how to get rid of weeds in my neglected lawn

[sugarfree]

Hi. I bet you guys will.

I would like to find out how to get rid of weeds on my lawn. its basically a lawn of neglect, been cut too short over time and weeds just happy to live in. now, to bend over and prick all those weeds seems impossible.

the soil on my lawn seems to be pretty dry. is there any point of tilting the soil with garden forks and spread new grass seeds on top? and is it worthwile to work in sections? as I wont be able to do all at once. it will be one heck of a job...

[Stella Blue]

and is it worthwile to work in sections? as I wont be able to do all at once. it will be one heck of a job...

That is exactly what I did this past summer after cutting too closely and not getting enough water on the lawn. My total area that needed to be re-worked was about 1/4 acre. As time permitted, I chose a block of lawn (sometimes no more than 100 square feet), pulled all the unwanted, de-thatched with a metal rake, and reseeded. It took quite some time, but was well worth it. And I learned a lesson about cutting too closely.

[The Helpful Gardener]

So the answer is yes. Don't expect perfection, and definitely don't scalp. HG likes four inches of grass except in winter when I butch to two. But the rest of the year? Grow baby grow...

Your best weed preventitive is turf.

HG

[sugarfree]

When you pull all the weeds in a section, and reseed the grasses, would you cover them with a layer of soil? I wonder, the weed will keep sprouting through, therefore I have to keep pulling it, right?

Normally, how long would a grass to start sprouting from seed? Given if its a spring/ season when the air is warm.

If I cover the seed with soil, would the birds find the seed and start munching them or they won't see anything below the soil? Best bet is to put some sort of protection above the soil, I guess.

Thanks all. I'm pretty new in this gardening world, so I'm trying to soak up a lot of information from all directions..

[sugarfree]

Other question.

I've got some patches in the lawn that I've sprayed with roundup to suppress the weed. I want to spread new grass seed in the area to replace the weed. How long should I wait until I can spread the new grass seeds? Should I turn the ground around before I spread them? And, what should I use to cover the new seeds to improve their germination? compost or just plain soil? just worried that the weed will creep in and taking over the patches.

thanks.
will