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.

Thanks,

"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

"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.

Thanks,



Irregardless, you should plant some type of grass that is drought tolerant
that will not need so much irrigation in your region. Be sure you have
enough soil depth.
--
Dave

Mankind, homo sapiens, 3rd chimpanzee
or whatever you choose, is not separate
from nature. Stop living and thinking
that way.

"Joe J." wrote:
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.

Almost always those smallish lawns in arid areas are sod. If your
dead lawn lifts up in sheets like carpet it's sod. Remove the dead
sod, spread some composted organic matter and resod... you'll need to
water twice every day... it would be best to install an underground
automatic irrigation system, miss a couple of days watering and you'll
lose your patch of green. I strongly suggest you visit your local
independent nursery to learn which type of sod to install in your
specific location and how to care for it... sod is installed, not
planted, it never roots into the soil... I seriously doubt you have
arable soil in a dessert location, all you have is dessert sand and
rock. Unless you're wealthy it would be pretty much a waste of money
to have topsoil hauled in so you can plant a seeded lawn, you'd need
to pile it about a foot deep and still its nutrients will leach into
the sand rather quickly so you'll be top dressing monthly. Unless you
want to be a slave to that green patch go with sod and install
irrigation.

I guess you do not have a mushroom house where you are? We top dress with
certified organic spent mushroom soil with desired results.
We also see the latter in bags in the local health food store. We sell more
bags each year. We are the mushroom capital of the world.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.


"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.

Thanks,

here is a sample of what we do.
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/orgmush/garden_orgmush

Not a desert though. You could apply liquid kelp regularly to fertilize
your turf. It has the essential elements (all) that come from the soil
normally for plants.
--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.
"symplastless" wrote in message
. ..
I guess you do not have a mushroom house where you are? We top dress with
certified organic spent mushroom soil with desired results.
We also see the latter in bags in the local health food store. We sell
more bags each year. We are the mushroom capital of the world.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding
us that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books
that will give them understanding.


"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.

Thanks,

"symplastless" wrote in message
. ..
here is a sample of what we do.
http://home.ccil.org/~treemdan/orgmush/garden_orgmush

By golly, yard boy, you don't have a hand lettered sign on your pickup, you
advertise for "tree and lawn care" first honest thing I have seen you post.
By the way, bad job of top dressing, no even, not uniform, no wonder you
failed the arbo test.

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting yard boy
http://homde.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treeddictionary.com
Beware of yard boys who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding
us that we are not the boss.
Some yard boys will buy products they do not understand and not buy books
that will give them understanding.