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Help with redoing the lawn (sod on bad, rocky ground)
Thanks Timothy, and others, for responses. I'm learning.
I decided to use 'some' chemicals before redoing the lawn. I feel like I missed the boat for seeding (in terms of timing), since it's getting warm here in New England. For sodding, can it be done in June, maybe even July and be ok? Now, this is my plan of action 1. Rototill the existing lawn 2. Cover it up (~1000 ft^2) with tarp to kill the weeds (and whatever else was growing with weeds) - ~2 weeks? 3. Put in some new top soil 4. Apply weed killer chemicals 5. Re-sod 6. Water 7. Water more .... Step 1 can be done in a half day, 3,4,5 can be done in another day after tarp comes off. Sound about right? Timothy wrote in message ws.com... On Thu, 13 May 2004 22:05:01 -0700, FGreen wrote: mowing height depends - where there is grass, ~2-3", on bare spots, 0", on dandelion spots, 8+"... ha... sorry for being a smartmouth. I try to keep it high enough to block the weeds, but the situation has reversed itself. Good mowing hight.... We put fertilizers in the fall, once a year. We water infrequently in the summer (to let it go dormant..?) aeration hasn't been done since it was sodded (I know, a mistake) Yes, we use mulching mower. We haven't been very deligent about keeping it up, I have to say. I would tend to fertilize twice a year. I would use half in the spring and half in the fall. It's good to boost the grass in the spring when the nitrogen is low in the soil. Nitrogen is a non-fixed element that moves with water. After the run off of winter, nitrogen is at it's lowest. Yes, I have read that post from you before posting my question. It was probably the closest to what I was looking for and most helpful post I found in search. The only difference would be, we already have a lawn (weed lawn). Do I till it up, or just put new soil on top? Do I need to use chemicals to kill the existing weeds? My situation is, we're planning on selling the place, and want to make the lawn look good in short timeframe. Don't have the time to wait for seed to germinate, etc., because I need to act quickly once . I don't want to spend too much money, but then I don't want do a non-even-a-half-ass job like the builder did, either. With the short time frame, non-chemical requirements and price range, your situation is a bit difficult. No matter how you spin it, sod isn't cheap. If you were to do sod, you could just over lay the native soil after letting a non-selective herbicide do it's work. You would be able to spray and lay with in two weeks. While others rave over Round-up.. I personaly won't touch the stuff. It's a rather toxic chemical and there's lots of proof via the net for those who wish to look for it. I use Finale (product name) or any product with glufosinate ammonium as the main active ingredient. Here's the spec sheet on it: http://www.horizononline.com/msds_sh...f/finale25.pdf Page 8 and onward you'll find the toxic's report. Looks rather good to me and the enviroment and that's why I use it in my business. Is it ok to till up the existing lawn, add some soil, till up some more, and lay down the sod, without adding any weed killers? Again, there's quite a bit of weeds, but I'm trying not to use chemicals if at all possible. My lawn is ~1000-1100 sq.ft, by the way. So here are your options... (imho) 1 herbicide the lawn and re-sod it. Possibly add new top soil before hand. This will cost the most. Up to $200.00 for dirt (10 yards), $20.00 for fertilizer, $20.00 for herbicide, $20.00 for a sprayer (if needed), Roller rental $?.00 and sod $???.00 (price varies) 2 all of above but seed instead of sod. Perennial rye generaly sprouts faster (1 week), but is not as nice (imho). Tall Fescue takes longer (2/3 weeks) and is a bit nicer. 2 weeks for spray and 2or 3 weeks for seed. First mowing in 6 weeks and looks great in 8 weeks 80) 3 least favorite would be to lay weed & feed and re-seed in 3 weeks. Your milage may vary. Any way you look at it, there really isn't too many ways to get things done in under two weeks. 6 weeks is a bit more workable |
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