What time of year is best to "kill" and old lawn and start over?
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Late summer is usually a good time to do this. Here's why-
-In late summer, the lawn is usually under stress from heat and dryness. It's easiest to kill it off then.
-The cooler temperatures and more prevalent rainfall of fall are better to start grass seed.
I'd recommend spraying roundup to kill everything in the lawn, weeds, grass, all of it. Wait a few days and core aerate. Apply a starter fertilizer and your seed, along with lime and/or gypsum (to adjust pH and help break up clay.. you may or may not need this step, depending on your soil conditions). Topdress your seed with a mixture of sphagnum peat and sand (50:50) 1/2" or so deep and then start watering.. keep the soil moist until the grass is a couple of inches tall.
The conditions of fall will allow your grass to grow strong and stabilize over winter. In spring, the warm, moist conditions will allow it to flourish and mature.
Fertilize with regular turf fertilizer in the spring (weed-n-feed, if needed, but ONLY if you need to) and apply pre-emergent for crabgrass, if it's a problem in your area.
Mow and maintain your new lawn. Spot treat weeds if they appear and.. enjoy.
Good luck!
I would suggest winter because the grass is already dead. All you would have to do is dig up the old grass and put new grass in.
Any time is a good time to wipe out that stupid energy-hog lawn and install a coniferous forest. I have one in the back of the fridge if you want to buy one.
It typically depends on the type of grass and the climate you live in. If you are looking for a fast, easy kill, scalp the lawn in the hottest part of summer. Itll kill it quick, but then you will have a long road of recovery.
Personally, what I would do (again, with the above dependancies) is scalp it right before dormancy, overseed before it stops top growth, be prepared to mow while everyone else is enjoying the downtime, and start the recovery process when you start coming out of dormancy.
I've have heard that fall is the best time--at least if you have snow covering the ground in winter. The cooler temperatures and usually more abundant rain will help get it established. You can do it anytime, but you will have to work a bit harder in the heat of the summer. If you sweat, it will water the lawn! One suggestion--if you're planting seed--get much more than you need in case some of it doesn't do so good or dies off. The home I moved into has so many different kinds of grass in it that is looks like a calico cat. Just make sure that you plant one mixture/variety as they will all look a bit different.
Before the grasses go into winter hibernation is when you want to kill it off. Now would be good because the roots will have time to partially decompose before you till the soil.
I'd spray the whole thing with a broad spectrum contact herbicide like Roundup about now. Once things have pretty much died out I would mow it very short and water regularly to get any seeds to sprout. Then I'd spray with the herbicide again to kill off any remaining grasses. You do not want to use a pre-emergent like weed and feed because it can stay in the soil a very long time and harm the grass seed you plant later.
Once the weather cools towards fall you can till the soil and roll it. Spread fertilizer and seed then cover with a good quality mulch and leave it alone through the winter. In the spring the grass will start growing, allow it to get 3-4" tall before the first mowing and keep it well watered until then. Fertilize regularly with a good quality fertilizer.
Once you have established a solid lawn reduce watering to every 3 days to encourage deep roots. That will reduce the water requirements for the lawn.
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