a much cooler than average summer.

5. Starter fertilizer can be helpful, however it would be better to get a soil test to see if your soil even needs the additional phosphorous that is in starter fertilizers.

6. Water 3x a day when trying to get seed to germinate is important, but otherwise I would save the water for the fall seed/fallow.

If I were you, I'd make the game plan something like this:

-Focus on killing weeds & leveling soil (and any other prep needed for fall) this summer
-Any other landscape projects you may want to complete since you just moved here
-Read the Soil Forum and how to post a test for interpretation. Take a soil sample, mail the dirt to Logan Labs in Ohio, post results in Soil forum (This will save you more time and money than just about everything else).
-Continue to use this summer to get your soil nutrients corrected, research which grass types are a good fit for your lawn & area, plan, plan, plan, for the Fall 2019 seeding.

Do you have a sprinkler system?

PS - With bad weeds, some people even go through a "fallow" period. Fallow is where you kill the yard (RoundUp) then kill it again as needed (Roundup, again) water the dead yard 3x daily to force all the weed seeds to sprout, then kill them. If you do this ahead of your fall seeding, it can reduce the amount of weeds that sprout along with your grass seed, saving your much heartache when your new lawn starts to grow.

My post was pending approval while you made your post but take a peek at those pictures. As new homeowner (and someone who has never really paid attention to the lawn in my previous rentals), I suppose I'm thinking that what I see on the lawn now is what it will be like in the upcoming months. Perhaps my thinking is wrong and the grass that is actually alive has yet to come out.

I can say for sure that last summer there was crab grass, dandelions and weeds on the lawn but the actual grass may have been masking a lot of it. All I'm seeing now is the weeds and no grass.

Great information in your post. Thank you. Yes I have a 7 zone sprinkler system

[anthony21078]

Is this moss?

[andy10917]

Yes.

Research posts about the Dawn dishwashing liquid treatment with the Search tool. It works, but you need to find the reason why Moss is outcompeting the grass, or it will recur again and again.

For other weeds, research the Triangle Approach for weed control without ID'ing every weed. Ask questions after reading it - I'm the author of it and will answer your questions if you need help with it.

[schreibdave]

Congratulations on your new home. Where in NY are you?

Getting a nice green lawn is a process that takes time. So you should keep your expectations modest. Though your picture from last August looks pretty good.

[john5246]

I don't remember what's in that RoundUp for lawns but check if it tells you how long you must wait before you can seed. (this would be round up that's safe for grass so not glyphosate)With the glyphosate RoundUp I think you can seed after a week (at least I did and it worked great)

[john5246]

I forgot to add that there are no perfect conditions for seeding, even if you wait till fall you can have those 90 deg days in late September with piercing sun. I had to deal with that last fall when I seeded. It was tough, even with coated seed (like scotts). If you are waiting for conditions to be just right for seeding you'll probably never be able to seed. The temps might be ok but you will get the heaviest rainfall in 10yrs as soon as you decide to seed.