We have decided to plant a small section of our acre with grass (mainly
to keep the soil in place, since our property is sloped and we're having
a problem with drainage and erosion). The area is about 20 by 50 feet.

All the advice I read on the internet suggests killing off all weeds
with an herbicide prior to laying sod. I do not want to do this because
even the safest herbicides can affect wildlife (plus we live on a creek,
and the herbicides would inevitably wash into it).

Does anybody here have experience with handpulling all the
weeds/volunteers prior to laying sod, and did this work well for you?
Any other suggestions for how we could get rid of the weeds prior to
laying sod?

Finally, any other advice sodding our lawn? (We're in FLorida).
We've read the brochures from the University extension service, but we
would love to hear about your personl experience. Thanks in advance!

There are a number of alternatives. You might try covering the area
with a black plastic for a couple of weeks, that should take care of most
weeds.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"Bahia" wrote in message
...
We have decided to plant a small section of our acre with grass (mainly
to keep the soil in place, since our property is sloped and we're having
a problem with drainage and erosion). The area is about 20 by 50 feet.

All the advice I read on the internet suggests killing off all weeds
with an herbicide prior to laying sod. I do not want to do this because
even the safest herbicides can affect wildlife (plus we live on a creek,
and the herbicides would inevitably wash into it).

Does anybody here have experience with handpulling all the
weeds/volunteers prior to laying sod, and did this work well for you?
Any other suggestions for how we could get rid of the weeds prior to
laying sod?

Finally, any other advice sodding our lawn? (We're in FLorida).
We've read the brochures from the University extension service, but we
would love to hear about your personl experience. Thanks in advance!

Bahia wrote:
We have decided to plant a small section of our acre with grass
(mainly
to keep the soil in place, since our property is sloped and we're
having
a problem with drainage and erosion). The area is about 20 by 50 feet.

All the advice I read on the internet suggests killing off all weeds
with an herbicide prior to laying sod. I do not want to do this
because
even the safest herbicides can affect wildlife (plus we live on a
creek,
and the herbicides would inevitably wash into it).

Does anybody here have experience with handpulling all the
weeds/volunteers prior to laying sod, and did this work well for you?
Any other suggestions for how we could get rid of the weeds prior to
laying sod?

Finally, any other advice sodding our lawn? (We're in FLorida).
We've read the brochures from the University extension service, but we
would love to hear about your personl experience. Thanks in advance!


Seems to me that there would be far better, low maintenance ground
covers available than grass. You do realize that the hard work will come
*after* you lay the sod, right?

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug:
Support me at: http://www.holzemville.com/mall/

What about burning the weeds?

Mike

Joseph Meehan wrote:

There are a number of alternatives. You might try covering the area
with a black plastic for a couple of weeks, that should take care of most
weeds.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

Thanks! We're new to lawns/gardens (our lot is basically an acre of
woods) so this did not occur to us, and wasn't mentioned in the
site-prep articles we read. Sounds like a great idea for serious
consideration.

I would also second the suggestion that you consider something other
than grass for the site. Other ground covers may be a better choice.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"Bahia" wrote in message
...
Joseph Meehan wrote:

There are a number of alternatives. You might try covering the area
with a black plastic for a couple of weeks, that should take care of
most
weeds.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

Thanks! We're new to lawns/gardens (our lot is basically an acre of
woods) so this did not occur to us, and wasn't mentioned in the
site-prep articles we read. Sounds like a great idea for serious
consideration.

Please see my response to another poster. We are very open to the idea
of groundcover. We have talked to 2 landscapers, both of whom suggested
grass (even though we told them we would consider grass OR groundcover).

We are in Florida. The area to be covered is a bit shady and quite
damp. We need something that will hold on to the soil NOW, not
something we will have to cultivate carefully for 6 months in order to
get it to spread. We are on a sloping site and have problems with
erosion. We are working on the drainage (retention wall put in today!)
but definitely need a ground cover that will be off to a running start!

Joseph Meehan wrote:

I would also second the suggestion that you consider something other
than grass for the site. Other ground covers may be a better choice.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

"Bahia" wrote in message
...
Joseph Meehan wrote:

There are a number of alternatives. You might try covering the area
with a black plastic for a couple of weeks, that should take care of
most
weeds.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

Thanks! We're new to lawns/gardens (our lot is basically an acre of
woods) so this did not occur to us, and wasn't mentioned in the
site-prep articles we read. Sounds like a great idea for serious
consideration.

Sorry I must have missed it. It may well be that grass is the best
idea, I only meant to suggest that, (if you had not already that) you
consider alternatives.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"Bahia" wrote in message
...
Please see my response to another poster. We are very open to the idea
of groundcover. We have talked to 2 landscapers, both of whom suggested
grass (even though we told them we would consider grass OR groundcover).

We are in Florida. The area to be covered is a bit shady and quite
damp. We need something that will hold on to the soil NOW, not
something we will have to cultivate carefully for 6 months in order to
get it to spread. We are on a sloping site and have problems with
erosion. We are working on the drainage (retention wall put in today!)
but definitely need a ground cover that will be off to a running start!

Joseph Meehan wrote:

I would also second the suggestion that you consider something other
than grass for the site. Other ground covers may be a better choice.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

"Bahia" wrote in message
...
Joseph Meehan wrote:

There are a number of alternatives. You might try covering the
area
with a black plastic for a couple of weeks, that should take care of
most
weeds.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

Thanks! We're new to lawns/gardens (our lot is basically an acre of
woods) so this did not occur to us, and wasn't mentioned in the
site-prep articles we read. Sounds like a great idea for serious
consideration.

On Thu, 07 Aug 2003 22:05:29 -0400, Bahia
wrote:

We have decided to plant a small section of our acre with grass (mainly
to keep the soil in place, since our property is sloped and we're having
a problem with drainage and erosion). The area is about 20 by 50 feet.

All the advice I read on the internet suggests killing off all weeds
with an herbicide prior to laying sod. I do not want to do this because
even the safest herbicides can affect wildlife (plus we live on a creek,
and the herbicides would inevitably wash into it).

Does anybody here have experience with handpulling all the
weeds/volunteers prior to laying sod, and did this work well for you?
Any other suggestions for how we could get rid of the weeds prior to
laying sod?

Finally, any other advice sodding our lawn? (We're in FLorida).
We've read the brochures from the University extension service, but we
would love to hear about your personl experience. Thanks in advance!


It is a lot of work to pull the weeds. Work when the soil is damp,
after a rain. It would certainly help to have more than one person
doing the task. Listen carefully to your local experienced people
about the various types of grass that grow well in your climate.
Using the best grass type for your climate will greatly reduce your
maintenance chores and increase your chance of a nice lawn.

Phisherman wrote:

On Thu, 07 Aug 2003 22:05:29 -0400, Bahia
wrote:

We have decided to plant a small section of our acre with grass (mainly
to keep the soil in place, since our property is sloped and we're having
a problem with drainage and erosion). The area is about 20 by 50 feet.

All the advice I read on the internet suggests killing off all weeds
with an herbicide prior to laying sod. I do not want to do this because
even the safest herbicides can affect wildlife (plus we live on a creek,
and the herbicides would inevitably wash into it).

Does anybody here have experience with handpulling all the
weeds/volunteers prior to laying sod, and did this work well for you?
Any other suggestions for how we could get rid of the weeds prior to
laying sod?

Finally, any other advice sodding our lawn? (We're in FLorida).
We've read the brochures from the University extension service, but we
would love to hear about your personl experience. Thanks in advance!

It is a lot of work to pull the weeds. Work when the soil is damp,
after a rain. It would certainly help to have more than one person
doing the task. Listen carefully to your local experienced people
about the various types of grass that grow well in your climate.
Using the best grass type for your climate will greatly reduce your
maintenance chores and increase your chance of a nice lawn.


Thanks for the input. There will be two of us pulling weeds. Another
poster suggested covering the area with plastic for a couple of weeks,
which sounds like a good idea to kill things off. There are two
possibilities of turf type that we can consider, with St. Augustine
grass being the type we will probably end up using.