Kill My Lawn

[kodeblue]

I am not a pro in the lawn care business but DO want to have my lawn looking good. I have alot of crabgrass looking stuff in my yard and think it is best to kill the grass off and maybe re-seed with a slice seeder. Can anybody give comments to this? It is dark now so I will take a couple pics tomorrow to get better opinions.

[heybruck34]

Crabgrass can be controlled with herbicides, proper soil conditions and healthy turf. Might take a year or two but cheaper and easier than a new lawn. Bermuda now, that's another deal.

If you've never done pre-emergent, you probably should read up on that. Do a soil test, over seed, spray something to control crabgrass like Drive 75 and all the other things to control crabgrass.

I really don't have a problem with crab- my yard was infested and the above procedures have completely eliminated it except for 2-3 spots per year. These are controlled with Roundup wiped onto the leaves. Then I stand barefoot in my beautiful fescue lawn watching it wither and die whilst drinking cold beer.

[JERELG]

I have a lot of Crab grass also. I'm thinking about killing it all and just starting over this fall .

[topsites]

I would get a soil analysis done.

[JShe8918]

Post up a picture of the lawn for us to assess the damage. It may be in your favor to just start over but i am willing to bet with some post emergence and pre emergent with spot treatments would suffice.

[JERELG]

I think your right . I have gone to lesco / john deere landscapes with my soil sample and got the grass seed and fertilizer. But I think I may just want to round up the yard or just like frost take the crabgrass and then use a pre-emergent this spring.

[MarkintheGarden]

I heard one expert suggest the fifty percent rule. If the lawn is fifty percent or more of undesirable weeds and grasses, then you are better off starting from scratch. If you have fifty percent or more desirable turf grasses, then you are better off with a renovation approach.

[kodeblue]

Digging this up from awhile back. My yard has done nothing but got worse. I have decided to kill it off and sod it. I am going to install an irrigation system though first. My question is, what is the machine that I see people use to rough up the soil before laying the sod and can it be rented? I have helped people lay sod before but have never done anything to the soil before laying it.

[BobcatFastCatProHomeUser]

Originally Posted by kodeblue

My question is, what is the machine that I see people use to rough up the soil before laying the sod and can it be rented? I have helped people lay sod before but have never done anything to the soil before laying it.

I believe the machine you're referring to is called a roto-tiller. What I would do is irrigate the lawn for an hour or so the night before you start to rip it up. Then cut it as low as possible and collect the clipping. Make an initial pass with the roto-tiller throughout the lawn and with a aluminum rake start raking the debris, ie loose grass roots, rocks and any other crap like larger stones and what not. Once that's cleared I'd run the tiller two or three more times throughout until the tiller tines are buried as far as they go in the soil and the tiller pulls through without much resistance. After you've done this you should be pretty wiped out.

Next up is grading with the aluminum rake and final clearing of debris. Lay the sod starting on the longest straight possible. Then starting with the second and subsequent rows you'll want to lay the sod so the end seams are not lined up with the previous rows end seams. I like to cut two feet off of the second and every other row from the point until the end. When sodding by beds or around the the house you want to use full rows when possible (not the shorter cut offs). After all the sod is rolled out you'll need to roll the lawn with a roller (should be able to rent it too). Roll it twice with the second rolling done at 180 degrees from the first.

This is a big job, but if done properly you can save some bucks and have personal gratification for a job well done.

You'll also be pretty sore for about a week. Remember to try to pick the coolest days of the week to do this.

[kodeblue]

Thank you so much for the response and great advice. I did not know the thing was called a roto-tiller though lol. I see it hooked up to a tractor and it kinda looks like a large grass cutter machine but whenj it passes over the soil, it makes it al loose and fine.