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As stated no matter what you do your going to get weeds.Some die yearly and come back in season.Others can take over a yard if left to do so. It takes a variety of chemical killers to kill different weeds.Visit a local private garden center with samples of weeds and they can help. Cutting helps with some weeds but will not get them all depending on where you live.
As you just moved into the place i'd give it a bit of time before doing major landscape work especially since winter is fast approaching, 18000sq ft looking like the pics is going to require some intensive landscape intervention and money, you got plenty of time to do lots of homework on the subject before taking the plunge, ultimately a weed spraying and a heavy reseeding program will have to be undertaken probably along with aeration and top dressing,get professional guidance on the right procedure to use.
dre,
You are in Boston, MA.
You will be planting a cool season grass, they sell seeds at your local Home store.
Start by applying a weed and feed now. It will kill the weeds that will grow in the winter.
Then, the second week of March, around St. Patty's Day, apply a preemergent to the lawn.
As soon as it warms up and you notice the lawn growing in spring, around April or beginning of May,
Cut the lawn low.
Low for the Spring.
Then inn May, after you cut low, apply Grass Food. Just the food.
Keep cutting low, (about 2 inches) til the weather heats up to 85 or 89.
Then when it gets hot out, raise the mower up to 3 inches.
June, July and August you will mow at 3 inches. Keep it high when it's hot.
Then in September, start to mow down to 2 inches again.
Don't forget to mow.
Watering- your grass needs 1 inch of water a week from April thru end of Sept.
When it rains, don't water that week.
Buy regular old sprinklers if you don't have a sprinkler system under the lawn.
Water the 1 inch all at once.
That is the most important thing.
Don't forget to water it. Don't let it go.
Next fall, apply the lawn food again.
Wait 1 week, then buy the seed you want and spread it.
Water every day for 10 mintues, morning and night.
If it rains where you live in the fall, don't bother watering it.
If it doesn't, water it.
Every day, for at least 3 weeks, then taper off.
The most important thing to remember for grass, proper watering
and mowing.
DOn't seed til NEXT fall, after you apply weed and feed now, then your
preemergent in the spring (March), then proper mowing and watering thru
the summer, then you feed in the fall, then seed, then more watering,
you will have a real nice lawn, just keep repeating what you are doing.
Good Luck.
Lawns are a PITA.
Give me trees and shrubs anytime.
Those are good questions for your local agricultural extension. They should have a lawn care calender for you to follow and recommendations on low maintenance (usually less popular) types of grass to use that require less fertilizer, weed control, overseeding and water.
Not sure about the state you're in (can't remember where you are! lol), but here in Kentucky you can take a container of dirt to the county extension agent. They give you the container and you get samples from 2 or 3 places around the yard all mixed together. For $5 they send it to Univ. of Ky. Ag Lab for analysis. You get a print out of what you need to to and not do to your yard. They may have something like that in your state.
Funny part of that was my dad did this once. Results were to put lime on the yard. For a while the grass was growing so fast and thick he was having to mow twice a week! lol
dre,
You are in Boston, MA.
You will be planting a cool season grass, they sell seeds at your local Home store.
Start by applying a weed and feed now. It will kill the weeds that will grow in the winter.
Then, the second week of March, around St. Patty's Day, apply a preemergent to the lawn.
As soon as it warms up and you notice the lawn growing in spring, around April or beginning of May,
Cut the lawn low.
Low for the Spring.
Then inn May, after you cut low, apply Grass Food. Just the food.
Keep cutting low, (about 2 inches) til the weather heats up to 85 or 89.
Then when it gets hot out, raise the mower up to 3 inches.
June, July and August you will mow at 3 inches. Keep it high when it's hot.
Then in September, start to mow down to 2 inches again.
Don't forget to mow.
Watering- your grass needs 1 inch of water a week from April thru end of Sept.
When it rains, don't water that week.
Buy regular old sprinklers if you don't have a sprinkler system under the lawn.
Water the 1 inch all at once.
That is the most important thing.
Don't forget to water it. Don't let it go.
Next fall, apply the lawn food again.
Wait 1 week, then buy the seed you want and spread it.
Water every day for 10 mintues, morning and night.
If it rains where you live in the fall, don't bother watering it.
If it doesn't, water it.
Every day, for at least 3 weeks, then taper off.
The most important thing to remember for grass, proper watering
and mowing.
DOn't seed til NEXT fall, after you apply weed and feed now, then your
preemergent in the spring (March), then proper mowing and watering thru
the summer, then you feed in the fall, then seed, then more watering,
you will have a real nice lawn, just keep repeating what you are doing.
Good Luck.
Lawns are a PITA.
Give me trees and shrubs anytime.
This looks like a really good plan and timeline. I don't have a irrigation system, so I'll set up regular sprinklers.
Not sure about the state you're in (can't remember where you are! lol), but here in Kentucky you can take a container of dirt to the county extension agent. They give you the container and you get samples from 2 or 3 places around the yard all mixed together. For $5 they send it to Univ. of Ky. Ag Lab for analysis. You get a print out of what you need to to and not do to your yard. They may have something like that in your state.
Funny part of that was my dad did this once. Results were to put lime on the yard. For a while the grass was growing so fast and thick he was having to mow twice a week! lol
There is a university nearby that test the soil for $10. I will be sending my soil sample to them very soon. Wow lol. I can't imagine lawn 18,000 sq/ft twice a week lol.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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I stopped reading the replies after the 2nd or 3rd one.
I just want to say that based on the pictures you already have plenty of grass. You don't need to go killing the grass and replacing it. You just need to do something about the weeds. Broadleaf weeds like that can be killed selectively with "WeedBGone". Good cultural practices will go a long way in discouraging weeds. That's about as far as I can go without seeing the lawn in person but I wouldn't go ripping it out because you clearly have grass. It looks like you need to feed it and do a soil test to determine how to adjust the soil pH. Again, the local ag ext can help you with that.
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