I have an old flower bed that seems to be totally dead, and that I don't want. It's useless as it is in the way of where the kids play. Would you seed it or lay down some new turf to cover it?
Turf would need a fair bit of time to settle in, and you might find that the kids kind of kill it off. It should bounce back-but for that reason I'd stick to seeding it personally and lay down turf at the end of the season if I needed to.
I had a very large area of various plantings in the middle of the front yard that kept expanding until it was way out of control. Late last summer (maybe mid-August), I pulled out about 75% of it, leaving only a few small ornamental trees and some grasses. The rest I smoothed back down to the level of the yard, then seeded and covered with hay. Before snow fell it had filled back in nicely and was once again part of the yard.
It helps that it was in a sunny spot and my kids are old enough to know to stay off of areas like that, especially with the visual reminder of the hay.
The hay would presumably not only stop the kids but presumably be a little cover from the birds attacking it? Would it serve any other purpose for the newly seeded area?
The hay helps protect both the seeds and the seedlings from sun & rain, animals & kids, preventing erosion and keeping the soil moist. Straw would actually be better than hay (hay containing seed, straw being seed-free), but since we have a hay field the hay is free and easy.
I use hay or straw for cover too for moisture retention of seedlings. It is easy to clean up later if desireable. Normally I let the grass just grow through it but I have carefully raked it clean on highly visible locations that I have to expedite.
If nothing is growing very well in that spot, you may need to amend the soil. My favorite soil amendment is good old compost, otherwise know as "gardener's gold". Compost pretty much will cure whatever ails a spot or a plant. If you want quick results, then go with sod. If you can be patient, then you can go with seed.
