Restarting a lawn?

Question

We just bought our house, and the backyard is a terrible mess. I'm not sure if there is even any grass growing, but there are a bunch of weeds. I've been mowing the weeds down to see if anything else is growing, but all I can find is more and more weeds. So what do I need to do to get rid of the weeds and get some good grass growing? Should I use a kill all plant killer and wait till next year, or can I do something so I can a back lawn this year?

Answer 1

Spray round up once and then a few weeks later spray it again to make sure you get the weeds.  Then this september redo the grass.  The best thing to do is to have somebody rouckhound and hydroseed it but this can be expensive.  To do it yourself you will need a rototiller to till the soil up.  You should add some top soil and till it up into the existing soil to make a better planting site.  Before you plant the seed try to go through and get any large rocks out of the dirt, they will stop grass from growing.  Once this is done you can sow the seed.  Make sure to get high quality seed as it will have less weeds in it.  Don't fall for any gimicks.  I have neighbors that used a grass mat that was white and supposidly had grass in it, now they have red grass, and varieties of grass that don't grow in the area.  Use either premium seed or Scotts patch master and you won't be fooled into getting a scam.  Once the grass is planted you will have to water.   If you do this in September there will still be time for the grass to take root but you will get some help in watering from the rain.

Answer 2

All depends on where you live.

Talk to a local grass company and they can give you all the info needed.

Don't waste your time at Home Depot or a box store,

It will take you 24 months to get lawn in shape.

Get the correct info before you waste money.

Now go drink a beer and relax.