Overgrown lawn restoration Picture...UGH

[matthewwj]

Hi all! I have questions on how to go about restoring an overgrown lawn to an actual lawn... Let the picture explain...








This picture was taken last fall and it was 100 times worse than this!
It's manageable now, but still covered with black soil.

can I just put some seed down and cover it with hay, or what?

BTW there is a tree in the rear to the right (it looks like some sort of maple tree but the leaves are bright red.. real nice looking) It's leaves are the red ones...



I know its hard to tell, but would anyone know what it might be?


More pics available here: sidcrozbee87 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

More to come


Any help will be appreciative.Thanks
Matthew

[HayZee518]

just put down grass seed? ya got to be kidding! get some branch loppers and start cutting those bushes. dig up them roots. once you've cleared up all that crap start tilling your soil, removing all rocks you find. have your soil analysed by your extension service to see hwat's lacking for proper seed germination. removing the plants will take with them some soil so get a few loads of topsoil. work the topsoil into the tilled backyard. if your soil is acidic add some limestone. then a good nitrogen enriched fertilizer. THEN plant a fescue mix grass seed.

[matthewwj]

wow... Thanks for the quick reply!
didn't know it was such an ordeal....

ok, another question.. My house is in a flood plane. now, the lawn hasn't flooded for a while but the island gets flooded about once every 4 or 5 years. My house (according to the neighbors) is on the highest part of the island, and doesn't get much water, only about a foot in the basement from the sewer.

Don't know if the Ohio river water would absorb into the lawn and damage it?

The river flooded twice in the last month, but my house did not get any water.

Any other suggestions I can do to keep costs down and have an OK looking yard??

thank you much
matthew

[pushkins]

You bought a house that floods every 3 or 4 years ??????

As for the lawn.....Agent Orange followed by a flame thrower then a brush hog, rotary tiller, top soil, good quality seed or turf/sod/grass.

Seriously though, I'd say all the above minus the Agent Orange and flame thrower ("I do like the smell of napalm in the morning").

[matthewwj]

well, the house itself only gets water from the sewer in the basement, only about a foot or less. there will be nothing in the basement when I am done. Code in the city says that I have to put the furnace/water heater on the first floor or a horizontal air handler hung from the basement ceiling.

There is a sump in the basement, but it looks like it hasn't worked in a while, but a new one will work good after im done with it.

Don't think Ill be able to fit turf or sod into my budget because I need lots of other stuff.

I bought this house for a HELL of a price at an auction. its a 3 story with a full basement, on a 130X30 lot. It has all hardwood floors in all but one room.

The house itself needs a lot of repairs, but getting back to the lawn, since it was spring, I thought it would be easier to get something done before it starts to grow again. oh well lol

well, looks like a tiller is in my near future, but if I could get away with it, a few gallons of gasoline and a match would be ok with me..lol

"till" next time.. ha ha
matthew

[matthewwj]

Well, the house is on a big island in the middle of the Ohio river. The river tends to flood every once in a while, but my house only gets water in the basement.

There is a sump in the basement but it looks like it hasn't worked in 10 years or so. New one will work well.

Heres the deal, I bought the house from an auction at an absolute steal!!!
I plan on fixing it up as a project and living in it. The house needs a lot of work, plumbing electricial, hvac, drywall, etc.

I am an HVAC guy, so the lawn question was outta my league, thats why I asked.
I agree with you pushkins, but if I could have gotten away with it, I would have used a few gallons of gasoline and a match but I think the fire dept across the street would have something to say about that.

The house is located in a nice part of town. The block has about 7 houses that are 100k+, and I bought mine for a fraction of that! There was a petition that was going to be circulated around to raze the house if no one fixed it up.

as far as the yard goes, I think I will go with the tiller and such. thanks for the advice!

"till" next time...
matthew

[HayZee518]

because your house is on an island I doubt that using a sump pump will be of any help. whatever you put outside is gonna work its way back in the basement. another thing to consider is WHY the basement sewer backs up! I wouldn't want to be in a house where raw sewage comes into MY basement! A foot deep! Eeew! How many homes on this island?

[crabjoe]

Back to the lawn.... And you've got lots of options.

If you have access to a skid steer, get the grapple attachment and just tear out all the brush or you could just turn all the brush over into the dirt, burying it. Get yourself a yard or more of compost (You can probably get it free or at a very reduced cost from your town/county landfill or wastewater treatment plant) and work that into the soil then seed.

No skid steer and wanna do it on the cheap?? Not a problem. Get yourself some pruners. The ones with the 18" handle, not rose pruners, and start cutting everything down. Then take a shovel and dig up all the roots and burn or chuck them. Get some compost and a 14 tine rake, level everything out, then seed.

Yes, the right thing to do is get a soil analysis and amend the soil with whatever it needs. But I've found that grass will grow most anywhere; except on stone.

When I seed, and I do this a lot because I'm always digging out rocks in my yard, I use a leaf rake to rake in the seeds with the dirt. Then I use STRAW, not hay to cover. All the straw does is keeps the seed from running off, in rain, and helps hold the moister for germination. After the new grass starts to some in, I rake the straw out and lightly overseed. This gives me really good results.

BTW, I had to deal with, what looked like your current yard, last year. At the back end of my property, I had a jungle. It was about 5 feet deep by 145 feet wide and I cleared it by hand; using the pruners and a shovel.

Good Luck!!!

[Allison1888]

grass

In terms of starting over with the grass, after you get all the debris out, try these tips:

http://www.allaboutlawns.com/backyard/reclaiming-your-lawn-how-to-replace-a-lawn.php