Old Fashioned Grass Seeding!

legend99

Any advice. I am still stuck in a time warp and using grass seed itself rather than fancy turf rolls. Now I sprayed everything with Roundup a few weeks back, but because it takes 3-4 weeks to kill everything, by the time it started kicked in, new shagging weeds, tuff grass etc was starting to grow again.

Basically what I have is a big old overgrown garden, no actual grass on it. All thistles, weeds, etc etc. What should I be trying to do to get the place cleared of greenery so I can dig out the place, rake it and chuck down the seed for the grass? Obviously if I dig it now again I'll just be spreading the weed seeds as they are growing back.

In addition, is hiring out a cultivator for the day worth it to dig it all out??? Any tips would be great , Lots of people must have started with an overgorwn area like me!

Incidenatally I do have one small patch ready to seed. With grass seed, is it worth the bother of after spreading it, to cover it with a 1/2 inch or so of compost to stop the birds eating it all. I know you mostly see it just chucked on the soil and not covered, but would you be as well off to cover it? Or is that crap?!

Lex Luthor

burn the weeds out of it as fast as you can....the stronger the weed killer the quicker they die. I use the agricultural stuff that'll kill a horse and you should always wear a mask. Clear the kids & pets before spraying. After you see the first signs of twisting in the weeds, wait another day or two....get the rotavator in and turn it and level it, throwing out all the stones and rocks. I'd get someone in for this as its a back breaking job.

After it's level, throw out the seed as evenly as you can and a light covering of topsoil over it like you were spreading seed and leave it for 3-4 days before watering unless it rains. If you have to water use a fine spray so you don't move the seeds around.

You should see results in 4-6 weeks. Try keep on top of any small weeds by pulling them out as the grass starts to grow. Once it's established, you can use the Feed & Weed Lawn sand products to keep the weeds at bay.

legend99

Lex,
Can you tell me the name of that weed-killer or indeed where one might buy it?!

Lex Luthor

Originally posted by legend99
Lex,
Can you tell me the name of that weed-killer or indeed where one might buy it?!

I would say at any farmer co-op. I get it from my brother-in-law who is a farmer. I'll ask him later. I usually mix about 20ml to 500ml.