Help on fixing my lawn
I am new to working on lawns so please bare with me. My husband an I just bought a house that has been neglected for many years. The problem that I have is this....Very large shady pine trees, there is no grass except for a small patch of centipede, my yard looks green from a distance but its all WEEDS, and oh yeah two very active boxers and it gets really hot (GA). What type of grass should I use and where do I begin?
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opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
As it happens I am working on a project very similar to yours right now.
First of all, with the pine trees, it will be difficult to have a pristine, garden course lawn. But, really what's the fun in that anyway? Let's get some diversity in there.
Anyway, with lawns I move away from my usual rant of never using a rotatiller.
First, get a bunch of none cedar based sawdust and spread it over your existing lawn then till it into the lawn. Next, add some sort of green like manure or fish compost and till that into the soil. Be careful of the tree roots.
Now spread grass seed over the area and water as needed. Don't forget toe water or weed seeds will take over the grass seed.
Now, being a biologist who likes to see diversity in an area for many reasons including disease control I recommend using more than one grass species, get a good mix. Also, even though most people hate clover, what they don't realize is that clover is very resistant to trampling, feeds the soil with nitrogen (and therefore promotes healthy grass), has a very pretty flower and is just all round good. So, through some crimson and white clover into the mix as well.
Clover will also attract beneficial insects to your yard.
First of all, with the pine trees, it will be difficult to have a pristine, garden course lawn. But, really what's the fun in that anyway? Let's get some diversity in there.
Anyway, with lawns I move away from my usual rant of never using a rotatiller.
First, get a bunch of none cedar based sawdust and spread it over your existing lawn then till it into the lawn. Next, add some sort of green like manure or fish compost and till that into the soil. Be careful of the tree roots.
Now spread grass seed over the area and water as needed. Don't forget toe water or weed seeds will take over the grass seed.
Now, being a biologist who likes to see diversity in an area for many reasons including disease control I recommend using more than one grass species, get a good mix. Also, even though most people hate clover, what they don't realize is that clover is very resistant to trampling, feeds the soil with nitrogen (and therefore promotes healthy grass), has a very pretty flower and is just all round good. So, through some crimson and white clover into the mix as well.
Clover will also attract beneficial insects to your yard.