Just starting the thread, can give more information as needed, and I'll grab pictures as I continue my work, but I'm basically trying to overhaul my lawn, I have some seed and fert on hand, some tools, some peat, waiting on a dethatcher. I need some help as to where to start and what to focus on, the whole place is kinda wrote off. Right now I've just been raking, picking all rocks, weeds, cleaning up edges and looking for foreign objects. I've used a pointy roller to disturb some areas where there wasn't grass, and lay seed. I'm using these areas as a starter, but I'm assuming when my dethatcher gets here it's just a matter of going over and over and over until its done pulling up crap? It has scarifying attatchment I can use after to cut some nice lines in the soil. I'm assuming after that I should add my seed and fert, which brings me back to my main question. WHAT seed? WHAT fert? It's a full sun area. I'm assuming if I do a bunch of prep, I should have success by the end of the year. What type of seed, fert, and weed control do you lawn care people use?
I'm also expanding the border of my lawn, so clipping deadfall, clipping and raking field grass and stuff like that, evening out the ground. Would like to get things uniform. I've got some un-even areas that I've already started smoothing with a landscaping rake and adding peat, I hear mixing sand helps? What kind of ratio?
Seed all depends on where you are located and what you have now. That you have thatch indicates that you have one of these, St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, Paspalum, Kentucky blue. Once you have thatched, mow what you have to the ground and rake up everything that is loose and dispose of. This will make filling and grading much easier. Spread seed and top dress. You don't have to roll it after adding top dressing but I like to do so I can see anything that needs a little more fill or grading. Fert is not necessary to start, you will get some nutrients by using a quality top dressing. If you do add fert keep it light so you don't burn seedling.
Thank you, that is some useful advice. To be honest the grass is just a terrible mix of everything that has been able to grow, nothing forsure. Think of this as a fresh start without actually dragging equipment in to level the joint. So I'm on the right track? Keep tearing into and tearing up that top layer and removing it until I'm down to something to work with (I'm hoping in this process I can get some smoothing? not leveling, but less jaged areas?) I've just been reading about people laying a seed / fill mix of seed and peat and such. I can get bales of peat moss super cheap, would make good fill and new 'soil' for the grass if i amend it? Some chicken manure or just generally good organics? Than do seeding overtop of that when it's down. EDIT: Seed will need to be a full sun seed, Kentucky bluegrass seems to grow well in my area.
Some reference in the front area, pictures are a couple years old, some stuff has been cleaned up and garden areas improved, but yeah that's about as good as the grass has ever looked. I personally haven't invested time or product into it other than rake mow and trim when it starts getting tall. Started getting more into weed control and garden stuff last year, but this year will be lawn focus. Hoping to knock it out of the park this year, don't have a crazy budget, but am willing to spend where it's wise, and I do have the time to invest.
I've worked slowly to push the bush line back over the years and get grass into the driveway area, honestly most of the areas pictured aren't a priority, but imagine some large squares of lawn out of frame around the house
what I was saying, you don't need to work the soil with peat, just lay the seed and cover with peat. I tried the other way around too, but its not as efficient. Ypu have a nice property, some nature you may want to (sparingly) use some 2,4,D on some parts where the weeds are. This herbicide kills dicots, and pretty well leaves the monocots alone, ie. kills the plants that are not grasses.
I was looking into Tenacity (seems banned in Canada) My big obstacle will be weed control.. but hear me out, I'm wondering if it's best to wait until I'm done tearing the shit out of everything? For an idea, I've sat aside some angle iron and gate mesh, to turn into a leveller, the idea will be to weigh it down and pull it behind the lawn tractor to quite literally rip the crap out of the border, and go over any terrible spots before even starting to turn up the rest of the lawn. I'm hoping that if I start hardcore, and work my way into seeding and top dressing and filling with good product I can hopefully at that point kill any weeds that happen to crop up? I basically am going full nuclear without actually starting from raw dirt. Am I far off?
Any 'swampy' or mossy or crab grass areas I know I'm going to be ripping to raw dirt, supplimenting, and going from there... That said, is there a good product I should use now just to help kill things as I stir things up? Or will anything I use be in-effective once I get started? I'll be tearing into things monday when equipment shows up.
You have no idea how beautiful this place can be. It has just always A) Been growing nothing but field and swamp grass, and B) Always had junk and scrap and useless shit laying around Sooooo much potential for this place, and so much realestate to work with. I'm looking at buying in the next few years, so this is a personal investment. Parents aging really is a tough part of life. I already did a new tin roof since this picture. It's got just as much back yard. Not trying to brag or make the place out to sound like a mansion, but it's a good house with good property, just never had cosmetic appeal.
when i first moved here, this property was just dandelions, the lawn was trash. I mass sprayed roundup and then tarped it for two years straight. In retrospect, I should have tarped it up for one year, and then grown out what was left underneath and repeat with the spray to give me a blank space, but it worked out nevertheless. The herbicide 2, 4 - D is sold as Killex herbicide in Canada at Canadian Tire. I used the concentrated form and sprayed it all over. Don't spray it on new growing grass, but once its established, you can spot spray, and the mature grass should be good. I spray it all over optimally twice a year on the lawn to kill off the dandelions. Oh, I'd even add more peat, like an inch or more is probably best, not just 1/4 inch, that's not enough.
This lawn isn't so bad. I would try a heavy spray with the killex before messing around too much. Most of what I see is dicot weeds, so it will die with a couple sprays and then you just need to spot fill the lawn. Much easier and cheaper tbh. I purchased separate hoses when I spray herbicides, and you need a backflow preventer, but just use a Scott's applicating sprayer ($10) on a hose + herbicide is what I do.
Thanks again for the good info. I was looking into dicot weeds and went down a bit of a path, got the basic idea that some products are plant specific and there are a couple categories of weeds... Thanks for the good leads. As for spraying before messing around, I think myself, and the couple drinks I've had has decided that the 4 foot long 100 pound piece of angle iron will work good as a first round of messing around. I found a couple feet of rebar I'm going to dice up into 4-5" pieces and fry them onto the beam with the welder, not sure what length of chain I'll need, but I was just out roughing materials and seeing whats in stock, it may be operational for tomorrow, which would be sweet.
As for the spot filling situation, I got poking around and think I landed some really cheap farm fill to get down first as a leveler. I'm hoping that by the time things are stirred up I won't have to add a ton of peat, hoping for maybe a nice top blend to layer with the seeds?
Woohoo just went out to feed the fire, looks like the beer math adds up, can rip down the couple pieces of rebar I have and it will be enough to add a few forks to this thing. I figure just drill a hole in each of the two legs, zap some teeth on it, and tow it behind the rider. Will be a good first start for bordering the place. Specifically areas like this. It's partially cut back, stuff allowed to grow, kind of hit with trimmer, needs fill, moss needs torn up. These and border areas will be first hit, establish my lawn perimeter if that makes sense?
First rendition of the grader has worked alright, but I'm going to weld something to triangulate it and add front balast, forcing the forks into the ground, add another 50 pounds or so. As is it worked great to clear brush and "rake" things, but didn't even touch the driveway. Lesson learned, object able to tilt will always tilt to it's area of least friction. Give it a front and rear axis, and a center of gravity, and it will drive the spikes and chains in. Exhausted from just burning brush and digging drainage ditches, but everything large is gone, I can fire up the weed eater, knock down small stuff, keep forcing things to dry so I can start grading. On the plus side, I found some REALLY good fill in this area that I turned up by hand, so I'm loading it up to use in more valuable areas. Also, what kind of idiot burns a matress in the middle of winter and lets it sit till spring, this is the kind of craziness I'm finally dealing with, but lets keep it positive haha These two fallen trees still need diced, and this whole mossy area needs ripped to shreds, complete nuclear, sucks starting with the worst parts first. But I think it's a smart choice, can't do much until more things dry out and I get my grader dialed in. Considering what that area was, its already better.
Oh yeah hell, the driveway is taking shape, behind the lean-to has been flattened, got some drainage ditches dug, the hill is smoothing out nicely. Low areas are getting built up and high areas are getting knocked down. The old John Deere has been doing great, best garden toy I've ever bought. Just digging out an edge for the driveway so I can spread that gravel and keep evening the driveway out. I want to keep pushing the gravel back into that weird wet area out front where grass has tried growing. Going to make a nice defined edge of lawn and driveway. The pink is drainage ditches that will remain, and will be the grass / driveway border.
Learn to love the land for what it is. I own 2 properties in the "boonies" and I just mow it. Grass by nature reseeds its self and will smother weed roots. It will be a lifelong fight that you will evenly lose. I wouldn't spray round-up or any other poison on my Enemies property let alone mine. The strongest weed killer I use is white vinegar. Learn to live with and Love your Mother.
That is all this lawn has ever been, it has never gotten seed, and some years has done surprisingly well.