Any Lawn experts care to give advice?

[automaton 3]

I've had really good luck with the topdressing, fertilizer, overseed and water the crap out of it route as others have described above. No need to apply roundup, unless what you have right now is weedy or full of crabgrass.

Much of the existing grass will come back with proper care. If you have outright bare dirt patches, given your timelines you may need to do some re-sodding.

Don't overdo the topsoil, put on just enough to get things going again, probably a couple of inches...the existing grass will start growing through in a couple of weeks.

Aeration will also help. If you're really ambitious, see if you can rent a coring machine, we used to do that at the golf course yearly...makes a bit of a mess but works really well.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Is sod clean fill, or even good fill?

I thought clean fill couldn't contain any organic compounds. Because if I use it to back fill by my house, once it decomposes it will leave an empty space.

And Syl- do not underestimate the weight that stuff will have. The endless weeks I spent getting rid of my stuff last year- I'm pretty sure my friends were ready to kill me.

That's why I say get it greenish- then sell the place and be done with it.

May I'm mis-using the term, or maybe it was because there was more dirt than sod since we were digging out a lot of dirt for the patio and flower bed. Or maybe given the crappy bentonite ladden soil in Drumheller builders aren't as particular. Whichever the case, I certainly had no problem getting rid of my sod and soil.

[ken0042]

Well, when it was time to get rid of mine, I would line the bottom of the truck with sod, then fill it up with dirt. When I'd get to the dump, I'd just refer to it as "fill."

I only got called on it once, and asked the person to show me where the city defines clean fill. They couldn't (I knew because I looked) and let me off with just the $5 clean fill dumping fee.

Bottom line is- make sure you know the cost and hassle of removing whatever it is that you are pulling up.

Another tip for Syl. Seeing as this lawn may have been killed by dog pee, go to Wal-Mart and look for the grass seed with the picture of a puppy on the front. Works wonders for lawns that have been destroyed by dogs.

I think the key is to make the lawn look like somebody will say "Give me one season and I'll have this lawn back into shape" as opposed to "why is the lawn dead."

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

...I think the next place I'll go with Astroturf as grass is obviously a waste of money for me.

Grass! What is it good for anyway?!?! Mine has done NOTHING for me but occupy copious amounts of my time to cut, water and fertilize; in return my neighbours hate me because my yard is the one that looks like crap, and I'm frequently left a sneezing, snivelling, snotty mess on account of my persistent hayfever!

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Grass! What is it good for anyway?!?! Mine has done NOTHING for me but occupy copious amounts of my time to cut, water and fertilize; in return my neighbours hate me because my yard is the one that looks like crap, and I'm frequently left a sneezing, snivelling, snotty mess on account of my persistent hayfever!

At least you have grass. My neighbour shocked me this spring when they raked their front lawn in early spring. They cut it 3 times last year, but they are going to make some effort this year?!? No such luck - the pile they raked up has been sitting in the same spot on their (front) lawn for a month.

Their back lawn is strewn with garbage bags, pop bottles old BBQs. And all that does is provide some space between the thistles, which regularly make a march from the fence on that side across my lawn.

There was a marital dissolution a few years ago - before that time the husband kept things tidy. Now it has gone to pot, and I don't know why the teen-age son (who started driving a year ago and now drives a brand new Mitsubishi Eclipse) can't cut the @$#! lawn every once in a while. </vent>

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

There was a marital dissolution a few years ago - before that time the husband kept things tidy. Now it has gone to pot, and I don't know why the teen-age son (who started driving a year ago and now drives a brand new Mitsubishi Eclipse) can't cut the @$#! lawn every once in a while. </vent>

I feel your pain, and I have often lamented that property values are always directly tied to a perceived standard of "quality" in any given neighbourhood. It pisses me off that a neighbour could invariably devalue my own home when he parks a rusty '86 Camaro in his front yard on cinder-blocks.

[Sylvanfan]

LOL, I actually received a couple pieces of annonymous hate mail from my neighbours asking me if I really needed to have my rusty old 1979 Dodge truck parked on my front yard about a month after I moved in. I'm dead serious the people in St.Albert think that highly of themselves that I don't have the right to not own a brand new pickup truck like them to do all my yard work. I wish I hadn't caved, I could really use that truck again, best $400 vehichle I ever bought!

[Bobblehead]

I don't even want to get into the parking drama in my neighbourhood!

And if you are intent upon sodding, Syl; first job I did for a landscaper I asked if there was anything special I needed to know.
He said, "Green side up."

[Flames09]

Okay I dont mean to take over this thread but my backyard has nothing in it but dirt (new home), does anyone reccommend a landscaper? I dont want anything big done just a deck, fence and we dont want any grass. Does anyone know what I'm looking at as far as cost goes??

[burn_baby_burn]

Dog urine is not a lawns friend at all. I came back from the August long weekend last summer to find a round dead spot on my front lawn. I thought some kids had sprayed Roundup or some thing. Nope, the neighbors dog peed on it. His back yard looks much like the description that Sylvan fan gave of his back yard.

You can get the grass to come back with fertilizer and water. But it won't happen in two weeks. In fact it will take all summer if not longer. If you do spray Roundup. All you need to wait is three days. That is whats recommeneded for agricultural use. In three days the glyphosate will translocate down into the roots. Don't use the weak consumer stuff. Get the agricultural or industrial glyphosate if you can. It should have about 31 grams per 100ml of glyphosate. Use two litres of that to get a good kill on the grass.

[Sylvanfan]

Well I stripped the sod with a sod cutter in about an hour and a half. For $61 I got a 2 hour rental and they delivered it to my house and picked it up. Rented a pickup truck from U-haul and spent 5 and a half hours to get the old grass out of my back yard last night. I suppose one of the benefits of my outrageous taxes in St.Albert is that I can take my sod and dirt to the cities compost yard for no charge. So to rent the truck will be about $50. So to get rid of the old yard has cost me $111 and about 7 hours of labour by myself. But it was not fun, and I had to work pretty hard, but I did get it done. I have top soil ordered for today and the sod will be here too. They're forecasting rain and snow later so horaaay for that as I wanted to try and get this done like today.

But considering a land scape company would have probably charged me $3000 to do the work It was probably worth the effort.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

At least you have grass. My neighbour shocked me this spring when they raked their front lawn in early spring. They cut it 3 times last year, but they are going to make some effort this year?!? No such luck - the pile they raked up has been sitting in the same spot on their (front) lawn for a month.

Their back lawn is strewn with garbage bags, pop bottles old BBQs. And all that does is provide some space between the thistles, which regularly make a march from the fence on that side across my lawn.

There was a marital dissolution a few years ago - before that time the husband kept things tidy. Now it has gone to pot, and I don't know why the teen-age son (who started driving a year ago and now drives a brand new Mitsubishi Eclipse) can't cut the @$#! lawn every once in a while. </vent>

Might I suggest

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

And if you are intent upon sodding, Syl; first job I did for a landscaper I asked if there was anything special I needed to know.
He said, "Green side up."

Given Alberta's current labour situation....I'd bet money that some landscapers had to hire people who got that wrong.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Well I stripped the sod with a sod cutter in about an hour and a half. For $61 I got a 2 hour rental and they delivered it to my house and picked it up. Rented a pickup truck from U-haul and spent 5 and a half hours to get the old grass out of my back yard last night. I suppose one of the benefits of my outrageous taxes in St.Albert is that I can take my sod and dirt to the cities compost yard for no charge. So to rent the truck will be about $50. So to get rid of the old yard has cost me $111 and about 7 hours of labour by myself. But it was not fun, and I had to work pretty hard, but I did get it done. I have top soil ordered for today and the sod will be here too. They're forecasting rain and snow later so horaaay for that as I wanted to try and get this done like today.

But considering a land scape company would have probably charged me $3000 to do the work It was probably worth the effort.

That doesn't sound that bad at all. Pretty inexpensive too.