"Joe J." wrote in message
...
We're buying a home in a desert climate and it had about a 10 x 20 lawn
patch in the backyard, the rest is desert landscaping. The house is a
repo and the water has been off for 6 months so needless to say the grass
is dead. We want to keep that small patch of green. Do you think I could
over-seed on top of the dead stuff or do I have to rip it out and start
over? I'm waiting until around October when things cool off a bit during
the day.


In order for germination to occur you need seed to soil contact. This can be
accomplished by ripping everything out, using a slitseeder, or even by
simply roughing up what is there and raking out the bulk of it.
The quality of lawn you end up with is directly proportional to how well you
prepare the site, so with such a small area I would tend to remove
everything and start from scratch. 10x20 is a piece of cake- do it right.


--
Toni
Hills of Kentucky
USDA Zone 6b
http://www.cearbhaill.com