VishG
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 12:05 pm

Converting garden bed to lawn

Hi,

I am in the process of cleaning up an existing weedy garden bed. I am converting part of it into lawn, and do fresh planting of roses in the rest. I live in north Indiana. It seems this should be a fairly basic affair but I want to make sure I have the steps right:

1. Remove weeds.
2. Till the soil.
3. I read somewhere that I need to apply something like round-up to kill any weed seeds, wait 2-3 weeks, before doing the subsequent steps. Is this necessary? Would using a pre-emergent like Scott's Turf Builder be better, considering that I want to plant roses in part of the area? How about weed-b-gon?
4. Add some top soil to level out the area.
5. Put in seed, and seed fertilizer.
6. Cover the area with straws.

Is it less complicated to use sod instead of seeds?

FYI: I have a lawn treatment service that does 6 applications a year to keep weeds at bay and ensure health of grass.

Any insights/clarifications will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

User avatar
Lindsaylew82
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2115
Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 9:26 pm
Location: Upstate, SC

Don't use roundup.

Pre-emergents would be better, but don't use it before you reseed.

Seed is cheaper than sod, but the sod company does all the work for you!

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

I agree, sod is easier and more convenient, but WAY more expensive than seed.

You can skip the roundup. Just cultivate the soil, let it sit for a couple weeks while weed seeds sprout, then do it again. After you till under the second batch of weeds, you could plant. You will have gotten rid of enough of the weed seeds to give your grass a head start.

But heat of the summer is entirely the wrong time to plant grass seed, which is planted spring or fall. It may work if you are conscientious about watering twice a day. The seed has no roots, and then tiny roots, so you can't allow it to dry out and watering deeply doesn't help at that point. Just frequent light waterings.

VishG
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 12:05 pm

I guess I will stick with seed. I do have an irrigation system with a couple of spray heads for the flower bed in question. I will make sure the heads are going for a few minutes each day. Would 10 mins 3 times a day be good?

We will be keeping a portion of the flower bed intact for planting a few roses. Unfortunately, the lawn guys who are helping me with this, just told me they put Weed-B-Gon over the whole area including the portion of the bed meant for roses. I suppose this means that I need to hold off on planting the roses and the grass seeds? Do you know for how long?

Thanks!

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

I don't use poisons like that, but I think you have to wait a month after spraying before planting.

I still think you are best off just to keep letting weed seeds grow out and then eliminating them, until Sept, and do your planting then.

VishG
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 12:05 pm

Well that's bad news for me. I didn't want to apply anything to begin with but unfortunately this happened. Since weed-b-gon is made for application on existing lawns I was hoping it would be milder. But of course, this is a case of a lawn not yet existing.

I have already bought 8 pots of rose shrubs. Do you know if they will survive for 3-4 weeks in the pots if I get them sunlight and water?

Thanks.

DigIt16
Newly Registered
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 10:58 am

Is the ground hard and compacted? If so, you'll need a tiller. If you just need to stir and mix loose soil, go with a cultivator.

User avatar
Lindsaylew82
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2115
Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 9:26 pm
Location: Upstate, SC

I would think they would likely be ok if they're well maintained.



Return to “Lawn Care”