Lawn Thread - MEGA

[ExtraSlow]

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[G-ZUS]

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The goal should be to get seed in the ground the first/second week of August.
Buy a pump sprayer and concentrated Roundup from Canadian tire. Mixing your own Roundup is more economical than buying the premixed stuff. Round up the entire lawn right away. Over the next couple of weeks water to encourage weed growth. Round up again in another two weeks. You can repeat this a third time right before you drop seed.

As far as seed mix, I would opt for a better quality seed than the contractor grade (won't be a huge price difference for a lawn that size). I would look for a Kentucky Blue grass and Perennial Rye Grass mix. The benefits of KBG is that it will spread over time, filling in bare spots, the disadvantage is that it takes a long time to germinate (around 2 weeks). The PRG will germinate quickly but doesn't spread.

Before seeding, spend some time to rake the ground nice and level. You will need a fertilizer spreader. I usually seed with a little extra, as the birds like to eat the seed. Rent a lawn roller and roll the seed into the dirt. Get a few bags of peat moss and spread over top of the seed. Spread starter fertilizer. Water 3 times a day. You want to keep the seed moist but keep an eye on your watering, if you water too much you'll create puddles and that will wash the seed away.

What brand of seed do you recommend?

[sabad66]

Someone in this thread a few pages back recommended Garden Club from Canadian tire and it happened to be on sale at the time so I picked some up. I can’t speak to the longevity / winter kill-resistance yet, but I will say it germinated fairly quickly and looks great. I filled some pretty large spots with it too.

Good reviews. Here’s the big bag but they have smaller ones
https://canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/garde...-0596789p.html

[sxtasy]

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What brand of seed do you recommend?

I don't have a particular brand to recommend. I bought seed from a local golf course supplier in my area. I would stay away from big box stores and stick with smaller businesses offering blends more tailored to the local climate. For example, a local landscape supply company: https://eaglelakelandscape.com/colle...urf-grass-seed

[ExtraSlow]

Go to a local garden centre like spruce it up, Bow Ridge etc. Phone first and see what they say.

[G-ZUS]

What do you guys think of blue grasses house mix?

[88CRX]

Why not just nuke the lawn and then lay sod? It’s only about 5000x easier.

[G-ZUS]

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Why not just nuke the lawn and then lay sod? It’s only about 5000x easier.

I just ripped out the lawn and laid this sod 4 years ago. It is south facing and lots of sun. life got in the way and I wasn't able to give it the attention it deserved sooo here we are.

[bjstare]

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Why not just nuke the lawn and then lay sod? It’s only about 5000x easier.

I’ve done both options, sod is not easier imo. It’s the quicker path to green grass, but you have to haul it around, unroll it, cut it, etc. Growing from seed is definitely not harder work, it just takes longer. The prep work for both cases is the same. Not to mention the cost difference.

If I ever have to do it again, I’ll be planting seed for sure.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I think there's a square-meter cutoff point that factors with the shape, obstacle and edging complexity.

[bjstare]

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I think there's a square-meter cutoff point that factors with the shape, obstacle and edging complexity.

Yeah that’s a good point. They were both sizeable, and the sod one was on a huge corner lot with a sweeping curved pull through driveway haha.

[flipstah]

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The goal should be to get seed in the ground the first/second week of August.
Buy a pump sprayer and concentrated Roundup from Canadian tire. Mixing your own Roundup is more economical than buying the premixed stuff. Round up the entire lawn right away. Over the next couple of weeks water to encourage weed growth. Round up again in another two weeks. You can repeat this a third time right before you drop seed.

As far as seed mix, I would opt for a better quality seed than the contractor grade (won't be a huge price difference for a lawn that size). I would look for a Kentucky Blue grass and Perennial Rye Grass mix. The benefits of KBG is that it will spread over time, filling in bare spots, the disadvantage is that it takes a long time to germinate (around 2 weeks). The PRG will germinate quickly but doesn't spread.

Before seeding, spend some time to rake the ground nice and level. You will need a fertilizer spreader. I usually seed with a little extra, as the birds like to eat the seed. Rent a lawn roller and roll the seed into the dirt. Get a few bags of peat moss and spread over top of the seed. Spread starter fertilizer. Water 3 times a day. You want to keep the seed moist but keep an eye on your watering, if you water too much you'll create puddles and that will wash the seed away.

Where do you buy seed? I think I can hit it with Roundup the next couple of weeks to prep the lawn. It's all good vibes from here since the front lawn is shit to begin with

[flipstah]

@sxtasy did you blitz the yard with RoundUp? Just want to make sure I don’t kill the 10% that’s growing grass? Or just easier to go gusto on RoundUp and just reseed in august?

There’s also a pine tree root on the front lawn and worried about harming that

[bjstare]

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@sxtasy did you blitz the yard with RoundUp? Just want to make sure I don’t kill the 10% that’s growing grass? Or just easier to go gusto on RoundUp and just reseed in august?

There’s also a pine tree root on the front lawn and worried about harming that

You probably want to kill everything, given that some (all?) of the 10% growing grass is crab grass/quack grass/shit.

[nismodrifter]

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@sxtasy did you blitz the yard with RoundUp? Just want to make sure I don’t kill the 10% that’s growing grass? Or just easier to go gusto on RoundUp and just reseed in august?

You kill everything.

[sxtasy]

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You kill everything.

Yes, nuke it all. Then water the shit out of it so you can kill all the weeds again. I have done this several times with good results. This was based on many nerdy hours of dad research on the lawn forums. Don't worry too much about tree roots, you won't kill the tree.

[flipstah]

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Yes, nuke it all. Then water the shit out of it so you can kill all the weeds again. I have done this several times with good results. This was based on many nerdy hours of dad research on the lawn forums. Don't worry too much about tree roots, you won't kill the tree.

If I start early August to nuke the weeds will it be too late to seed?

[nismodrifter]

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If I start early August to nuke the weeds will it be too late to seed?

https://www.thelawnforum.com/threads...-season.16808/

Everything you need to know in detail. I checked frost date for Calgary and it averages Sep 10 to 11. Keep that in mind. You need germination before then. Germination can take 21 days.

In comparison, our frost date out here is in like November....i actually threw seed down on Sep 10 and then again on Sep 30th to fill bare spots.

[bjstare]

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If I start early August to nuke the weeds will it be too late to seed?

I’d start asap. Worst case is we get a stretch of hot weather and you have to water it more often. If you wait too late you risk frost kill or not being strong enough to winter properly and you start from square 1 in the spring.

[flipstah]

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I’d start asap. Worst case is we get a stretch of hot weather and you have to water it more often. If you wait too late you risk frost kill or not being strong enough to winter properly and you start from square 1 in the spring.

Ah fuck I might just need to start from scratch in the spring then.