We are on a fairly large lot--a little under 3 acres--some of it is wooded but much of it will need some sort of lawn. The front yard is very large and very sloped to the street and we will not start landscaping until the spring but I need it to be green and I desperately need something that will help hold back some of the soil from washing into a pile of sludge at the bottom of the driveway every time it rains.

The back yard is much flatter and this is where I would like a lawn that looks and feels nice. The backyard is full sun these days up until about 6PM and the front is quite sunny also.

We will not be installing sprinklers in a yard of this size. We have a lot of rock and what I think is clay soil (hills of Northwest NJ). I will be getting a soil test done before we start. I have been reading this forum and have read a lot of good advice but a lot seems geared to smaller, flatter lots.

Does anybody have some good advice for starting a lawn on a large area with hills where watering the whole thing daily (unless it rains) might be a problem? Thanks.

Grass should never be watered daily except during the seed establishment period. Once it becomes established, most lawns can go with monthly water in the cool months and weekly in the summer. There are some grasses which can be left unmowed and look absolutely stunning on the side of a hill. Creeping red fescue comes to mind.

Thank you for doing the research!!! Wish more people did.