I have an old house,the lawn grew wild....?

Question

How do I get rid of the weeds? I want a nice lawn that looks like sod, how do I get rid of the weeds? There is a lot of crab grass and dandelions.

Answer 1

Me too. The easiest way is to kill off everything and lay sod. It's more expensive, but faster

Answer 2

DO NOT rototill the weeds into the ground, you are only going to create more weeds and spread the ones you already have. Now depending on where you live and what type of grass you want will determine what you should do, but here are some tips!!

If all you have are weeds and really no grass, then you should resod or reseed, depending on where you live. In FL or in the south, I would say resod (or plug your lawn), up north reseed.

If you don't have any grass to work with in the first place, then you really have no other options.

What I would suggest is kill of the area you want to put lawn with RoundUp. You will probably need 2 applications, so 2 weeks after the first application, do the second. (I did this on a lawn that was being renovated and it worked like a charm.) You have to do 2 apps to kill off the crabgrass.

Crabgrass is a really difficult weed to control. In FL it does not die back, it does get brown, but as soon as the rainy season gets here, it greens back up and mixes in with the St. Augustine. I have a friend that SWEARS by Scotts Bonus S.

After that, then you can go ahead and prepare the soil for planting. I would suggest a fertilizer with a lot of potassium (the last number in a fertilizer analysis, like a 0-0-62). The potassium will help root growth. Once the turf gets established, then you can put a little bit of Nitrogen down, depending on where you live will dictate which type of ferilizer you should use. Also put down a fertilizer with a preemergent herbicide (one the turf is established and not before then or you could damage the new turf). The preemergent herbicide will help suppress the crabrass and other weed seeds from germinating.

Start with that. It will be an undertaking, but if you want the sod look, then that is what you are going to have to do.

Answer 3

The crabgrass is an annual so it will die in the winter and leave it's seed behind for next year. In the spring (usually mid-April in the northern US) put down a fertilizer with crabgrass preventer and it will stop the seed from germinating.

For all of the broadleaf weeds like dandelions there is a fall fertilizer with a weed killer in it. The only company I know that makes it is Scotts and it's called Super Winterizer + 2. You have to put that down before October. The lawn has to be damp so the granules will stick to the weeds (like early in the morning when the dew is still on the lawn) and it shouldn't rain for 24 hours. You don't want the rain to wash it off before it has a chance to work. That will take care of a large percentage of your weeds.

To get the rest of them put down a weed & feed fertilizer about 6 weeks after you put down the fert & crabgrass preventer (about the end of May). If you do those three things you should get it under control.

Then you'll have to do the usual stuff to keep it under control.

Answer 4

The only way to get a lawn that "looks like sod" is to GET SOD...

But, thats expensive.

What I would do, since its September, and time for grass planting...

Rent a cultivator from a Rent-all Store.

Do your entire lawn and all areas you want to "sod" so that its all nice and chopped up and ready for planting. Now, get a lot of seed. (I would go double the seed recommondation, since its going to be a 'new lawn').

Get yourself (rent) a handy dandy seed spreader and spread those seeds nice and neat on the lawn.

Now get a "leaf rake" the type with the long tines on them and gently rake into the ground, all the seeds. Spread some more on the ground again, and rake in again.

Spread some hay, or straw to keep the birds away, and water the grass every day, for about 2 weeks..(If your planting kentucky blue grass), or at least 7 days for all other grasses.

Enjoy the lawn.

With the cultivator, you will only "dig" around 4 inches or so, so that it will not take that much time, unless you have clay soil, then you will have to add fertilizer and mulch into the mix, or compost. Mix this in good and give the grass some good food, as you have, and water as you will and that baby will spring up and look good :)

I wish you well..

Jesse

Answer 5

It depends on what kind of grass you have and where you live.There are southern and Northern grasses.For example,down here in Florida,our grass is St. Augustine.Which looks like crab grass.You have to be very carefull ti use the correct herbicide to kill the weeds and not the grass.You can only use Atrazine.

If you have a fescue,You can simply get a weed and feed like Scotts bonus 'S'. I would wait till the spring before you apply this.You can you Scotts Summerizer and Scotts Halts now.In the fall,use a premergent weed killer.It will kill and weed seeds and thus preventing them from growing in the spring.Also,You must maintain a regular feeding to thicken up the grass and prevent the weeds from taking over.This will also require watering daily in the summer and everyother day in the spring.If you live in the north,let the grass go dormant in the winter.Cool seasons grasses will not grow below 45 degrees and warm season grasses,65 degrees (the GROUND temp. has to be this.

Answer 6

The only quick way is to kill off the weeds and resod the lawn. If you are patient, you can first remove as much weed as possible, follows by overseeding with grass seed of your choice during spring and fall each year. Eventually, it will get to a halfway decent lawn. This process can take up to 3 or 4 years.

Answer 7

go to your closest nursery..they have everything you need and should know what is best to use in your area.. be sure to let them know if u have pets and children playing in the yard..good luck

Answer 8

spray with Bayers weed and grabgrass killer all in one