wrote in message
...
On Jul 27, 12:14 pm, "Bob F" wrote:
Laurence wrote:
Hi, our current lawn is looking a bit tired and the garden needs
leveling off. I'm trying to work out if I need to remove the existing
lawn or can I just dig the whole lot over, level it out then put
topsoil and seed / turf.

Basically I'm looking for the easiest why to level out our bumpy
garden and get some nice grass down before next summer !

Thanks

Overseed, fertilize, water, and mow regularly. But don't mow short - use
the
mowers highest setting.

If you don't do the above, start there.



If you look back a month or so in this group, you will find another
thread where a similar question was asked and answered. It comes up
frequently. An important part of the answer is it all depends on
what you have there now and how you want it to look to be satisfied.
If you have a decent amount of desirable grass, it's not disease
prone, you are not looking for a uniform look as far as texture and
color, the soil is OK, then overseeding could be the way to go. On
the other hand, if you have a lot of crap, course grass that looks
like hell, then killing it off with Roundup and reseeding could be the
way to go. Even if you decide to go that route, as long as the
topsoil is OK and off sufficient depth, then there is no need to till
it all up. You can spray it with Roundup, mow it short 7-10 days
later when it's dead, then go over it with a core aerator. Add
topsoil in spots needed to level it out, then go over it with a slice
seeder to apply the new high quality seed.

The above advice is misleading at best -- the real answer is that it all
depends upon where you live and what type of grass you have. Seeding is
rarely the best way to redo a lawn, and never the easiest way, which was the
question.

In many parts of the U.S. there are no sources for seeds of the preferred
turf varieties such as varieties like floratam, bitter blue or palmetto -
sod and plugs are the only quality anwer. You can either resod or use the
lower cost alternative of putting in plugs of the right variety and allowing
them to take over the bare spaces. If you want to take care of a few rough
spots, just level the ruts, install a few plugs and let them take over. It
won't be too long before you'll have a nice smooth lawn back. For larger
areas, sod will give you almost instant gratification and a better lawn than
other choices.

The people with the specific answers are not on Usenet, they're your local
Master Gardeners and extension service.