I recently bought a house in Indian Trail, NC and the yard is nothing but weeds. I don't beleive that there is even any grass left. The entire front and backyard is yellow and icky. I am dying to get out there and work on it, but know I need to wait till we get some warmer weather. I have been told to kill off the "weed yard" first and power rake up the dead weeds. That process would take at least 7 days to get all the weeds gone. My question is WHEN can I start the reseeding process in my area? I have always heard that it is best when the weather is in the 60s consistently. Is this at all true? We currently have been having colder than normal weather, in the 20s-40s. This weekend and next week will be in the 60s-70s. I am afraid to start the process too soon in fear that the grass seeds won't be able to germinate properly. How heavy do we need to seed the lawn when starting out too? We have a .34 acre lot (appro14810.4 sq feet ), with our house taking up approx 1800 sq feet of that. I know I would need to seed more heavily with no grass at all in the beginning. Would I just need to double up what the bag says it would cover? Also, one more question, can you put down lime at the same time that the seed goes down, or do I need to wait till the grass has germinted, or just wait till Fall? I am dying to have a NICE green lawn and am ready to get started!! ANY replies to this post would be GREATLY appreciated!!!! THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!
JRO
I can tell you're eager!!
Well, 1st don't seed until after April 15th
What kind of grass are you going with?? That makes a difference.
I would recommend you get a soil sample or at the least a ph check.
Do you have a farm supply store, NOT a tractor supply, I'm talking about a place farmers would go to buy chemicals, seed, and nursery supplies.
They should be able to check your ph or send off a total soil sample.
They can also steer you in the right direction.
Dont buy anything from a department store, find a farm supply!!
Well, 1st don't seed until after April 15th
What kind of grass are you going with?? That makes a difference.
I would recommend you get a soil sample or at the least a ph check.
Do you have a farm supply store, NOT a tractor supply, I'm talking about a place farmers would go to buy chemicals, seed, and nursery supplies.
They should be able to check your ph or send off a total soil sample.
They can also steer you in the right direction.
Dont buy anything from a department store, find a farm supply!!
Really?? I should wait till after April 15th??? Oh man!! :-( I guess that would make sense, more time to make sure the cold weather is good and gone first. From what I was reading on the internet about the grasses, the one that I saw would be best in my area would be tall fescue, which I am not a huge fan of, but according to the kind of grass that can withstand our area which can be droughtful in the summer, is tall fescue. I was going to get Rebel grass seed. I have always heard that that is the best seed, less weeds in the bag. There is a feed store near me, but not sure if they do soil testing. I know of another one (Southern States) in Locust (where we used to live) that I could go to, too. Do you have any recommendations on the type of grass we should go with? How heavy should it be seeded when a new lawn is established? I have a Scotts spreader and assume that it needs to be on a setting that spreads more than normal. Can I put down lime at the same time as seed, or wait till the Fall?
Fall fescue can not take the dry weather so be careful!!
You should have a ag extension in your county
Check the phone book. Like mine is Johnston County Ag. Extension
They can tell you what you need to know
You should have a ag extension in your county
Check the phone book. Like mine is Johnston County Ag. Extension
They can tell you what you need to know
might not be cost effective....I dont have the papers in front of me to compare.....with only 14000 sq ft.....ever consider sod??? about the same prep as seeding and if you water till its good and established.....will look better(faster) and the cost isnt too much different.
Maybe someone with the figures will chime in....Im going by what another LCO told me....with seed and straw prices I can believe it.....bed prep, lime and fert will be the same no matter which way you go
Sod will run you about $90/pallet and will cover about 500 sq. ft. Rebel V is the latest in the Rebel family. The last I used was Rebel II and it was for sun and a little shade. Combine it with a creeping fescue and you should have a good mix. Of course, the sod would be an instant yard, if not too hilly or rock laden like the lots around Asheville, but you MUST have irrigation capabilities for any sod to survive. You should consider it and weigh the cost vs. a lot of reseeding, strawing, starting fertilizer. You lawn will never be in better shape for sod than now. How much are you talking about?
I was forced to renovate my lawn in fact we had to till the entire yard this past fall. I will also be seeding this Spring but have lower expectations since fall really is the time to seed for a great lawn but I do understand your desire to have something for this season.
I used to have a tall fescue lawn and it definitely doesn't hold up as well in this heat and drought as some others. I'm switching to a tall fescue, fine fescue, KGB blend from Lesco (also have a lot of trees so a lot of shaded areas.).
As for rate of seed, follow the directions on the bag for a new lawn. I agree that you need a soil test but NC County Extention puts commercial growers first at this of the year (rightly so) and there's a 6 to 8 week waiting period for homeowners. I used A&L Labs in VA (al-labs-eastern.com). Only took 4 days to get my results and recommendations and they're reasonably priced.
As for lime - it takes time for it to work. We applied lime in the fall along with 3"of compost and tilled it in for best results. Our PH in November was 4.9 today it's almost up to 7.0. and I understand the compost is responsible for most of the quick improvement. Best place to get it is at the Mecklenburg county recyling centers (it's certified?) .
We did sod a few years ago before we installed an in-ground irrigation system and it didn't hold up. I wouldn't do it without an in-ground irrigation system. Our yard is 4900 sf. and it cost us $1,200 before labor to install it. We used Super Sod in Charlotte. It needs to be installed the same day or it will die on the pallet.
Finally, we are all on water restrictions in this area. Thankfully we have an irrigation well so we're not affected. I'm not sure if they'll lift the watering restrictions this Spring since we're still well below the average rainfall. You can get a 30 day exemption for a new lawn in Mecklenburg but you need to check on that for Union County since they have serious issues with water there. To my way of thinking if you can't get water it properly it's a waste of time and effort.
Hope this helps.
I used to have a tall fescue lawn and it definitely doesn't hold up as well in this heat and drought as some others. I'm switching to a tall fescue, fine fescue, KGB blend from Lesco (also have a lot of trees so a lot of shaded areas.).
As for rate of seed, follow the directions on the bag for a new lawn. I agree that you need a soil test but NC County Extention puts commercial growers first at this of the year (rightly so) and there's a 6 to 8 week waiting period for homeowners. I used A&L Labs in VA (al-labs-eastern.com). Only took 4 days to get my results and recommendations and they're reasonably priced.
As for lime - it takes time for it to work. We applied lime in the fall along with 3"of compost and tilled it in for best results. Our PH in November was 4.9 today it's almost up to 7.0. and I understand the compost is responsible for most of the quick improvement. Best place to get it is at the Mecklenburg county recyling centers (it's certified?) .
We did sod a few years ago before we installed an in-ground irrigation system and it didn't hold up. I wouldn't do it without an in-ground irrigation system. Our yard is 4900 sf. and it cost us $1,200 before labor to install it. We used Super Sod in Charlotte. It needs to be installed the same day or it will die on the pallet.
Finally, we are all on water restrictions in this area. Thankfully we have an irrigation well so we're not affected. I'm not sure if they'll lift the watering restrictions this Spring since we're still well below the average rainfall. You can get a 30 day exemption for a new lawn in Mecklenburg but you need to check on that for Union County since they have serious issues with water there. To my way of thinking if you can't get water it properly it's a waste of time and effort.
Hope this helps.
I live in Charlotte- between Southpark and Ballantyne- send me an email with your phone # at heybruck34@hotmail.com and I'll call you and talk you through it. I have renovated several lawns around here. I think I can give you the expensive version to get it done now or the cheap version to get it done by next year.
Me, I took the cheap version and 3 years later I'm glad I did. Less work, less money, same result. Done the same process for a couple clients and family/friends as well.
Me, I took the cheap version and 3 years later I'm glad I did. Less work, less money, same result. Done the same process for a couple clients and family/friends as well.
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
