treyadyer
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2018 4:32 am

Nightmare Lawn

Hello all,

This is my first time posting in a lawn care forum so please bare with me.

My wife and I have been living in the Mediterranean for a couple of years now (originally from the east coast) and we are finally deciding to do something about our backyard. We live in what would be considered a town house and our backyard is pretty small but it is nothing but weeds and clumps of clay soil.

I just want to know what you guys think would be the best course of action to take. We tilled up a small portion and the yard just came up in huge clumps (some 1/2 a foot wide or more). We placed some top soil over the tilled patch and through a ton of grass seed down with some nutrient, flattened it out and watered it for 10 minutes. This is just our test patch and I am not expecting amazing results. I also don't even know if this was the right way to go about our issue but that is why I am here. I posted some pictures so you guys could get an idea of what we are working with. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
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gumbo2176
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Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:01 am
Location: New Orleans

If mine, I would have tilled it more to really break up the large clumps a bit more. When I first make my vegetable garden, my yard was nothing but heavy clay and it was a chore to till, even with a good tiller. I'd have to stop every 3-4 ft. of forward motion and clear the tines of the buildup of clay. I almost gave up, but managed to get through it in a couple days. Then I added several pickup truck loads of organic material and tilled it again.

Since you are only trying to grow a lawn, you don't need that much tilling, maybe just a couple inches deep and after the topsoil added and seeds tossed in, keep it watered enough to be slightly damp. You don't want it to totally dry out as the seeds are starting to sprout.

Good luck with the yard.

imafan26
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Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Well, if the weeds are persistent. I would have done a couple of rounds with round up first. Water, round up, remove the dead weeds water and Round up again and repeat until no more seeds germinate. Only till the soil when it is not wet. Clay soil structure becomes clods if it is worked wet and takes a long time to fix. I would add 4 inches of blended compost, 1 inch of manure, and starter lawn fertilizer according to package directions. Till all that in and level it. Water it again to keep it evenly moist and to make sure no new weed seeds have moved to the surface. If weeds appear, do round up again till you don't see weeds coming through. After 4-6 weeks, the soil is evenly moist, no weeds are coming up and the fertilizer has had time to release. Use a rake to fluff the top of the soil and plant the grass. Most people living in Hawaii consider grass a long term investment, so we start with stolons, or plugs not grass seed. Our grass is not replaced every year, but will be in place for 20+ years. Grass seed comes up fast but warm season grasses don't grow well from seed. The ones that do, you don't want in your yard.

If you are not much of a plant person and you don't want to really take care of grass. Consider installing an artificial lawn or hardscape instead. It would require less maintenance when you travel.

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

I agree. Unless you love gardening, it is going to be a difficult space, probably pretty shady all boxed in like that.

Think about adding a deck and potted plants:

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