Tilling the yard advice please
 

I have a small backyard (18' by 30') and the lawn is several kinds of
grass and has been overrun by crabgrass and clover. There are also
hard bald patches where I can't get grass to grow. It's mostly sun and
the soil is fairly clayish. New York City area.

The local Garden World place suggested ripping it up with a tiller and
putting down lime, starter fertilizer, and seeding. I should then
cover it with some soil so the birds don't eat all the seed. I can
rent a light or medium duty tiller at the local Home Depot and I'll
likely do it this Saturday.

I've read that the existing lawn should be killed with Roundup or
another broadleaf herbicide, but I let my cats go into the yard and
don't want to put down anything that will harm them. They eat the
grass.

So my plan is to till it and try to remove as much of the existing
foliage as possible. It's really only around 400 sq feet of lawn so it
shouldn't be too backbreaking to get the stuff into bags once I rip it
up.

Actually my plan is to do it twice. The first time I get out the old
stuff, then put down the fertilizer and lime and such, and then till
it again to get it all mixed up well. Then seed.

Am I just wasting my time to try this without using Roundup? Should I
be mixing in peat moss?

Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On Apr 17, 8:04 am, dgk wrote:
I have a small backyard (18' by 30') and the lawn is several kinds of
grass and has been overrun by crabgrass and clover. There are also
hard bald patches where I can't get grass to grow. It's mostly sun and
the soil is fairly clayish. New York City area.

The local Garden World place suggested ripping it up with a tiller and
putting down lime, starter fertilizer, and seeding. I should then
cover it with some soil so the birds don't eat all the seed. I can
rent a light or medium duty tiller at the local Home Depot and I'll
likely do it this Saturday.

I've read that the existing lawn should be killed with Roundup or
another broadleaf herbicide, but I let my cats go into the yard and
don't want to put down anything that will harm them. They eat the
grass.

So my plan is to till it and try to remove as much of the existing
foliage as possible. It's really only around 400 sq feet of lawn so it
shouldn't be too backbreaking to get the stuff into bags once I rip it
up.

Actually my plan is to do it twice. The first time I get out the old
stuff, then put down the fertilizer and lime and such, and then till
it again to get it all mixed up well. Then seed.

Am I just wasting my time to try this without using Roundup? Should I
be mixing in peat moss?

Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I live in a completely different part oif the country than you
(Florida) but have just gone thru the
same procedure that you are planning...twice.

The first time (a year ago i did it without putting any roundup on the
lawn) I tilled the lawn and
laid down sod on top of our good soil here. withing a few months the
weeds were choking out the grass
and I had to do it all over again.

This time I put roundup on the lawn and killed off all the weeds and
existing grass. I just finished
tilling it and have raked off all of the dead weed and roots and
stuff. All I have is nice black dirt waiting
for the sod which will be delivered tomorrow.

Keep the cats inside for awhile while the roundup does its thing,

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On Apr 17, 1:19 pm, Capri wrote:
On Apr 17, 8:04 am, dgk wrote:





I have a small backyard (18' by 30') and the lawn is several kinds of
grass and has been overrun by crabgrass and clover. There are also
hard bald patches where I can't get grass to grow. It's mostly sun and
the soil is fairly clayish. New York City area.

The local Garden World place suggested ripping it up with a tiller and
putting down lime, starter fertilizer, and seeding. I should then
cover it with some soil so the birds don't eat all the seed. I can
rent a light or medium duty tiller at the local Home Depot and I'll
likely do it this Saturday.

I've read that the existing lawn should be killed with Roundup or
another broadleaf herbicide, but I let my cats go into the yard and
don't want to put down anything that will harm them. They eat the
grass.

So my plan is to till it and try to remove as much of the existing
foliage as possible. It's really only around 400 sq feet of lawn so it
shouldn't be too backbreaking to get the stuff into bags once I rip it
up.

Actually my plan is to do it twice. The first time I get out the old
stuff, then put down the fertilizer and lime and such, and then till
it again to get it all mixed up well. Then seed.

Am I just wasting my time to try this without using Roundup? Should I
be mixing in peat moss?

Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I live in a completely different part oif the country than you
(Florida) but have just gone thru the
same procedure that you are planning...twice.

The first time (a year ago i did it without putting any roundup on the
lawn) I tilled the lawn and
laid down sod on top of our good soil here. withing a few months the
weeds were choking out the grass
and I had to do it all over again.

This time I put roundup on the lawn and killed off all the weeds and
existing grass. I just finished
tilling it and have raked off all of the dead weed and roots and
stuff. All I have is nice black dirt waiting
for the sod which will be delivered tomorrow.

Keep the cats inside for awhile while the roundup does its thing,- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd also suggest going the Roundup route. Roundup breaks down
quickly, so you can seed as soon as the existing grass and weeds are
dead, which is about a week to 10 days. I'd just keep the cats off
it till it's been tilled.

I'd also suggest putting this off till Fall, which is by far the best
time to do this. You will have less competition from weeds, won't
have to worry about crabgrass, and with declining temps and Fall rain,
nature is on your side. If you do it now, you need to be able to
keep it well watered, including during the coming summer, when the new
grass won't have deep roots. If you do this in Sept, the grass has a
lot more time to establish in cool season Fall/Spring, which is what
it wants to do.

You can do it now, but be prepared to deliver a lot of water and to
deal with weeds.

Mixing in peat moss or similar organic matter is always a good thing.
It's just a trade off as to what you have available and how much it
costs vs what soil you have and how much it needs to be improved.

I would not cover the seed with soil, unless you have some method to
do that very evenly and lightly. Just raking the seed in lightly
should do the trick. Make sure you use the right type and best
quality seed.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On 17 Apr 2007 10:19:07 -0700, Capri wrote:

....

I live in a completely different part oif the country than you
(Florida) but have just gone thru the
same procedure that you are planning...twice.

The first time (a year ago i did it without putting any roundup on the
lawn) I tilled the lawn and
laid down sod on top of our good soil here. withing a few months the
weeds were choking out the grass
and I had to do it all over again.

This time I put roundup on the lawn and killed off all the weeds and
existing grass. I just finished
tilling it and have raked off all of the dead weed and roots and
stuff. All I have is nice black dirt waiting
for the sod which will be delivered tomorrow.

Keep the cats inside for awhile while the roundup does its thing,



Thanks, I was sort of afraid of that. But I just looked around for the
toxicity of Roundup and came across this:

http://www.alternatives2toxics.org/c...site/round.htm

Doesn't look too promising. Without the cats I might be willing to do
it but with the cats? No, I don't think so. There seem to be some safe
crabgrass killers such as this:

http://www.crabgrassalert.com/safe_herbicides.html

but I how do I really know that it's safe? Arrgh.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On 17 Apr 2007 10:49:20 -0700, wrote:

....

I'd also suggest going the Roundup route. Roundup breaks down
quickly, so you can seed as soon as the existing grass and weeds are
dead, which is about a week to 10 days. I'd just keep the cats off
it till it's been tilled.

I'd also suggest putting this off till Fall, which is by far the best
time to do this. You will have less competition from weeds, won't
have to worry about crabgrass, and with declining temps and Fall rain,
nature is on your side. If you do it now, you need to be able to
keep it well watered, including during the coming summer, when the new
grass won't have deep roots. If you do this in Sept, the grass has a
lot more time to establish in cool season Fall/Spring, which is what
it wants to do.

You can do it now, but be prepared to deliver a lot of water and to
deal with weeds.

Mixing in peat moss or similar organic matter is always a good thing.
It's just a trade off as to what you have available and how much it
costs vs what soil you have and how much it needs to be improved.

I would not cover the seed with soil, unless you have some method to
do that very evenly and lightly. Just raking the seed in lightly
should do the trick. Make sure you use the right type and best
quality seed.

Thanks, I've read that the best time is the fall so maybe I'll wait.
Another summer of bad grass won't kill me. But that Roundup looks
grim. A long half-life apparently.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

dgk wrote:
I just looked around for the
toxicity of Roundup and came across this:

http://www.alternatives2toxics.org/c...site/round.htm


Not to worry at lawn kill dilution rate. Your mouthwash is -many- times
more toxic.

--
http://NewsReader.Com/

Tilling the yard advice please
 

All I know is the TV new in the Austin, TX area said herbicide runoff like
roundup are killing invertebrates and fish in and near the local water hole
(Barton Springs).

The purpose of peat moss is to loosen up the soil and breaking down to feed
bacteria, which in turn makes the soil more nutritious to the foliage. I
don't know if your soil needs this or not. You said clay soil. Consider
some sandy soil added, and some peat moss or other organic to feed long
term. Use the tilller to mix it in.

--
Dave

Apathy and denial are close cousins
"dgk" wrote in message
...
I have a small backyard (18' by 30') and the lawn is several kinds of
grass and has been overrun by crabgrass and clover. There are also
hard bald patches where I can't get grass to grow. It's mostly sun and
the soil is fairly clayish. New York City area.

The local Garden World place suggested ripping it up with a tiller and
putting down lime, starter fertilizer, and seeding. I should then
cover it with some soil so the birds don't eat all the seed. I can
rent a light or medium duty tiller at the local Home Depot and I'll
likely do it this Saturday.

I've read that the existing lawn should be killed with Roundup or
another broadleaf herbicide, but I let my cats go into the yard and
don't want to put down anything that will harm them. They eat the
grass.

So my plan is to till it and try to remove as much of the existing
foliage as possible. It's really only around 400 sq feet of lawn so it
shouldn't be too backbreaking to get the stuff into bags once I rip it
up.

Actually my plan is to do it twice. The first time I get out the old
stuff, then put down the fertilizer and lime and such, and then till
it again to get it all mixed up well. Then seed.

Am I just wasting my time to try this without using Roundup? Should I
be mixing in peat moss?

Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On 18 Apr 2007 01:33:11 GMT, Steveo wrote:

dgk wrote:
I just looked around for the
toxicity of Roundup and came across this:

http://www.alternatives2toxics.org/c...site/round.htm


Not to worry at lawn kill dilution rate. Your mouthwash is -many- times
more toxic.

That may be, but I don't let the cats drink mouthwash. I don't drink
it either. But they would eat RoundUp if it's on the grass.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 04:39:10 GMT, "Dave"
wrote:

All I know is the TV new in the Austin, TX area said herbicide runoff like
roundup are killing invertebrates and fish in and near the local water hole
(Barton Springs).

The purpose of peat moss is to loosen up the soil and breaking down to feed
bacteria, which in turn makes the soil more nutritious to the foliage. I
don't know if your soil needs this or not. You said clay soil. Consider
some sandy soil added, and some peat moss or other organic to feed long
term. Use the tilller to mix it in.

Thanks. Even if I don't manage to get rid of all the crabgrass and
clover, at least the soil will be stirred up. Before I do this I'll
try to get the soil analyzed to find out what I really need to do.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

dgk wrote:
On 18 Apr 2007 01:33:11 GMT, Steveo wrote:

dgk wrote:
I just looked around for the
toxicity of Roundup and came across this:

http://www.alternatives2toxics.org/c...site/round.htm


Not to worry at lawn kill dilution rate. Your mouthwash is -many- times
more toxic.

That may be, but I don't let the cats drink mouthwash. I don't drink
it either. But they would eat RoundUp if it's on the grass.

You put it in -your- mouth. I'd like to see a cat or dog die from eating
weeds that were sprayed with round-up. Never happens in 100 years.

--
http://NewsReader.Com/

Tilling the yard advice please
 

I went to school to become a wit, only got halfway.

Eggsactly.

--
http://NewsReader.Com/

Tilling the yard advice please
 

dgk said:

On 18 Apr 2007 01:33:11 GMT, Steveo wrote:

dgk wrote:
I just looked around for the
toxicity of Roundup and came across this:

http://www.alternatives2toxics.org/c...site/round.htm


Not to worry at lawn kill dilution rate. Your mouthwash is -many- times
more toxic.

That may be, but I don't let the cats drink mouthwash. I don't drink
it either. But they would eat RoundUp if it's on the grass.

And, since they're not made of plant material, they'll be fine. It may make
them puke, but the grass would do that anyway. The minute dose they would
receive from the few blades they'd eat would do nothing to them. You're
fsking clooless.

--

Eggs

-I went to school to become a wit, only got halfway through...

Tilling the yard advice please
 

wrote:
Steveo said:

I went to school to become a wit, only got halfway.

Eggsactly.

Ain't it funny how sometimes "random" becomes quite opportunistic? =)

Turn-about and something to do with fair play. :)

--
http://NewsReader.Com/

Tilling the yard advice please
 

Steveo said:

I went to school to become a wit, only got halfway.

Eggsactly.

Ain't it funny how sometimes "random" becomes quite opportunistic? =)

--

Eggs

A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

Roundup does have a half life, but a cat isn't a grazing animal. If you were
re-seeding a pasture where you were raising cattle, that would be one thing,
but for cats? Not a problem.

One option you do have is solarizing the grass by laying plastic sheeting on
one section at a time. Late this summer, you could buy some large plastic
drop cloths and cover (say) 1/3 of your yard at a time for a week or so,
then move the drop cloth to another area. That'll kill the grass and weeks,
then you can till without having to resort to round-up.

KB


"dgk" wrote in message
...
On 17 Apr 2007 10:49:20 -0700, wrote:

...

I'd also suggest going the Roundup route. Roundup breaks down
quickly, so you can seed as soon as the existing grass and weeds are
dead, which is about a week to 10 days. I'd just keep the cats off
it till it's been tilled.

I'd also suggest putting this off till Fall, which is by far the best
time to do this. You will have less competition from weeds, won't
have to worry about crabgrass, and with declining temps and Fall rain,
nature is on your side. If you do it now, you need to be able to
keep it well watered, including during the coming summer, when the new
grass won't have deep roots. If you do this in Sept, the grass has a
lot more time to establish in cool season Fall/Spring, which is what
it wants to do.

You can do it now, but be prepared to deliver a lot of water and to
deal with weeds.

Mixing in peat moss or similar organic matter is always a good thing.
It's just a trade off as to what you have available and how much it
costs vs what soil you have and how much it needs to be improved.

I would not cover the seed with soil, unless you have some method to
do that very evenly and lightly. Just raking the seed in lightly
should do the trick. Make sure you use the right type and best
quality seed.

Thanks, I've read that the best time is the fall so maybe I'll wait.
Another summer of bad grass won't kill me. But that Roundup looks
grim. A long half-life apparently.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On Apr 18, 8:30 pm, Steveo wrote:
wrote:
Steveo said:

I went to school to become a wit, only got halfway.

Eggsactly.

Ain't it funny how sometimes "random" becomes quite opportunistic? =)

Turn-about and something to do with fair play. :)

--
http://NewsReader.Com/



If the std for what is acceptable and safe is to google the internet
and find a website that says something is bad, there isn't much left
that you can use. You can find some extremists websites that say just
about anything will kill you, is unsafe, and should not be used.
All dgk has to do is keep the cats off the lawn for a few days to a
week after the Roundup is applied. After that, it all gets tilled, so
what's there will be decreased by an order of magnitude. Seems very
reasonable to me.

BTW, if he doesn't like Roundup, I wonder what he thinks of
genetically modified crops like soybeans, that have been created to be
Roundup resistant? Those are sprayed with Roundup to kill weeds, but
not the crop. Better not eat those. Or how about how is he going to
deal with weeds in the newly seeded yard? Hmmm, if Roundup is bad,
what about broadleaf weedkilller? Maybe he should stick with what he
has now.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On 19 Apr 2007 15:28:03 -0700, wrote:

On Apr 18, 8:30 pm, Steveo wrote:
wrote:
Steveo said:

I went to school to become a wit, only got halfway.

Eggsactly.

Ain't it funny how sometimes "random" becomes quite opportunistic? =)

Turn-about and something to do with fair play. :)

--
http://NewsReader.Com/



If the std for what is acceptable and safe is to google the internet
and find a website that says something is bad, there isn't much left
that you can use. You can find some extremists websites that say just
about anything will kill you, is unsafe, and should not be used.
All dgk has to do is keep the cats off the lawn for a few days to a
week after the Roundup is applied. After that, it all gets tilled, so
what's there will be decreased by an order of magnitude. Seems very
reasonable to me.

BTW, if he doesn't like Roundup, I wonder what he thinks of
genetically modified crops like soybeans, that have been created to be
Roundup resistant? Those are sprayed with Roundup to kill weeds, but
not the crop. Better not eat those. Or how about how is he going to
deal with weeds in the newly seeded yard? Hmmm, if Roundup is bad,
what about broadleaf weedkilller? Maybe he should stick with what he
has now.

That's not a bad suggestion. The lawn is green and is better than the
crap on my two neighbor's yards. And clover is not awful and is a
natural part of the lawn. Still, over the 10 years or so that I've
owned the house, I've made the mistake of using different grass seeds
and it just all sort of looks different.

There are also patches where I can't get anything to grow. The ground
is hard and it just doesn't seem possible to fix it without major
renovation. The base of the lawn is a thick web of interlocking roots
and runners. Pulling out clover by the roots and runners is not a
time-efficient activity in my experience.

I'm wary of a lot of chemicals. No Luddite, but wary. I'm a med bio
grad and spent a few years as a microbiologist before discovering the
joys of computer programming. Just in general, we have unleashed stuff
into the environment over the last hundred years that have never
existed before, Roundup being one of them. I think caution is
deserved. The studies proving its safety are all funded by Monsanto
and I prefer my studies to be done independently. None the less, it
has been widely used for quite some time without clearly being
dangerous.

I think this time I'll just till the mess and use the opportuity to
get some lime and peat moss in, and reconfigure the yard, adding some
space for more tomatoes and string beans and such. Perhaps a little
house for the cats to play in and maybe a waterfall thing. But those
are so hokey.

If the crabgrass and clover come back too quickly, I'll consider the
roundup route or cover it up with plastic sheeting.

Thanks everyone for the advice. We're finally going to have a nice
weekend here in NY so I'll probably do the deed tomorrow. It's
guaranteed to be a big mess.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On 17 Apr, 13:04, dgk wrote:
I have a small backyard (18' by 30') and the lawn is several kinds of
grass and has been overrun by crabgrass and clover. There are also
hard bald patches where I can't get grass to grow. It's mostly sun and
the soil is fairly clayish. New York City area.

The local Garden World place suggested ripping it up with a tiller and
putting down lime, starter fertilizer, and seeding. I should then
cover it with some soil so the birds don't eat all the seed. I can
rent a light or medium duty tiller at the local Home Depot and I'll
likely do it this Saturday.

I've read that the existing lawn should be killed with Roundup or
another broadleaf herbicide, but I let my cats go into the yard and
don't want to put down anything that will harm them. They eat the
grass.

So my plan is to till it and try to remove as much of the existing
foliage as possible. It's really only around 400 sq feet of lawn so it
shouldn't be too backbreaking to get the stuff into bags once I rip it
up.

Actually my plan is to do it twice. The first time I get out the old
stuff, then put down the fertilizer and lime and such, and then till
it again to get it all mixed up well. Then seed.

Am I just wasting my time to try this without using Roundup? Should I
be mixing in peat moss?

Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanks.

If it's not too late, this may help you Regards
Data
http://www.gardenseeker.com/lawns/to...sing_lawns.htm

Tilling the yard advice please
 

dgk said:


[...]

That's not a bad suggestion. The lawn is green and is better than the
crap on my two neighbor's yards. And clover is not awful and is a
natural part of the lawn.

Clover is better for your lawn than you may think. Do some reading on
"nitrogen fixation".

Still, over the 10 years or so that I've
owned the house, I've made the mistake of using different grass seeds
and it just all sort of looks different.

It's 18x30. Just rent a sod cutter for a day, cut the old sod out and
discard it. Rake it smooth, working in a bit of organic matter, and lay the
new sod in place. It's that simple. You could, by yourself, prep that area
in one day, and lay the (less than a) pallet of sod in less than an hour,
the next day. That's such a small area, it would seem to me to be the most
logical, quick method. All that's required after that is regular waterings
until it roots in. If you want cool season grasses, now's the time to
resod, for sure. Tilling isn't really all that great for the soil
structure. You stated that your soil is mostly clay. You hit it with a
tiller, you're going to have 60 sq/yd of big, hard, clay "rocks", in a few
days. Have fun raking /that/ smooth. ;)

There are also patches where I can't get anything to grow. The ground
is hard and it just doesn't seem possible to fix it without major
renovation. The base of the lawn is a thick web of interlocking roots
and runners. Pulling out clover by the roots and runners is not a
time-efficient activity in my experience.

What I suggested above is about as "major" of a renovation as you can do.
You completely replace the turf. But you do it /without/ disturbing the
substrata. It takes a nice weekend, and probably less cash than you think.
Call a local sod farm. You only need 60 yd. A pallet is about 70 IIRC.
Local rental shops should have a sod cutter, or the sod farm would know
where to rent one, I'm sure. It's worth looking into.

[...]


I think this time I'll just till the mess and use the opportuity to
get some lime and peat moss in, and reconfigure the yard, adding some
space for more tomatoes and string beans and such.

How much peat do you think you'll need for that area? Are the rest of the
plantings in the immediate vicinity, acid-loving?

Perhaps a little
house for the cats to play in and maybe a waterfall thing. But those
are so hokey.

I dunno. I've never seen cats play in a waterfall thing. Might be kinda
entertaining. =)


If the crabgrass and clover come back too quickly, I'll consider the
roundup route or cover it up with plastic sheeting.

Crabgrass is easily prevented using a pre-emergent. If the Forsythia are
still blooming, or it's been unseasonably cool in your area, it /may/ still
help to put it down. I'd rethink killing the clover, if you're actually
going to till the area.


Thanks everyone for the advice. We're finally going to have a nice
weekend here in NY so I'll probably do the deed tomorrow. It's
guaranteed to be a big mess.

Yup. And, one that will probably take you a while to fix. Good luck. =)

--

Eggs

-I went to a seafood disco rave last week.... and pulled a mussel.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

Eggs Zachtly wrote:

dgk said:


[...]

That's not a bad suggestion. The lawn is green and is better than the
crap on my two neighbor's yards. And clover is not awful and is a
natural part of the lawn.

Clover is better for your lawn than you may think. Do some reading on
"nitrogen fixation".

some species that "fix" nitrogen (mainly legumes such as
wild indigo, Carolina lupine, and clover that make air
nitrogen available to roots).

auto aeration :)



Still, over the 10 years or so that I've
owned the house, I've made the mistake of using different grass seeds
and it just all sort of looks different.

It's 18x30. Just rent a sod cutter for a day, cut the old sod out and
discard it. Rake it smooth, working in a bit of organic matter, and lay the
new sod in place. It's that simple. You could, by yourself, prep that area
in one day, and lay the (less than a) pallet of sod in less than an hour,
the next day. That's such a small area, it would seem to me to be the most
logical, quick method. All that's required after that is regular waterings
until it roots in. If you want cool season grasses, now's the time to
resod, for sure. Tilling isn't really all that great for the soil
structure. You stated that your soil is mostly clay. You hit it with a
tiller, you're going to have 60 sq/yd of big, hard, clay "rocks", in a few
days. Have fun raking /that/ smooth. ;)

There are also patches where I can't get anything to grow. The ground
is hard and it just doesn't seem possible to fix it without major
renovation. The base of the lawn is a thick web of interlocking roots
and runners. Pulling out clover by the roots and runners is not a
time-efficient activity in my experience.

What I suggested above is about as "major" of a renovation as you can do.
You completely replace the turf. But you do it /without/ disturbing the
substrata. It takes a nice weekend, and probably less cash than you think.
Call a local sod farm. You only need 60 yd. A pallet is about 70 IIRC.
Local rental shops should have a sod cutter, or the sod farm would know
where to rent one, I'm sure. It's worth looking into.

[...]


I think this time I'll just till the mess and use the opportuity to
get some lime and peat moss in, and reconfigure the yard, adding some
space for more tomatoes and string beans and such.

How much peat do you think you'll need for that area? Are the rest of the
plantings in the immediate vicinity, acid-loving?

Perhaps a little
house for the cats to play in and maybe a waterfall thing. But those
are so hokey.

I dunno. I've never seen cats play in a waterfall thing. Might be kinda
entertaining. =)


If the crabgrass and clover come back too quickly, I'll consider the
roundup route or cover it up with plastic sheeting.

Crabgrass is easily prevented using a pre-emergent. If the Forsythia are
still blooming, or it's been unseasonably cool in your area, it /may/ still
help to put it down. I'd rethink killing the clover, if you're actually
going to till the area.


Thanks everyone for the advice. We're finally going to have a nice
weekend here in NY so I'll probably do the deed tomorrow. It's
guaranteed to be a big mess.

Yup. And, one that will probably take you a while to fix. Good luck. =)

Hi Eggs, I been sitting back watching this thread thinking don't
waste the time with a tiller in heavy clay soil. Man Eggs, your
solution is indeed a good use of time and will produce more bang
for the buck. all I'd add would be the use of a star tooth aerator,
with just as much weight as I could get on the thing, be run over the
area just prior to laying the sod.

best 2U,
Jim

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:26:46 -0600, Eggs Zachtly
wrote:

dgk said:


[...]

That's not a bad suggestion. The lawn is green and is better than the
crap on my two neighbor's yards. And clover is not awful and is a
natural part of the lawn.

Clover is better for your lawn than you may think. Do some reading on
"nitrogen fixation".

Still, over the 10 years or so that I've
owned the house, I've made the mistake of using different grass seeds
and it just all sort of looks different.

It's 18x30. Just rent a sod cutter for a day, cut the old sod out and
discard it. Rake it smooth, working in a bit of organic matter, and lay the
new sod in place. It's that simple. You could, by yourself, prep that area
in one day, and lay the (less than a) pallet of sod in less than an hour,
the next day. That's such a small area, it would seem to me to be the most
logical, quick method. All that's required after that is regular waterings
until it roots in. If you want cool season grasses, now's the time to
resod, for sure. Tilling isn't really all that great for the soil
structure. You stated that your soil is mostly clay. You hit it with a
tiller, you're going to have 60 sq/yd of big, hard, clay "rocks", in a few
days. Have fun raking /that/ smooth. ;)

There are also patches where I can't get anything to grow. The ground
is hard and it just doesn't seem possible to fix it without major
renovation. The base of the lawn is a thick web of interlocking roots
and runners. Pulling out clover by the roots and runners is not a
time-efficient activity in my experience.

What I suggested above is about as "major" of a renovation as you can do.
You completely replace the turf. But you do it /without/ disturbing the
substrata. It takes a nice weekend, and probably less cash than you think.
Call a local sod farm. You only need 60 yd. A pallet is about 70 IIRC.
Local rental shops should have a sod cutter, or the sod farm would know
where to rent one, I'm sure. It's worth looking into.

[...]


I think this time I'll just till the mess and use the opportuity to
get some lime and peat moss in, and reconfigure the yard, adding some
space for more tomatoes and string beans and such.

How much peat do you think you'll need for that area? Are the rest of the
plantings in the immediate vicinity, acid-loving?

Perhaps a little
house for the cats to play in and maybe a waterfall thing. But those
are so hokey.

I dunno. I've never seen cats play in a waterfall thing. Might be kinda
entertaining. =)


If the crabgrass and clover come back too quickly, I'll consider the
roundup route or cover it up with plastic sheeting.

Crabgrass is easily prevented using a pre-emergent. If the Forsythia are
still blooming, or it's been unseasonably cool in your area, it /may/ still
help to put it down. I'd rethink killing the clover, if you're actually
going to till the area.


Thanks everyone for the advice. We're finally going to have a nice
weekend here in NY so I'll probably do the deed tomorrow. It's
guaranteed to be a big mess.

Yup. And, one that will probably take you a while to fix. Good luck. =)


Ok, I'm convinced. I hold off on tilling. One other thing I should
have mentioned is that there is no way to get anything into the
backyard without going through the house, so sod is going to be
awkward. But, I never heard of a sod cutter before and it certainly
makes sense that tilling clay can be messy.

Instead of heading off to rent a tiller, I'll look around at sod
cutters and the availability of sod. I suppose they put roundup all
over the sod but at least I won't know about it. Maybe.

Thanks for the advice. I'll head over to the local Garden World for a
start.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

dgk said:



[...]


Ok, I'm convinced. I hold off on tilling. One other thing I should
have mentioned is that there is no way to get anything into the
backyard without going through the house, so sod is going to be
awkward. But, I never heard of a sod cutter before and it certainly
makes sense that tilling clay can be messy.

A sod cutter resembles a heavy mower, or tiller. It has a blade that sits
parallel to the ground, and the depth of its cut is adjustable. As the
cutter propels itself along, the blade moves side to side, as well as
front/back, in order to cut a long strip of sod, leaving behind a fairly
smooth (barring any rocks) surface.

You then cut the long strip into smaller ones, making them easier to
handle. Just roll them up and carry them off. The new sod comes in small
rolls, that you just unroll in place and snug up against the previously
laid one.


Instead of heading off to rent a tiller, I'll look around at sod
cutters and the availability of sod. I suppose they put roundup all
over the sod but at least I won't know about it. Maybe.

Nope, no need to spray anything. Just cut it up and haul it away. =)


Thanks for the advice. I'll head over to the local Garden World for a
start.

Good luck, man. Like I said, I'm not sure who'd have one, but someone will.
=)

--

Eggs

Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back
into a sun in the daytime.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

On Sat, 21 Apr 2007 12:44:42 -0600, Eggs Zachtly
wrote:

dgk said:



[...]


Ok, I'm convinced. I hold off on tilling. One other thing I should
have mentioned is that there is no way to get anything into the
backyard without going through the house, so sod is going to be
awkward. But, I never heard of a sod cutter before and it certainly
makes sense that tilling clay can be messy.

A sod cutter resembles a heavy mower, or tiller. It has a blade that sits
parallel to the ground, and the depth of its cut is adjustable. As the
cutter propels itself along, the blade moves side to side, as well as
front/back, in order to cut a long strip of sod, leaving behind a fairly
smooth (barring any rocks) surface.

You then cut the long strip into smaller ones, making them easier to
handle. Just roll them up and carry them off. The new sod comes in small
rolls, that you just unroll in place and snug up against the previously
laid one.

....

Garden World (which is familiar with the local soil) says that I
likely wouldn't have much problem with clay after a few passes with a
tiller, but that I would need to compact the soil, or sink every time
someone walked on it.

That's a problem with having an attached house (row house) since
getting anything into or out of the yard usually means going though
the house. There is really no way to get a big roller back there. It
also means some heavy and messy lifting for sod.

So I went the conservative route for this time. I spent Saturday
digging up the bare areas and filling them in with peat moss, topsoil,
and some lime and seed. I then did the topping suggested by the link
from Data. I spread peat moss all over the lawn, then went over it
with lime (pellets). I also did the areas reserved for vegetables.
Then I watered (lightly)

Sunday I fertilized and watered (lightly) and had the first barbeque
of the season. Now I wait to see how much of the see is left by the
birds. Much of it is buried under the thin peatmoss layer so I should
be all right.

Thanks again for the advice. It won't be perfect but it won't be a big
mess either.

Tilling the yard advice please
 

dgk said:

On Sat, 21 Apr 2007 12:44:42 -0600, Eggs Zachtly
wrote:

dgk said:



[...]


Ok, I'm convinced. I hold off on tilling. One other thing I should
have mentioned is that there is no way to get anything into the
backyard without going through the house, so sod is going to be
awkward. But, I never heard of a sod cutter before and it certainly
makes sense that tilling clay can be messy.

A sod cutter resembles a heavy mower, or tiller. It has a blade that sits
parallel to the ground, and the depth of its cut is adjustable. As the
cutter propels itself along, the blade moves side to side, as well as
front/back, in order to cut a long strip of sod, leaving behind a fairly
smooth (barring any rocks) surface.

You then cut the long strip into smaller ones, making them easier to
handle. Just roll them up and carry them off. The new sod comes in small
rolls, that you just unroll in place and snug up against the previously
laid one.

...

Garden World (which is familiar with the local soil) says that I
likely wouldn't have much problem with clay after a few passes with a
tiller, but that I would need to compact the soil, or sink every time
someone walked on it.

That's a problem with having an attached house (row house) since
getting anything into or out of the yard usually means going though
the house. There is really no way to get a big roller back there. It
also means some heavy and messy lifting for sod.

So I went the conservative route for this time. I spent Saturday
digging up the bare areas and filling them in with peat moss, topsoil,
and some lime and seed. I then did the topping suggested by the link
from Data. I spread peat moss all over the lawn, then went over it
with lime (pellets). I also did the areas reserved for vegetables.
Then I watered (lightly)

Sunday I fertilized and watered (lightly) and had the first barbeque
of the season. Now I wait to see how much of the see is left by the
birds. Much of it is buried under the thin peatmoss layer so I should
be all right.

Thanks again for the advice. It won't be perfect but it won't be a big
mess either.

Good luck, man. Sometimes the best route isn't possible, but it sounds like
you did the best with what you have to work with. I'm sure it'll be fine.
=)

--

Eggs

My weight is perfect for my height.... which varies.