[revert]

Looking for some advice about my lawn has I have little experience. We moved into this house recently and would like to have a nice lawn. We live in west Texas, so it's hot and dry. The garden receives very little shade as we're south facing.

I'm attaching an image to show it's current condition. Apparently the soil is pretty decent for this area. All I've really done so far is kill off most of the weeds. Should we be starting anew, tilling etc? Thanks.

[kp42484]

Hi,

I'm not an expert, but I used to live in El Paso, TX, and our lawn was in about the same shape as yours since we lived in the desert! What helped was that I actually had to go and plant grass seed. Our watering times were rationed, but when we were allowed to water the lawn (using sprinklers), we did. We watered it like crazy and sowed grass seed every week or so. To sow the seed, we bought one of those things that look like wheelbarrows. You put th seed in it, and push it, and it distributes the seed as you push it (sorry I don't know the name).

The lawn improved, but the hot sun made for some weak grass because in El Paso, it's sunny all the time. Our neighbors straight out bought some premade turf and laid it, then watered it like crazy. Their lawn was the greenest lawn in the neighborhood, although I can't tell you what they used as turf!

Hope this helps!

[revert]

Thanks for the reply. I already have a hybrid Bermuda grass ready and the spreader you mentioned. I guess really what I need to know is should I hire a tiller and until the whole area? When would be best time to start seeding? It's hot here right now, 80 degress but these temps aren't stable at this time of year so the temp may drop back.

[kp42484]

It depends on where you live as to when you start seeding; kind of like planting anything else. Usually the package of seeds tells you when to plant depending on the region you live in. We started about the early fall, and personally I think one should start in the spring before it gets too too hot. I don't know exactly where you live, but for us it was cool winters and scorching summers, so we started in-between when the temps weren't in any extreme.

I wouldn't hire any tiller. Well, we didn't and it was okay. Some little spreaders (thanks for the word :)) have spikey wheels so that when you push it, it makes little shallow trenches. But I don't think it makes much of a difference to till or not, especially because it looks like you need to fill in holes/patches of soil, not a totally bare lawn. A good website is: outsidepride.com

[dlochart]

You don't need a tiller necessarily but you have to break up the topsoil in some fashion. You can rent a lawn comber or go buy a manual lawn dethatcher/comber (looks like a rake with crescent shaped blades at the end.) If you don't intend on putting down new lawn soil then you will have to do the work to make your topsoil soft (aerated) so the roots have a place to go. What we did was manually comb the soil and then put down 1 to 1.5 inches of a good lawn soil then spread our seed and then cover it with 1/4-1/2 inch of more lawn soil. It worked great. Now we have a small yard (townhome) so if it was bigger I might want some assistance (tool rental) As for time of year I cannot help you. I live in Maryland and you have to plant new lawns in either October or March here.

Also do not fertilize the seed until after 4 weeks of putting it down and water a little everyday.

Best of luck

Doug

[revert]

Thanks for all the help. I guess I'm just going to break up the soil in the patches where there's no grass.

[jdiver42]

I have had the privilege of working with award winning lanscape architects and my specialty was lawns. First, it is necessary to understand how the grass will grow, depending on the variety that you are using. Most grasses will grow roots about 2 feet in length. Thus, it is necessary to prepare the soil properly, if you want a low maintenace and weed free lawn that does not consume inordiante amounts of water. This requires that the soil be amended with compost and that there is sufficient sand in the soil to prevent any clay particles from binding together and restricting water to areas of the lawn. Most of the brown spots one sees in a lawn are because the water is not getting to the grass roots. Once you have the soil properly prepared, plant the seed and hand water until the grass has covered 90% of the ground. AT that time, reseed thea reeas where there is little or no grass, and hand water those areas. Once the grass is estblishe, you need to water once or twice a week, maximum, for about 1-2 hours at a time. Watering should be done very early in the morning, between midnight and 6:00 a.m. This will allow the water to penetrate the soil to the deepest parts of the roots. By deep watering, you will not have to water as often, as the roots will have a constant source of water as the sun will not penetrate that deep in the ground and dry it out. I would rent a roto-tiller and until the ground myslef, working in the compost and sand, if required. I lived in Los Angeles area for many years and always had a green lawn, even when there was water rationing, an;d the water bill did not bankrupt us because we waterd wisely. 90% of a good lawn is the result of soil preparation -- just as the structural strength of a building begins with a good foundation. Good luck and hope you have a beautiful green lawn for many years.

[dlochart]

I have to agree with jdiver42. I know this is an old thread but people may be looking for help. My original answer was not suitable for a yard that needed more work. In 2009 we purchased a house for a great price with an AWFUL lawn. After doing a lot of research we basically did what jdiver42 suggests. We had moss and weeds on top of clay. Hardly any topsoil. We sprayed and tilled the entire lawn removing all the debris. We had rocks so we removed as much as we could. Then we had 22 yards of composted topsoil delivered and the spread that evenly. Since our soil was compacted so hard we also added one more thing which is what I really want to share. Professional sports stadiums use this stuff for aeration and drainage. It is called Turface. Basically it is small bits of fired clay that basically keep the soil aerated. We added the Turface in and re-tilled the mixture. Then we put the seed and fertilizer down. We covered the entire lawn with about 16 yards of leafgro (available in MD) which is organic composted leaves. Make sure your fertilizer has a good amount of phosphorus which is needed to establish strong roots for your seedlings.

The best time of year to do this is Fall. Spring time is for over seeding and adding a top dressing of leafgro/compost. It is now almost 3 years and our lawn is beautiful. We do have a lot of grubs and instead of using chemicals we are going to use milky spore which will stay in the ground for up to 10 years and is a natural pesticide not harmful like other pesticides.

[Abhilashaa]

When selecting products you will use when starting a new lawn, it is important that you choose the ones that have been specifically made for new lawns. You may also consider using organic based products since these won't add harsh additives to your plants.
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