Need Advice on Yard Repair

[DennisH]

Hi guys

I have roughly a 50' X 200' area of yard that needs some serious attention this spring to cover up the red dirt. It is currently is about 30% Bermuda grass, 40% weeds, and 30% bare red dirt.

My thought are to rent a 3 point Harley rake and remove all the ground cover and start over. If I go this route I will need to buy a few more attachments for the tractor to smooth out the existing ground in preparation for having Sod laid.

My current list of attachents are Flail mower, 5' Disk Harrow, 6' Landscape Rake and will have a 5' tiller soon to put in a garden. My thoughts are to also pick up a box blade and land plane to help smooth this yard.

Attached are some pictures of my mess, your thoughts?

 

[bulldog69]

If I was going with sod I would run over it with my disc and get the top loosened up. Hit it hard with your tiller and turn it into powder but not to deep. 2 or 3 inches is plenty. Throw the box on and level that bad boy down nice and smooth. The loose dirt will spread smooth and be easy to move around. As you are getting it level you will be packing at the same time. When you get it level it should be ready to lay the sod down.

I would put a load of top soil on it and throw the grass seed to it but that's just me. A yard to me is nothing but wasted pasture though.

 

[crbr]

Nice pictures.........

 

[MarkV]

If you rent a Harley Rake I don't think you will need much more than a home made drag to seed. Of course that is if you don't have contour changes you want to make.

With what you have I would spray the existing vegetation, disk it up real good, use the landscape rake to remove the trash, till it, drag it, seed it and drag again. Then for that small of area just run the tractor back and forth to give the seed good ground contact.

Now I think most of the above is a waste if you don't do a soil test and amend the soil to let the grass have a chance. We are in the same general region and if you haven't added lime before now you will need a bunch. Our soil just isn't that good.

MarkV

 

[DennisH]

How do I get soil tested?

 

[frischtr]

Have you checked into hydroseeding vs. sod? Usually cheaper to install with a better finished product.

 

[DennisH]

Have you checked into hydroseeding vs. sod? Usually cheaper to install with a better finished product.

I have not checked into hydroseeding, might be worth looking into.

 

[MarkV]

Dennis contact your local extension agent for a soil test. http://www.aces.edu/counties/Madison/ They send it off to the university which will send you a written report. Here in Georgia it cost about $7. Some feed stores also offer the service.

MarkV

 

[DennisH]

Thanks Mark, I will give them a call today.

 

[JimRB]

When we built our house in Georgia someone drove the tractor over and over with a pulverizer. We did 2 pallets of Bermuda 419 (I think) near the house. I cut some of the sod into plugs and plug a bunch of the yard. I also tossed some common Bermuda seed up by the road. Those plugs were a bit lumpy for a few years but they filled in. 13 years later it is all filled in with a mix of the 419 and common. It takes some weed killer once in a while and some fertilizer. Bermuda does not really compete well with weeds. I do toss lime out every few years. I should do a soil test.

If it was me I would spray some 2,4d to kill the weeds. Scratch the red dirt mixing in some compost from the horse farm or at least some sand, and plug or seed. Just keep the plugs watered or the seed watered. You can even cut plugs from existing good stands of Bermuda or use a shovel to cut the Bermuda runners from the edge of the concrete. I just dig a few inches and cover the sidewalk runners I just cut with some dirt. Water once a week when cool and 2-3 times a week when it gets warm and dry. That stuff takes root and eventually fills in, sort of. Again some sand can help as well as proper soil tests.

Note that Bermuda does not do well in heavily shaded areas. The oaks are growing up in the front of my yard. Nothing but dirt under them and under the pines. Fescue would work there and could be scratched in right now and established.

Look for a used pulverizer if you want a good tool for preparing red clay for a lawn. I built my own and have used it to plane down some humps in the neighborhood.

 

[2manyrocks]

Just looking at the photos, I was wondering if part of your yard where the most dirt is showing was cut down or graded down? It sort of looks like you have Bermuda grass growing pretty well, and then you have this area of almost bare dirt suggesting there isn't much top soil in that area?

To maintain the grade, looks like you might have to cut out some of that red dirt and bring in a load of better soil or till in some compost.

My post is worth every penny you paid for it. Your local soil extension agent may be able to give you some real help as others have suggested. Our agent came out and told me what kind of soil we have and why it's poor soil just looking at his soil maps of the area. Then he started telling me about why I have this weed and that weed...

 

[DennisH]

Just looking at the photos, I was wondering if part of your yard where the most dirt is showing was cut down or graded down? It sort of looks like you have Bermuda grass growing pretty well, and then you have this area of almost bare dirt suggesting there isn't much top soil in that area?

You are pretty much right on target. I'm guessing a lack of top soil is most of the problem in the bare areas but who knows at this point.

I have spent the last several hours reading everything about bermuda grass and how other people have prep their ground. Seed instead of Sod seems to be the method of choice.

Looks like I'm looking at;

1) A soil test

2) Remove ground cover leaving the bermuda grass that is established alone. I will rent a Harley Rake for this

3) Run a disk Harrow around the areas to be re-seeded followed up with the tiller to about 4" deep. Goal is to smooth out the contours of yard the best I can keeping in mind it does sloap downward.

4) Add compost, lime, fertilizer est as required per soil test and work in with tiller as required.

5) Drag smooth with drag harrow, chain link fence / log, land plane etc.

6) Broadcast in seed

7) Cover with straw???????????

8) Add Water


Does this sound about right?

 

[samhudson3]

Looks like you have a handle on it, DennisH.

Couple of things: soil test is going to be hard to read and understand. Will have recommendations of tons per acre and stuff like that. Talk to the local extension to get a translation.

Use agricultural lime, it's a powder and works faster than the pelleted stuff.

Do cover with straw and water, water, water. Most grass is best established in the fall, so be sure to water through the summer.

Good luck!

 

[MarkV]

Only thing I would add is after seeding the soil/seed needs some compacting for seed to soil contact. You can do that with a roller or just drive over it with the tractor for a solid seed base.

MarkV