# I want a grass lawn! Whats the best way to dig up old dirt and weeds?



## ahawes (Mar 15, 2011)

You won't need the landscape fabric. If it's in the budget then a tiller would make a quick job of all of that. I'd start by spraying it all down a couple times with roundup and then till it either with a gas rototiller or by hand. Then spray a pre-emergent weed killer on the soil in a generous dosing and lay sod if it's in the budget, it'd be instant grass.

If the budget is smaller then spray the weed and till the soil by hand with a shovel or whatever other tools you may have, remove as many of the weed clumps as you can. If you're going to seed instead of using sod, do not use the pre-emergent, it'll kill the grass seed as well as the weed seeds. Get the soil nice and flat either way though. If you seed heavily and rerake the soil so there is a thin layer of soil over the seeds you'll just have to keep it all watered. You'll see grass sprouting with a week or so and it'll be a lawn in about a month, pending the weather of course. Stay off it until it's grown in pretty well and then you're good to go!


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## anonymoususer (Dec 2, 2010)

I would probably rent a tiller. I can't imagine trying to dig up all that dirt with a shovel. :huh:

I considered the idea of using sod but at $3/sqft i don't think i want to pay for it. I figure most of the hard work has been done and watching the grass grow is the easiest part.


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## Shane1 (Oct 12, 2010)

WOW 3 bucks a sqft? I would till and seed it like mentioned above. I've allways had better results when using about twice as much seed as the bag suggests. 
Good luck keep us updated with some pics


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## pjordan4477 (Mar 15, 2011)

When seeding, pay very close attention to how much sun the yard gets, ou may need to use multiple grass types depending on shade/sun.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

anonymoususer said:


> I would probably rent a tiller. I can't imagine trying to dig up all that dirt with a shovel. :huh:
> 
> I considered the idea of using sod but at $3/sqft i don't think i want to pay for it. I figure most of the hard work has been done and watching the grass grow is the easiest part.



$3 a square foot? Are you sure? I am seeing prices more like $.30 per square foot. 
here is a price from a farm in Michigan



> Retail prices per square foot for Pick up:
> 10 - 2090 sq ft $0.19
> 2100 - 4190 sq ft $0.16
> 4200 + sq ft $0.15


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## anonymoususer (Dec 2, 2010)

pjordan4477 said:


> When seeding, pay very close attention to how much sun the yard gets, ou may need to use multiple grass types depending on shade/sun.


I live in Hawaii, so lots of sun. The sod farm i talked to recommended Zoysia El Toro grass so i was thinking about getting the same type of seed. But of course i have notyet been to the gardening store to see what they have available. 




nap said:


> $3 a square foot? Are you sure? I am seeing prices more like $.30 per square foot.
> here is a price from a farm in Michigan


Wow the price difference is shocking. What a rip-off.

I guess thats the island markup, i'm from Oahu, Hawaii. The two sod farms i called quoted me $2.50 and $2.80/sqft + tax for Zoysia El Toro grass.

*edit* i called up one more sod farm and they quoted me $2/sqft, still a big difference from mainland prices. WIth all the construction going on here, i think i'll be going into the sod business!
http://www.southernturfhawaii.com/


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

Oh, maybe it's the Hawaii thing. We have a lot of ground back here and it isn't as pricey as anything you have in Hawaii. That might not be so bad out there.

I could ship you some of out $.25/foot stuff from here but I suspect by the time it got out there, if they would even let it in, that $3/foot stuff might not be looking so expensive after all.

You grow Zoysia from plugs generally. If I remember correctly, you can get seed now but up until a few years ago, all you could get were plugs. You might look into plugs rather than seeds.


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## Shane1 (Oct 12, 2010)

The place where I get my sod says they will ship to any where in the world but you know that isnt going to be cost effective for the average home owner. Its called Western Sod if you want to check it out.


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## Jay 78 (Mar 2, 2011)

Till baby, till!


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

Jay 78 said:


> Till baby, till!


til when?


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