Just one point I think needs correction. You definitely don't want to
use hay for ground cover. Wheat straw is what you want. Hay has seeds
in it which will germinate right along with what ever seed you throw out.

If you've got the dough, you might want to get a landscaper that has the
equipment to do hydroseeding to do your lawn. These guys have equipment
that sprays a mixture of seed, starter fert, and celluose (which is dyed
green), and water. I'd do the ground prep as described by the others.
The celluose holds in the moisture and keeps the seed damp without
having to worry about introducing weed seeds into the lawn. Around here
this is not too expensive, much less than sod but more than do it
yourself. The system works well. With proper watering I've see lawns
that look like they were started from sod in about 6 months.

Tilling is a great way to prep the ground except for the unevenness. If
you've got a lawn tractor you can make a drag out of some chain link
fence and a few wood beams or steel post that will level the dirt out
after tilling.

benzette wrote:
I would thatch the old dead grass out which will take the dead grass out
and even up the soil surface if you have a thatch blade for your lawn
mower. Worms make mounds in the soil and make the soil surface uneven.
Thatching or scraping the soil surface will let you see if there are
high/low spots so you can even up the soil surface better.


Tilling will leave clumps like Jim said and. Tilling will create alot of
work to get the soil surface flat again across the whole yard. I had to
use an 10 foot 2x4 with screws in it. The screws helped comb the clumps
out. Nails will work also.

New grass seed doesn't need anything to grow but to be kept damp. New
grass clppings and manure might have too much nitrogen for the seed and
fry it. Nurseries etc sell fertilizer for new lawns.

Hay and or compost mixes to cover the seed will help keep the birds from
eating any seed. Seed cover will help keep the seed moist longer.







W.D. wrote:

I just killed off all the weeds (and what little grass there was) in
the front lawn of my Atlanta home by spraying it with Roundup on
Sunday and am ready for the next steps. Here's my plan of attack:
1. Till the lawn on Friday afternoon (am I better off renting a slicer
seeder and skipping the tilling? If I till, how deep should I go?)
2. Apply seed and cover (straw?) on Saturday
3. Keep moist for several weeks until it starts to grow

Am I missing anything? Should I put topsoil or fertilizer down first?
I'm obviously a newbie so any time/labor saving hints would be
appreciated. Thanks!

W.D.