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Having got a closer look at my new yard it seems the grass is more weed than anything else. I asked a local gardener to have a look at it and he suggested re-turfing would be the easiest solution. I am a bit concerned about the cost, is it really the best way to go?

Flossie said:

Having got a closer look at my new yard it seems the grass is more weed than anything else. I asked a local gardener to have a look at it and he suggested re-turfing would be the easiest solution. I am a bit concerned about the cost, is it really the best way to go?

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The only way to acurately make that assessment is to actually see the lawn.
I can tell you trying to kill the weeds without killing the grass is going to take a lot of time as most selective herbicides are temperture specific, in other words they are most effective and efficient in the cooler months of the growing season. So any weeds left in the warmer months must be pulled or thier seeds wil become viable and spread to germinate, if not that summer than the next. Should you use these herbicides in warm temperatures you are going to damage the grass.
If you don't re-sod it's probably going to take years to get the lawn to a point where it will meet your acceptance.
To sum it all up for you:
I suppose your problem can be solved with money, or hard work and time and not so much money.
And this caveat:
Without seeing your lawn and not knowing where you live and what other obstacles may lie between you and the perfect lawn, this is nothing more than an educated guess based on my personnal experiences in my location.
Good luck
RB

Like RobertBrown said... "your problem can be solved with money, or hard work and time and not so much money."
check with your banker to see which you have more of...:biggrin:
Myself... I would reseed and do it that way... but I try to be a very patient person... :smile:KennyV

Flossie,Now is the time of yr. to reseed where I live here in Kan. not sure if it's that critical in Calif. but seeds are always going to be cheaper than sod but that's not including the sweat equatity involved with getting the ground ready.with sod you still have to get the ground ready and keeping it watered etc.there's a sod farm a few miles down the hyw. from me and they are doing well so I would say if you have the money and you want instant gratification sod is the way to go. russ

Thanks all for the advice and insights. I am a gardening novice but not afraid of the work involved in getting the lawn to a decent standard. I may have more will than skill though. Part of the problem is that along with my sister I inherited this house from a relative. Right now we aren't sure if we will stay here for too long. I am thinking that a lawn in progress may not be a selling attraction - but I could be very wrong there.

As a quick fix solution in your particular circumstances turf would seem to be the answer. I used turf several years ago and it is now full of weeds again so it's no solution in the long term.

I think returfing would be extremely expensive. If it were me, I'll probably just take up the old sod in the trouble areas, roto-till, and replant those areas with a good quality seed and some good fertilizer. And keep it watered daily until it grows in.

It kind of depends on your goal. I'm old fashioned and like to do things from scratch, so I would kill, till and seed in the spring. If you are impatient and funds permit, then sod will do the trick. An interim measure might be to contract to hydro seed.