Just some musings from my 30 years of trying to grow a lawn in Woodstock,
IL.
1) Use the Round up, allow 7 days before seeding(per instructions). What
you want to do is kill off the weed grasses. Quack grass is next to
impossible to root out by hand. Broad leaf weeds are very easy to kill with
24D (Ortho weedbgone, Spectracide, others) but won't touch the weed grasses.

2) Get the soil tested and the amendments added while rototilling. You can
skip the amendments but when you end up with a scraggly lawn, you'll never
know what went wrong. Now having said that, I should practise what I preach.
I have never done it. Why was the area barren? Good soil should be sprouting
green things all over the place.

3) I prefer a good turf type tall fesque seed. Pro's: deeper root system to
withstand our summers better, requires less fertilizer. Con's: browns out a
bit more than bluegrass in our winters. But readily turns green in the
spring, grows a bit faster than kentucky blue. . Grasses come in various
widths. Decide if you want a course, medium or fine bladed lawn. Fine blades
(original kentucky blue) matt down easily, course blades are like walking on
razor blades (Kentucky 31 fesque). THere are numerous medium bladed
cultivars in both fesque and bluegrass. Also don't forget pereninial rye
glass. Some people mix all three. If you have a slope consider mixing in
some annual ryegrass. It sprouts in 3 days and will hold the dirt untill the
good seeds can sprout (called quick and thick). It will die off over the
winter leaving just the good seed. Buy a cultivar for partial shade

4) Spring and fall are the desireable times to grow grass in the chicago
area. The sun is less direct and the soil stays moist longer. Also there
is less competition from weed seeds. I prefer the week before labor day to
do my work. The warm days and cool nights are ideal for germination.

5) Grass needs sunlight to germinate. Covering it with topsoil will just
cause it to rot. Spread your seed over the rototilled dirt and then gently r
ake it in. You want the seed in contact with the soil but not buried in it.

6) Covering with straw is good. Keeps the rain from washing your dirt and
seed away. Does nothing for the birds. Mice also like to eat grass seed. If
your up for an experiment, cover a patch of seed with a newspaper
page(weighted down with rocks in the corners). You'll find it sprouts about
twice as fast as uncovered seed.

7) I usually water twice a day (in the evening and morning). With the less
direct sun , that shouild be suffiecient for germination.

8) Put the correct amount of seed down. If you put down too much seed, it
will suck the nutrients out of the soil and die. Newly sprouted seed doesn't
have the root system to get nutrients elsewhere. (thats really the reason
you should do the amendments to the soil when you start.) Follow up with a
good starter fertilizer shortly after germination if you skip the
amendments. IF your newly sprouted seed starts to yellow, get out the
starter fertilizer ASAP.

9) I dislike sod. I find that sodded lawns are more prone to drought damage
and thatch. I have never had to detatch a seed lawn

Good luck to you. I hope my comments made sense.


"Ignoramus32760" wrote in message
...
I have an area behind my chicken coop where pine trees used to grow.

The area is in partial shade (eastern part of the house)

This is agricultural zone 5 (Northrn Illinois)

We cut those trees down and removed stumps, and planted 4 fruit trees.

We want to plant grass lawn in the area. Most of the area is barren,
but there is some weed type growth on one side.


My plan is:

1. Kill weeds with ROUNDUP. Wait 2 days.

2. Rent a TILLER and TILL the area, and level it (it is uneven).

3. Sprinkle a layer of TOPSOIL

4. Spread high quality SEED

5. Sprinkle more TOPSOIL

6. WATER the area on a 3x Daily basis for 1 month

Is this sensible?

i