Yard/landscaping folks, please step inside...

This is my current lawn:


http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/a...t/IMG_0272.jpg

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/a...t/IMG_0273.jpg

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First two are front, last two are back. I'm currently in the middle of a lot of projects so I know it's rough. It was a solid dirt patch when I moved in a year or so ago. I'm trying to get a nice grass growing but I am NOT a greenthumb.

How can I get this yard to grow grass? I've did the aerotor thing, threw down TONS of seed, etc... I have neglected it the past coupld months though as I'm working on other things, but it's time to start focusing on this.

Any help is appreciated.

My first though it to roto-till the whole thing, weed it, then throw down seed, cover with hay, and keep it watered...

Two of my neighbors tried the seed and hay thing. Neither worked worth a shit and they ended up putting in sod.


I would till, amend the soil and make sure the irrigation is system is 100% the way I want it. Then put in sod

Throwing down seed is a waste it needs to be planted. You need to rough up that back yard foot path and stay off it. Unless it's a dog pacing that's causing that. Then it's hopeless unless you keep the dog off of it.

Keeping grass under that pine is also going to be a serious battle I'd suggest a mulch bed there. Roses love to grow under pines. You need to bag mow weekly like clockwork for atleast a year. If I had to guess I'd say the yard has been exclusively mulched bi weekly or less and under watered.

You can till or heavily aerate then put down. Seed and stomp it into the ground

If you don't have a sprinkler system now is the perfect time. Also get some good fertilizer on the front yard and a thaching rake.

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Originally Posted by Wulf202

Throwing down seed is a waste it needs to be planted. You need to rough up that back yard foot path and stay off it. Unless it's a dog pacing that's causing that. Then it's hopeless unless you keep the dog off of it.

Keeping grass under that pine is also going to be a serious battle I'd suggest a mulch bed there. Roses love to grow under pines. You need to bag mow weekly like clockwork for atleast a year. If I had to guess I'd say the yard has been exclusively mulched bi weekly or less and under watered.

You can till or heavily aerate then put down. Seed and stomp it into the ground

If you don't have a sprinkler system now is the perfect time. Also get some good fertilizer on the front yard and a thaching rake.

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What do you recommend as a "good fertilizer"?

You aren't going for the desert theme? You are already 75% there, don't stop now!

Wulf can get you pointed in the right direction.

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Originally Posted by Grant H.

What do you recommend as a "good fertilizer"?

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depends on the soil and what you're trying to grow. Alot of factors go into that I generally avoid Scott's brand though. I find going down to a nursery that's local gets the best feedback for that area without having to do soil testing.

What are you trying to fix?

Yeah that shit needs tilled badly. Under the pine go with mulch or rock... My neighbor tried futilely to get crap to grow under his. Planted a nice bed of stuff... Then it all just died... Not sure lack of sun? Pine needles? Sap?


I'd say till it. Manure, then till it in again.

Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

I'm damn sure no expert. But after dealing with my lawn for years I'm of the opinion that tilling is a great idea, but remove all the damn rocks you find. Add whatever amendment is recommended (manure, peat moss, etc.), and till that in again, the de-rock again. I'd want to rake it out smooth and level, fertilize, and then put down sod. Gotta have a solid sprinkler system first of course.

This is only my opinion, not experienced advice! Our yard has good grass because it was sodded and I fertilize, but it's rough and lumpy as hell, which tells me it wasn't tilled, de-rocked and raked. It's a bitch to mow because it's so lumpy, and the above is my pipedream about how I'd like to fix it. Typical Richmond American mass-production house/yard. Get it done and SELL IT!

Trees are excellent at making sure that nothing grows around them but themselves. The acidity of the needles kills other plants.

Sod. Rolls out and you have a lawn in an afternoon

Ok, this will have to wait until summer to when I can dedicate some time, i sounds.

Till: a regular roto-tiller type machine would work? Never done that before.

Tree in Front: Would it be better to just cut the tree down?

Irrigation: The fool before us did a lot of "upgrading" to the house... I'm trying to say that with a straight face. There is a buried sprinkler system but no one (including three professional plumbers) can figure out how to make it work without digging the whole thing up. I've thought I would just dig it up and just use a regular water spout to water the yard... Thoughts?

De-rock: Yes, I hate the rocks... what's the best removal method besides being on my hands and knees with my back and picking through it all? Is there like a machine I can rent that will separate it?

So process:

De-Rock, Till, De-Rock, Fertilize, Till (to mix it all up), Seed, Water, Stay off..... correct?

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So process:

De-Rock, Till, De-Rock, Fertilize, Till (to mix it all up), Seed, Water, Stay off..... correct?

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Personally, I'd use sod instead of seed. You'll have a lawn far, far quicker. But the FIRST thing to do would be to get the sprinkler system squared away. Might be best to just have a new one put in rather than trying to polish the turd that's there. God only knows what shape it's REALLY in. It may be busted all to hell in a bunch of places. Start fresh with a system that's new and trouble-free. JMHO.

I do know that a freshly sodded lawn has to be watered like, every day, until it's established and healthy. It'll dry out and die quickly if it's not. Hence the need for a healthy sprinkler system that you can program to do it for you.

JMHO, but if you try to cut corners and half-ass the job, then you'll get half-ass results and won't be happy. Do it right, and you'll have a lawn that you have to mow every 3 days!

um, roto-till, add some sheep/peat, throw out GOOD seed, rake in and water until you have a nice lawn.

Not sure why everyone hates seed, worked great on my .25 acre.

Tree farm in longmont has their own mix of seed for colorado and it worked well for me. Almost hate it, have to mow the shit every few days all summer long. It's 8-10 inches deep right now, green.

It will brown up and look kinda so-so on those long summer droughts, but comes right back with watering/rain.

picture as it is right now, looks bumpy, but it's not. Just needs mowed. :(

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I'd suggest you take soil samples to the County Extension Service to determine what needs to be done to the soil. http://elpasoco.colostate.edu/hort/hort.shtml Take samples from the front and back yard since they're probably a different make up. Evergreen needles when left to decay are acidotic and will kill off just about anything. You'll probably have to dig out the exiting soil and replace to get grass to grow. You'll also have to rake up the needles to keep the ph level in check.
Get you're irrigation system in working order before you plant anything, getting turf established requires several short watering's during the heat of the day, especially if you seed or hydro seed. Besides having to water more when you seed or hydro seed you'll also have weeds to deal with which you can't spray for until the turf is fairly established. The weeds will complete for moisture and they will win requiring over seeding to fill in the areas where the weeds once were. If money is tight hydro seed, you'll have good coverage in about 4 weeks and it requires less water than just seeding. Sod is the way to go, it requires less waterings to get established, weeds won't be an issue and after a couple weeks you can use the yard.

I would also add some sort of pesticide that kills grubs. They eat the roots and kill lawn. Some of those patches may be grub damage.
Sprinkler syestem is a pretty much a must to keep your new lawn in good shape. Hand watering or hookimg several sprinklers to a faucet is time consuming and not efficient. Sod or seed, your choice. If seed I woiod choose a blend that is less water thirsty than Kentucky blue. A blend that is more hardy. If green is all you want, there are several varieties. Also if you need durable because of pets and kids, blends are available. Kentucky blue is probably the most popular, but it is also one of the worst for our climate. Only going by what I have been told on that.

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Originally Posted by BigBear

So process:

De-Rock, Till, De-Rock, Fertilize, Till (to mix it all up), Seed, Water, Stay off..... correct?

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For the back yard yes. Add in proper edging though.

The front yard is salvageable.

Thatch rake it. Seed and water the bare spots.

Tiller get the heaviest unit you can rent.

The tree is up to you but nothing will grow under evergreens that shed needles unless it loves the acidity embrace that or cut it down.

What I use for de rocking is a sifter. A pair of saw horses with a wooden box that has hardware cloth across the middle. Shovel the dirt rock mix then rub it around with your gloved hands until the dirt goes below then pour the rocks off. Repeat.

oh, and like the others mentioned ^ get the sprinkler system put in now. Have someone do the Vacuum Breaker Backflow Preventer Check Valve for you and the rest you can do yourself. (or do this part yourself too)

None if it is that hard or expensive. Small yard, a couple of zones. Heck, install the pipe and heads, hook up the hose to it. Forget the controller and valves until the next paycheck.

What if you were to put some sort of ring around the evergreen tree, add some nice contrasting bark (brown, red, cedar, whatever) and then stick a few pretty pots of flowers on the bed of bark? The only maintenance you'd need to to water and occasionally fertilize; you'd have a nice pop of color and your evergreen would be there t provide shade, greenery, and space for birds.

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Originally Posted by Irving

The acidity of the needles kills other plants.

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I believe it is more of a resistance issue for growing things than acidity being built up in the soil. Pine needles are firm and un-moving when they're layered on the ground and growing things dislike that kind of resistance. And the canopy of what is typically a low branching tree is also a huge factor. I imagine a person could trim a pine up to four feet, collect every needle that ever fell, soak them in water for a week and pour it over the area beneath the tree and grass would still grow just fine so long as it wasn't obstructed by layered needles on the ground. It would make for an interesting experiment.

My father regularly tills pine needles into his garden beds and he has some pretty incredible grow results.

I'm going to cover my potatoes exclusively with dried pine needles this year and see what happens.

http://www.gardenmyths.com/pine-needles-acidify-soil/

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Originally Posted by jhood001

I'm going to cover my potatoes exclusively with dried pine needles this year and see what happens.

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Come and gitcha some! Brings bags and a rake.

Covering a garden is definitely a popular method, I plan to use the straw I have left over from the chickens

Good compost will significantly reduce the amount of water you need to throw at it. Actually, a lot of municipalities prohibit the establishment of new lawns without the amendment of compost to the base.

I'd get the sprinkler situation figured out as a priority.

A couple of quick thoughts:
Usually it is not the plant but the soil that is the problem ie a $10 plant in a $1 hole.
Do not try and grow from seed in the middle of summer, the grass that thrives in Colorado is "cool season grass" (Kentucky Blue, Rye) and during the heat it just survives. If it drys out even once before it is established it will die.
If you do want to seed (if you have a dog I suggest using a primarily perennial rye seed mix, it is what is used on golf course fairways and takes more abuse), Aerate then deep Power Rake to break up the "logs" and loosen the surface. scatter quality seed and fertilizer (not weed & feed) them cover it with a good layer of compost (Pioneer has some it think is called Pioneer Premium 3 you can get by the truck load that works better than Eco Compost and is cheaper), keep every body off then water, water and did I mention water?
If you want to get rid of the red gravel you have a big job on your hands, depending on your budget and stamina, consider renting a Bob Cat or something similar, haul away all of it and buy quality topsoil to start over.
And finally whether you seed or sod add as much organic material (compost has always worked and been cost effective for me) as you can afford.
I have had great luck with Jirdon fertilizer, only available at nurserys and kind of pricey but well worth it.
Good Luck!!

Thanks guys, lots of great info.