NEED A LAWN JEDI - BACKYARD REHAB

[cdelta1975]

I have been wanting to post on a gardening forum for a while so I finally did it. I just recently bought a home and the backyard is in need of some serious rehab. The soil on the ground is very dry and brittle. Grass grows in very thin spots all over (and when I say thin I mean a few blades here a few blades there). The worst part is all of the weeds. They grow (long thin stalks with little yellow flowers) all over the place. The far end of the yard is separated by a rock bed and that side is completely overgrown with the weedy type grass. I want to have a pretty green lawn as we all do. I know it is not going to happen overnight but I would love some input on how to get started.

Can I put weed and feed down to kill the weeds?

My plan was to get a tiller or something to break up the soil add some topsoil and then put down the grass seeds.

With all the weeds won't they all just come back once I added the new soil?

So many questions, but that's why I am asking the jedi masters of lawns. PLEASE HELP. Thanks

 

[DirtMechanic]

Lol jedi..seriously no tiller. Think aerator. Think compost with seeds mixed in it spread out over a lawn that was sprayed to kill everything. If its more than 50% weeds, I would suggest spray it. While its down, rent a ditch witch and run some pex irrigation line deep, even if it is to hose bibbs that are convenient, as water and oxygen are the first fertilizers, after which comes proteins and carbohydrates and mineral sources for all that npk mumbo jumbo. While it is down, you certainly would be wise to have your soil tested. Spend large and get as much testing as they can do, as knowledge will save you so much going forward that its the no brainer scenario. Once your test comes back, post it here, and of course there and everywhere, and the resulting conversations will be enlightening for all.

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*The preceding commentary was weak enough to not be felt by the force

 

[mgmine]

Just asDirt Mechanic said. A rototiller is very hard work and is not needed for a lawn. Your time would be better spent killing off the weeds with weed killer not weed and feed and spreading a layer of topsoil. The time to do it is the beginning of September.

 

[the lawnsman]

I have been wanting to post on a gardening forum for a while so I finally did it. I just recently bought a home and the backyard is in need of some serious rehab. The soil on the ground is very dry and brittle. Grass grows in very thin spots all over (and when I say thin I mean a few blades here a few blades there). The worst part is all of the weeds. They grow (long thin stalks with little yellow flowers) all over the place. The far end of the yard is separated by a rock bed and that side is completely overgrown with the weedy type grass. I want to have a pretty green lawn as we all do. I know it is not going to happen overnight but I would love some input on how to get started.

Can I put weed and feed down to kill the weeds?

My plan was to get a tiller or something to break up the soil add some topsoil and then put down the grass seeds.

With all the weeds won't they all just come back once I added the new soil?

So many questions, but that's why I am asking the jedi masters of lawns. PLEASE HELP. Thanks

where in the US?
makes a big difference with turfseed varieties and methods.

 

[robincooper]

Here is good review about weed killers www.bestadvisers.co.uk/weed-killers. I don't belive in vinegar or boil water. Also, I herd about the method of changing soil, but it's expensive and I can't say anything about it's efficiency.