Redoing my small neglected lawn (first timer)

grumble wrote: ↑ If you want to do a complete lawn renovation, here's how it's done:
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Hope this helps. Honestly it isn't that bad, on 250sqft even the longest steps take basically no time. Your biggest issue will be keeping traffic low until the grass can handle it.

grumble wrote: ↑ If you want to do a complete lawn renovation, here's how it's done:

1. Kill existing plants. Easiest and best way is glyphosate (it's honestly not unsafe, it's easy, cheap and fairly quick), but if you want an alternative then solarization works. In the summer solarization works best with clear plastic (heat will kill plants), in the early spring works best with black plastic or thick landscape fabric (light kills). Solarization takes a while to work, a few weeks - you'll want to seed by the end of May, so better get to it.
2. Buy some compost. Enough for at least an inch deep layer on your lawn, ideally more.
3. Once you think everything's dead, pull up the fabric and till the soil up. Some people don't like doing this because it brings up weed seeds, but I like it for renovations because you can till in amendments. Rake up the dead plant bits.
4. Then apply your compost over the soil, and till it in so it's mixed in the first 4-6 inches.
5. Then drag the soil flat, you can use a 2 by 4. If you have access to a lawn roller, drag it then roll it.
6. Now water the soil pretty heavily. This does two things - first it settles the tilled up soil, and second it gets weed seeds to germinate. If you're willing to use chemicals you just gly the seedlings, but if not you can tarp it, hoe it or pull by hand. This takes a week.
7. You'll have lumpy soil from the settling. Drag it again.
8. Now you have a rich, flat patch of soil, no plants on it (dead or alive), and weed pressure isn't too bad. Your prep is done.
9. Now you can decide whether you sod or seed.
10. If you sod, then just get the sod delivered, lay it immediately (like as soon as you can, don't let it dry out), make sure you lay it like bricks and to have the edges tight together. Even a tiny gap will kill the sod at the edges. push down on the sod to make sure it's firmly in contact with the soil. Water it lightly every day until it's firmly rooted in the soil, takes a couple of weeks. For a small space this one might make the most sense.
11. If you seed, buy the nicest seed you can find. Cheap seed makes for cheap grass. Broadcast it at the new seed rates, apply a thin (like 1/4 inch MAX) amount of peat moss on top, then water it at least daily until it's ALL sprouted (call it three weeks). If it dries out, even for one day, it dies. Then back off on the watering slightly to 1x/day, then every other day, then slowly get down to 2x/week, but heavier to drive deeper roots. Mow it once it hits three inches, and mow it AT three inches. Tall grass has deeper roots, better disease resistance, less weed pressure, lower water requirements, and looks better.
12. Spring sodding and seeding leaves you with young grass that need a bit of protection from traffic and drought for the first season. Try to limit traffic until the grass has matured, and you'll have to baby it in the summer because it won't be able to handle dry spells.

Hope this helps. Honestly it isn't that bad, on 250sqft even the longest steps take basically no time. Your biggest issue will be keeping traffic low until the grass can handle it.

inculiqbus wrote: ↑ Great rundown, helped me as well. Is it always necessary to kill the whole lawn first? I have a pretty big yard and it would be a ton of work. Can i just put soil on top and overseed and water? will the new grass crows out the weeds?

inculiqbus wrote: ↑ Great rundown, helped me as well. Is it always necessary to kill the whole lawn first? I have a pretty big yard and it would be a ton of work. Can i just put soil on top and overseed and water? will the new grass crows out the weeds?

grumble wrote: ↑ If you want to do a complete lawn renovation, here's how it's done:

1. Kill existing plants. Easiest and best way is glyphosate (it's honestly not unsafe, it's easy, cheap and fairly quick), but if you want an alternative then solarization works. In the summer solarization works best with clear plastic (heat will kill plants), in the early spring works best with black plastic or thick landscape fabric (light kills). Solarization takes a while to work, a few weeks - you'll want to seed by the end of May, so better get to it.
2. Buy some compost. Enough for at least an inch deep layer on your lawn, ideally more.
3. Once you think everything's dead, pull up the fabric and till the soil up. Some people don't like doing this because it brings up weed seeds, but I like it for renovations because you can till in amendments. Rake up the dead plant bits.
4. Then apply your compost over the soil, and till it in so it's mixed in the first 4-6 inches.
5. Then drag the soil flat, you can use a 2 by 4. If you have access to a lawn roller, drag it then roll it.
6. Now water the soil pretty heavily. This does two things - first it settles the tilled up soil, and second it gets weed seeds to germinate. If you're willing to use chemicals you just gly the seedlings, but if not you can tarp it, hoe it or pull by hand. This takes a week.
7. You'll have lumpy soil from the settling. Drag it again.
8. Now you have a rich, flat patch of soil, no plants on it (dead or alive), and weed pressure isn't too bad. Your prep is done.
9. Now you can decide whether you sod or seed.
10. If you sod, then just get the sod delivered, lay it immediately (like as soon as you can, don't let it dry out), make sure you lay it like bricks and to have the edges tight together. Even a tiny gap will kill the sod at the edges. push down on the sod to make sure it's firmly in contact with the soil. Water it lightly every day until it's firmly rooted in the soil, takes a couple of weeks. For a small space this one might make the most sense.
11. If you seed, buy the nicest seed you can find. Cheap seed makes for cheap grass. Broadcast it at the new seed rates, apply a thin (like 1/4 inch MAX) amount of peat moss on top, then water it at least daily until it's ALL sprouted (call it three weeks). If it dries out, even for one day, it dies. Then back off on the watering slightly to 1x/day, then every other day, then slowly get down to 2x/week, but heavier to drive deeper roots. Mow it once it hits three inches, and mow it AT three inches. Tall grass has deeper roots, better disease resistance, less weed pressure, lower water requirements, and looks better.
12. Spring sodding and seeding leaves you with young grass that need a bit of protection from traffic and drought for the first season. Try to limit traffic until the grass has matured, and you'll have to baby it in the summer because it won't be able to handle dry spells.

Hope this helps. Honestly it isn't that bad, on 250sqft even the longest steps take basically no time. Your biggest issue will be keeping traffic low until the grass can handle it.