My yard is full of weed.

Is it worth tilling and seeding during this time of the year?
If so, what kind of cool weather seeds should i use?

Any other suggestions?

thanks for your guidance.

If you're wanting a cool season lawn I would wait until fall. You will be
much happier with results, unless you have a shady lawn. This will also
give you time to have your soil tested and to get your weed problem under
control.

--
Baine

"Ni" wrote in message
...
My yard is full of weed.

Is it worth tilling and seeding during this time of the year?
If so, what kind of cool weather seeds should i use?

Any other suggestions?

thanks for your guidance.

If you're wanting a cool season lawn I would wait until fall. You will be
much happier with results, unless you have a shady lawn. This will also
give you time to have your soil tested and to get your weed problem under
control.

--
Baine

"Ni" wrote in message
...
My yard is full of weed.

Is it worth tilling and seeding during this time of the year?
If so, what kind of cool weather seeds should i use?

Any other suggestions?

thanks for your guidance.

"Baine Carruthers" wrote in message
...
If you're wanting a cool season lawn I would wait until fall. You will be
much happier with results, unless you have a shady lawn. This will also

The "shady lawn" comment caught my eye :-) I have a yard that I am
currently rennovating to get the house ready to sell. So, I don't want to
spend a fortune, but I would like some grass. I had pretty much decided to
skip it because I hope to have the house on the market this summer, early
fall -- too early for a fall grass planting. But, most of the area I would
like to seed is under 2 giant oak trees and very shady.

Are you saying that the grass might survive even with immature roots simply
because it won't get beaten up by the sun so much? If so, I wonder what
kind of grass you would recommend? On a related note, does anyone have any
recommendations for hiring a company to seed my shady lawn this spring?
Ideally they would till or otherwise break up the soil (it is quite
compacted and much of it is bare dirt) and then seed and mulch with straw.
As the "things to do before we sell" list grows I am wanting to just throw
money at things like lawn seeding instead of doing it myself :-)

"Baine Carruthers" wrote in message
...
If you're wanting a cool season lawn I would wait until fall. You will be
much happier with results, unless you have a shady lawn. This will also

The "shady lawn" comment caught my eye :-) I have a yard that I am
currently rennovating to get the house ready to sell. So, I don't want to
spend a fortune, but I would like some grass. I had pretty much decided to
skip it because I hope to have the house on the market this summer, early
fall -- too early for a fall grass planting. But, most of the area I would
like to seed is under 2 giant oak trees and very shady.

Are you saying that the grass might survive even with immature roots simply
because it won't get beaten up by the sun so much? If so, I wonder what
kind of grass you would recommend? On a related note, does anyone have any
recommendations for hiring a company to seed my shady lawn this spring?
Ideally they would till or otherwise break up the soil (it is quite
compacted and much of it is bare dirt) and then seed and mulch with straw.
As the "things to do before we sell" list grows I am wanting to just throw
money at things like lawn seeding instead of doing it myself :-)

The area under trees (shady) should or could be handled separately. If you
wait until fall and seed during the recommended Sept 15 - Oct 15 window,
your grass will be about 4-6" tall when the leaf raking season hits. You
know how that story ends. If you seed shady areas in the fall, the later
part of August is usually a better time if you can water as its typically a
dry period.

Spring seeding a shady area can result in a decent lawn if you don't wait
too late and are able to water etc. You are not bothered with crabgrass and
the temperatures are modified due to tree canopy.

If you're getting ready for market, IMHO it would be worthwhile to try a get
a lawn going. If you have deep dark shade forget the turf and go a
different route.

You didn't mention what type of trees you have or the cause of the shade.
Certain types of trees, such as dogwoods, magnolias, silver maples, don't
give turf much of a chance so explore your other options.

Most of the commonly available grass seed blends for shade will work. Most
have creeping red rescue as a part of the blend. Many of these types of
fine fescue do well in poor soils but do not like excessive fertilizer.

--
Baine


"Sean Scoggins" wrote in message
. com...

"Baine Carruthers" wrote in message
...
If you're wanting a cool season lawn I would wait until fall. You will
be
much happier with results, unless you have a shady lawn. This will also

The "shady lawn" comment caught my eye :-) I have a yard that I am
currently rennovating to get the house ready to sell. So, I don't want to
spend a fortune, but I would like some grass. I had pretty much decided
to
skip it because I hope to have the house on the market this summer, early
fall -- too early for a fall grass planting. But, most of the area I
would
like to seed is under 2 giant oak trees and very shady.

Are you saying that the grass might survive even with immature roots
simply
because it won't get beaten up by the sun so much? If so, I wonder what
kind of grass you would recommend? On a related note, does anyone have
any
recommendations for hiring a company to seed my shady lawn this spring?
Ideally they would till or otherwise break up the soil (it is quite
compacted and much of it is bare dirt) and then seed and mulch with straw.
As the "things to do before we sell" list grows I am wanting to just throw
money at things like lawn seeding instead of doing it myself :-)

"Baine Carruthers" wrote in message
news
Spring seeding a shady area can result in a decent lawn if you don't wait
too late and are able to water etc. You are not bothered with crabgrass
and

When is too late? Is it time now?

a lawn going. If you have deep dark shade forget the turf and go a
different route.

This area is under the canopy of two large oak trees. A large portion of it
is covered in liriope, another portion covered in vinca major. The vinca
does a good enough job of covering any area I let it, but I don't want a
whole yard full of it. I'm planning to carve some of it out as a border
area covered with pine straw and plant a few hosta or ferns or something.
There's still an area that just "looks" like it should have grass, though.

You didn't mention what type of trees you have or the cause of the shade.

These are oaks.

Most of the commonly available grass seed blends for shade will work.
Most
have creeping red rescue as a part of the blend. Many of these types of
fine fescue do well in poor soils but do not like excessive fertilizer.

Thanks for the info, I may go seed shopping this weekend.

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 22:15:33 GMT, "Sean Scoggins"
wrote:


"Baine Carruthers" wrote in message
...
If you're wanting a cool season lawn I would wait until fall. You will be
much happier with results, unless you have a shady lawn. This will also

The "shady lawn" comment caught my eye :-) I have a yard that I am
currently rennovating to get the house ready to sell. So, I don't want to
spend a fortune, but I would like some grass. I had pretty much decided to
skip it because I hope to have the house on the market this summer, early
fall -- too early for a fall grass planting. But, most of the area I would
like to seed is under 2 giant oak trees and very shady.

Are you saying that the grass might survive even with immature roots simply
because it won't get beaten up by the sun so much? If so, I wonder what
kind of grass you would recommend? On a related note, does anyone have any
recommendations for hiring a company to seed my shady lawn this spring?
Ideally they would till or otherwise break up the soil (it is quite
compacted and much of it is bare dirt) and then seed and mulch with straw.
As the "things to do before we sell" list grows I am wanting to just throw
money at things like lawn seeding instead of doing it myself :-)



Sean,

Call Casey with Graduate Degree Turf - it is a smaller company, just
starting out - but he is fantastic and the rates are much better than
you'll find with the larger companies. He comes out and gives you an
evaluation of your lawn, complete with all the options you could
choose from - and helps you pick the right one to fit your budget and
time constraints. We're having him work on our lawn now.

See www.graduatedegreeturf.com - the website is pretty basic right
now, but it should get more involved shortly. Casey's contact info is
on the site.

- Lisa
Disclaimer - Casey is a friend of mine, but he is also very
knowledgeable and talented in this area. As I said, he's doing our
yard now so I have experience with his work.

Sean,

If you are planning to seed under two large oaks, you will have to do two
things prior to seeding. First raise the canopies of the trees to allow
more light to reach the grass. This can be done by purchasing a quality
extension pruning tool with saw to remove limbs as needed. Second, if the
oaks are large, there is a good chance that the roots are surfacing in order
to feed on the nutrients provided to the lawn. In the past, I have fixed
this problem by creating a bed of double shredded hardwood mulch
approximately 1/2 of the dripline. As the mulch breaks down, it will
provide a nutrient base for the tree, as well as retain moisture for the
trees uptake needs.

If the area is shaded, and will not receive heavy traffic (pets/kids), then
select a 'creeping red fescue'. This fescue is very shade tolerant. A good
shelf brand is available at Ace by the name of 'Palmer's Pride'. A bit
expensive, but it is the best seed for your application. If the soil around
the tree is compacted and clay, then add soil amendments and till to depth
of about 4", if possible, due to surfacing roots of the tree.

Good Luck!

Jason D.

This area is under the canopy of two large oak trees. A large portion of
it
is covered in liriope, another portion covered in vinca major. The vinca
does a good enough job of covering any area I let it, but I don't want a
whole yard full of it. I'm planning to carve some of it out as a border
area covered with pine straw and plant a few hosta or ferns or something.
There's still an area that just "looks" like it should have grass, though.

You didn't mention what type of trees you have or the cause of the
shade.

These are oaks.

Most of the commonly available grass seed blends for shade will work.
Most
have creeping red rescue as a part of the blend. Many of these types of
fine fescue do well in poor soils but do not like excessive fertilizer.

Thanks for the info, I may go seed shopping this weekend.

Sean,

If you are planning to seed under two large oaks, you will have to do two
things prior to seeding. First raise the canopies of the trees to allow
more light to reach the grass. This can be done by purchasing a quality
extension pruning tool with saw to remove limbs as needed. Second, if the
oaks are large, there is a good chance that the roots are surfacing in order
to feed on the nutrients provided to the lawn. In the past, I have fixed
this problem by creating a bed of double shredded hardwood mulch
approximately 1/2 of the dripline. As the mulch breaks down, it will
provide a nutrient base for the tree, as well as retain moisture for the
trees uptake needs.

If the area is shaded, and will not receive heavy traffic (pets/kids), then
select a 'creeping red fescue'. This fescue is very shade tolerant. A good
shelf brand is available at Ace by the name of 'Palmer's Pride'. A bit
expensive, but it is the best seed for your application. If the soil around
the tree is compacted and clay, then add soil amendments and till to depth
of about 4", if possible, due to surfacing roots of the tree.

Good Luck!

Jason D.

This area is under the canopy of two large oak trees. A large portion of
it
is covered in liriope, another portion covered in vinca major. The vinca
does a good enough job of covering any area I let it, but I don't want a
whole yard full of it. I'm planning to carve some of it out as a border
area covered with pine straw and plant a few hosta or ferns or something.
There's still an area that just "looks" like it should have grass, though.

You didn't mention what type of trees you have or the cause of the
shade.

These are oaks.

Most of the commonly available grass seed blends for shade will work.
Most
have creeping red rescue as a part of the blend. Many of these types of
fine fescue do well in poor soils but do not like excessive fertilizer.

Thanks for the info, I may go seed shopping this weekend.