Help with a crappy yard!?
Question:My wife and I built our home 5 years ago and our yard used to be a hay field. I figured that if I mow it regularly it will look more like a yard, but after 5 years when I mow my yard it just looks like a freshly mowed hay field. What can I do to start grass growing without killing what I already have? Can I put grass seed down when there's already stuff growing?
Answers:
You can, but it'd be better if you put sod down if you want it to look nice quickly. If you are going the seed route, make sure you have good soil to start it in.
Hi,
Yep you can use grass seeds if you want. Need to be sown early autumn and in damp moist conditions to ensure germination. It will take time though, a few seasons, to get a good looking lawn from seed.
Some handy tips here -
http://www.greenfingers.com/articledispl...
Give your county extension agent a call. They should be able to help you identify what grasses are growing in your yard and suggest some alternative grasses and a plan of action for you to follow to follow.
Check out our website for more gardening ideas at-
http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.c...
Good Luck and Happy Gardening from Cathy and Neal!
Lay grass seed it will over grow what ever is there. you may also want to put some manewer(can't spell bull sh*t) down to add vitamins to the ground and this insures that grass will grow. Make sure you wait 3 weeks before you mow.
Actually hay is grass. In Texas Coastal Bermuda is very popular. It's indigenous to Texas and does well in both wet and dry conditions.
Sounds more like what you have is weeds. You can seed grass in with it and it may take over eventually if you control the weeds.
A more expensive but faster solution is till the yard up and apply seed , or if you can afford it, sod.
You didn't say how big your yard is or how much money you have to spend. I would say, if you can afford it, to sod a part of your yard closest to the house. Then make some areas with mulch in various shapes, plant a display of flowering shrubs, ornamental trees, and perennial flowers such as daylilies. That cuts down on mowing and always looks great. You will just have to mulch it every year.
Weeeel, it depends on you area and the grass. If you have heavy-bladed, clumping fescue, you will have some tilling, then leveling of the soil, to do to to replace to a soft, green lawn grass. Fescue is a tough grass; it survives winters and hundreds of heavy animal hooves. For that reason, you might have to kill it out first. So, if you want to get rid of that and plant a more lawn-friendly, softer grass, I say first, get a budget to see how much and how available sod is in your area. It has become much more cost-effective to plant sod for a ready-made lawn. If not, then regular fertililizer, lime, and mowing will reduce the clumping of the fescue, but not entirely. Have you maybe thought of turning it into mostly a flower/ native plant garden with a small, fabulous greenspace grassy area? Less water and less work after you get it established!
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