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What would you do with this lawn? I'm tearing it up with a Tiller and seeding it.

830 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  dd57chevy
This is my back yard.
I brought this house one year ago and I finally have the time to take care of it.

As you can see, as of today (house is located in New Jersey USA)
there is about 80% crab grass that will eventually "grow green" by July 2016.
You can see that there some "real" grass that is grown and turned green.

My thinking is that I should get the most heavy duty Tiller at Home Depot rentals and churn up this whole thing.

2. Then throw down topsoil, compost, and fertilizer.

3. Then flatten with one of those water weighted "rollers".

4. Seed.

5. Water with a sprinkler every day.

Thoughts?

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Nobody rototills their whole lawn. I'm not totally sure why. I have heard it stirs up weed seeds? It is probably also prevent uneven settling (even with the roller). I'd expect it to get bumpy.

I always see a bunch of Mexicans digging up lawns with mattocks prior to installing a new lawn.

Think about renting a sod cutter instead of a tiller. That will cut out strips of bad turf and leave you with smooth soil. You don't need to add more top soil. You don't need the roller. Just dress it with some compost and seed.

You may also want to leave the soil unseeded for a few weeks. That way, any weed seeds in the woil will have a chance to germinate and you can easily get rid of them without destroying your little grass seedlings.
I always see a bunch of Mexicans digging up lawns with mattocks prior to installing a new lawn.

interesting commento..:vs_karate:

Mexico is primarily desert, what makes these guys experts on green grass lawn care?


Regards,

Sean P
One reason guys don't till an entire yard is that it is REALLY difficult to till any unbroken ground ! You could theoretically use a ripper type device or even a single moldboard plow (mounted on a garden tractor) , THEN till in some compost , rake it smooth & seed it .

Most people would simply throw a little compost on the ground , scar it up with a rake & seed it .

September 1st is the best time to seed a lawn .
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