Too many weeds in the lawn -- New Jersey / Northeast

[lawncare20]

Hello everyone,

I hope to get some advice on my lawn here as I saw many expert on this forum helping people. I am in New Jersey and 1-st time homeowner. I have a yard about 8000 sq. ft.

when I bought the house the grass was in ok condition. but then I tried to "maintain" it and over firtilized it , I guess. and may be cut the lawn very low.

But now I have too much weeds. It is a weed yard.
Is there a way I can fix this ? I have attached a couple of pics for your review.

here are the pics...


http://img182.imagevenue.com/loc357/th_98712_IMG_0001_122_357lo.jpg (http://img182.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=98712_IMG_0001_122_357lo.jpg)http://img226.imagevenue.com/loc81/th_98731_IMG_0002_122_81lo.jpg (http://img226.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=98731_IMG_0002_122_81lo.jpg)http://img243.imagevenue.com/loc258/th_98767_IMG_0003_122_258lo.jpg (http://img243.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=98767_IMG_0003_122_258lo.jpg)http://img192.imagevenue.com/loc440/th_98780_IMG_0004_122_440lo.jpg (http://img192.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=98780_IMG_0004_122_440lo.jpg)

[daveyo]

At this point your over your head, hire a reputable L/S company to get it in shape and then maintain it from there. Believe me 8000sq' of yard to get back in shape with no experience won't be easy. You already burned your lawn and personally thats pretty hard to do these days. You really have to overload to burn.

[BostonBull]

Thats a tough one to do with little or no experience!

If your hellbent on doing it yourself........

Kill everything with roundup

Bring in roughly 50 or so yards of compost and till it in as deep as you can get it

Roll the lawn, then rake LIGHTLY with a landscape rake to create "channels" for the seed to sit it

Get some GOOD seed like Pennington's Smart Seed and spread it

Water 3 times a day for 2 weeks, and then 1-2 times a day for 1-2 weeks.

When the lawn is 3" tall mow it at 2.5" height

When you have mowed your lawn 3 times go back to a deep and infrequent watering schedule. In the spring put down Corn Gluten Meal if you want to go organic, if not spread chemicals for weed control. I would topdress with compost @ 1/8"-1/2" in spring and aerate and topdress every fall and spring after that. Decide if you want to use synthetic fertilizers or organic methods.

Good Luck!

I would personally hire a co. to do this and then try to gain as much knowledge as possible to maintain it the RIGHT way yourself after the new install.

[Heatman]

If you want to try to fix this yourself the 1st thing is set your mower as high as it will go.

The best product I have found for the homeowner is Speedzone.I get it at my local Tractor Supply Store.http://www.pbigordon.com/professional/page.php?id=293

Read the directions carefully. More is not better. Best time to kill weeds is in the fall. Spray now and spray a 2nd time according to dirrections.

Fertilize at the end of Sept. and again in November. Again be sure to follow the directions carefully. Good luck!

I'm not a pro just a homeowner ... but my lawn looks better than most that use a pro.

[lawncare20]

Thank you guys for your reply.

how much does it cost roughly if I hire a prof. co. ?

[lawncare20]

how much does it cost roughly if I hire a prof. co.

[jkason]

About the same as doing it yourself (after you rent all the proper equipment to do the job).

[mngrassguy]

I charge about $55.00 for that size here in Mn. Your area might be different. Going with a pro would be your best bet. Stay away from the big national companies and try to hire someone local. You'll get better service by more knowledgeable people and much less run around.