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Fri, Jun 15, 12 at 11:11
| My wife and I recently purchased a foreclosed home in NE Ohio. Both front and back yards are in very bad shape. Front yard is very uneven and had a maple with roots showing above ground. We have removed the maple, and plan on taking out the roots soon (chopping them at the ends and pulling them up).
Back yard had around 13 thinner (12-18" in diameter) pine trees which we had removed. I ground out the stumps and removed most of the chips mixed in with dirt (there is still some left; they keep on popping up after every rainfall). Due to the unevenness of both yards, I borrowed a rototiller and plan on tilling portions of the yard, especially around and over where the stumps used to be (trees used to be on a small hill, so I want to even that out). I am a first-time homeowner, and haven't done much yard work, so I could use few suggestions. As I till the yard up, I plan on spreading lime to neutralize the ground (someone told me this would be a good idea) and then leveling the ground with a rake. Should I apply lime first and then the grass seed? Should I put down anything else? Lawn is in fairly bad shape; weeds and bald patches are all around. I plan on covering bald spots with soil when I level; can I just spread grass seed over the soil? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated... |
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| Also, should I kill off the grass prior to tilling? |
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| Whoa, slow down. The first thing you should know is that this is the worst time to seed a lawn. I am sure you are unhappy with the weedy mess you have now, but you can seed in about two months, when the timing is correct. That means you should wait to level your soil until just before you are ready to seed. In regards to leveling, tilling is not a great idea for lawns. Tilling will usually leave you with a bump uneven lawn. It also disturbs the soil structure by pushing topsoil down and bringing up subsoil (if you topsoil is thin), and also disturbs the microbiology of the soil. Weed seeds that are dormant can also be brought to the surface from tilling. The best way to level and grade a lawn is with a box blade, but you will have to pay someone to do that. If you want to level it yourself you can but not via tilling. Liming is a good idea, but only if you know your soil's chemistry. If your pH is above 6.8, liming isn't recommended. Also if you need lime, there are two kinds, and using the wrong one while not terrible, won't help you in the long run. A soil test now would be helpful so you can add amendments before the seeding window. When I say soil test, I mean a professional one, not a cheap Home Depot do it yourself. Logan Labs in Ohio is what I recommend, $20 basic soil test. For now treat your lawn like you should treat a nice lawn. Mow it and water it when it needs it. If it's all weeds, then killing them all will leave you with dirt, so I would wait to kill a few weeks before seeding. If it's some grass with weeds mixed in, you can kill most of them with Weed B Gone Max in a hose end sprayer. |
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