Lawn overhaul help

[ericmyers]

I want my front lawn more presentable next summer. My goal is a utility type lawn that's low maintenance. See the pic for how it looks now. The dark green is either crabgrass or a weed (black medic i think), all the brown is grass. My budget is about $500 and its going to be DIY. So far i have 6 yards of leaf grow in route so there's $300 left on the budget still. I know my ph is below 5.5 so one thing that's certain is lime. I already spread one bag of lime i will probably need another. I plan on using Milogranite and Azomite for fertilizer and micro nutrients.

Generally there are two routes i can go,
organic-keep seeding every fall and spring to choke out weeds this i would feel more comfortable with
chemical- bomb it with chemicals and kill everything. I'm not a big fan of chemicals for many obvious environmental and health reasons.

First question, what seed mix should i use for this region? Is mostly sun with a bit of shade from one big oak.

So whats the best route to go? The whole area is about 50x50 or 2500sqft.

Should i..

Spray chemicals, kill everything, then till or de-thatch, plant seed, top dress?

Plug aerate, seed, and top dress? (i like this idea)

Till, seed, top dress?

De-thatch and seed and top dress?

Or any combination of the above. Sod cutting is pretty much impossible because internet/phone cables are only 2-3" below the dirt 3-10 feet from the curb.

Any advice would be great!
The lawn
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/IMG_1181.jpg
The weeds
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/IMG_1182.jpg

[DoWhat (Premo)]

Originally Posted by ericmyers

First question, what seed mix should i use for this region? Is mostly sun with a bit of shade from one big oak.

kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue mix.

[bulldog (Premo)]

Originally Posted by ericmyers

I want my front lawn more presentable next summer. My goal is a utility type lawn that's low maintenance. See the pic for how it looks now. The dark green is either crabgrass or a weed (black medic i think), all the brown is grass. My budget is about $500 and its going to be DIY. So far i have 6 yards of leaf grow in route so there's $300 left on the budget still. I know my ph is below 5.5 so one thing that's certain is lime. I already spread one bag of lime i will probably need another. I plan on using Milogranite and Azomite for fertilizer and micro nutrients.

Generally there are two routes i can go,
organic-keep seeding every fall and spring to choke out weeds this i would feel more comfortable with
chemical- bomb it with chemicals and kill everything. I'm not a big fan of chemicals for many obvious environmental and health reasons.

First question, what seed mix should i use for this region? Is mostly sun with a bit of shade from one big oak.

So whats the best route to go? The whole area is about 50x50 or 2500sqft.

Should i..

Spray chemicals, kill everything, then till or de-thatch, plant seed, top dress?

Plug aerate, seed, and top dress? (i like this idea)

Till, seed, top dress?

De-thatch and seed and top dress?

Or any combination of the above. Sod cutting is pretty much impossible because internet/phone cables are only 2-3" below the dirt 3-10 feet from the curb.

Any advice would be great!
The lawn
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/IMG_1181.jpg
The weeds
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/IMG_1182.jpg

Your next step is not as important as the ones that follow it. Your maintenance plan is what will pay off in the end.
If'n it were me, I'd spray to kill the weeds. This works well. Southern Weed Killer For Lawns | Bayer Advanced
Wait 6 weeks and put down weed and feed. It's getting a little late for that, but you should be okay. Then, overseed with DoWhat's recommendation. The key will be what you do in the spring to keep the weeds down. I suggest Scott's with Halts. Look on Scott's web site for their annual plan. It's a good one that is not hard to follow.
Personally, I prefer ORGROW over Leafgrow, but either one is better than nothing.
Do get your PH up.
Good Luck.

Originally Posted by DoWhat

kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue mix.

I'm a bachelor tonight. What time is dinner?

[GWguy]

The ground looks hard. Might want to deep aerate or scrape the top layers to loosen it so seeds will take. Otherwise any seed you put down will probably wash off.

[somdfunguy]

SYNLawn » Artificial Grass Never Looked More Natural

[ericmyers]

Thanks for the pointers. I talked to an associate at Eds plant world and he said use a hose application of weed be gone then rake or power thatch a few days later. Weed be gone claims you can plant 3 days later but i think ill wait a week. He also told me i should wait till September to plant grass to reduce waterings.

[RPMDAD]

Originally Posted by ericmyers

Thanks for the pointers. I talked to an associate at Eds plant world and he said use a hose application of weed be gone then rake or power thatch a few days later. Weed be gone claims you can plant 3 days later but i think ill wait a week. He also told me i should wait till September to plant grass to reduce waterings.

agree with the wait, and watch the weather, it is way to hot outside now to put down seed, you would just be wasting water. Look for mid to late september before putting down seed and hope for some early fall rain.

[nutz]

Plug it with Zoysia
Zoysia Farm Nurseries: Welcome!

[bcp (Premo)]

Originally Posted by nutz

Plug it with Zoysia
Zoysia Farm Nurseries: Welcome!

Zoysia is too slow growing for gratification next year.

Till the yard, add leave mulch and top soil during the process.
compact the yard.
go to Central sod and buy enough to cover the yard, put said sod on yard alternating the ends so that one piece ends in the center of the one above and below it.
run compactor over sod to smoosh it in.
water at dusk.

do not fertilize or use weed killer for the first season. After that, a light seeding each september will keep it looking good.
Figure about .20 per square foot to purchase the sod. do not buy from lowes or home depot.

[DoWhat (Premo)]

Originally Posted by bcp

water at dusk.

I was told that, that is a big no no.