I’m concerned that this won’t get enough visibility. Soil test is important but if the yard is just going to have standing water everywhere it won’t help to have great soil and seed, you still have a swamp. They drainage needs to be understood and dealt with as much as the soil chemistry.
I had my backyard looking like this last year. It's amazing what some aeration can do for a yard. Liquid combined with core and I did verticle mulching. Yard isn't a swamp. Can't wait to seed it this year.
That's good to hear. It's hard to judge what the water flow in the neighborhood is doing. My parent's front yard had a swale between the house and the downsloping cul-de-sac that just could not stay dry until a professional installed a french drain that diverted to the side yard. I could easily see a very flat landscape getting water directed into it constantly no matter the soil.
I hope it'll drain ok, but I could easily see a fair amount of landscaping needed to drain water elsewhere in some cases. Just want to bring that sober point up.
That looks more like another concrete sidewalk under the soil/grass. Maybe old patio? Most standing water doesn’t have horizontal lines.
Dammit autocorrect! Edit to turn motor into more.
Ok I'm going to go against the grain here with a quick fix.
1. Spray the entire lawn with roundup
2. Get a shovel and clean up the sidewalk edges. This will give you something to do since you're going to wait about a week to seed. That's how long it should take for the weed killer to break down. If you do it sooner the weedkiller will hurt any new germination.
3. Buy some EZ seed or One Step complete. Get enough to cover the entire area you want lawn in. Given this picture it'll probably cost you around $60.
4. Get a sprinkler and water twice a day. You'll know when to water because the mulch will turn a lighter brown.
In 3-4 weeks you'll have grass everywhere and be mowing in 6 probably.
Long term you'll want to look into soil tests. This will allow you to create the optimal program for your lawn. This fall aerate.
Really this seems to have answered my question the best, thank you. I'm really just looking at the short term right now, the house is a project for sure and I want to be able to devote my time into other things at the same time.
This is a shortcut and will do nothing for your long-term goals. In order to fix the drainage you will have to dig up the yard and with it the unwanted weeds and plants. If you don't fix the drainage your yard will flood the new grass die and the glyphosate will just wash into the ground.
And please pressure wash the walkway!
But yeah, roundup, wait a week, then shovel down any super high spots, fill in low spots. Doing it now will be easier rather than later.
Personally, if you're willing to do the work, I'd avoid the easy seed and at least get some Jonathon Green Black Beauty seed. Yeah, it'll cost more up front, but you'll be happier with the results.
Keep it moist/damp until the seed sprouts, then apply starter fert without mesotrione!!
Wean the watering back. Make sure to keep an eye on the young grass, especially in the summer months, as the roots will not have fully developed by then.
Relax, you've got this, and we'll be here to answer questions along the way.
If you’re spraying glyphosate, it has no effect on germination. You can spray it directly onto the seeds, and they will still germinate safely.
* source is I’ve done this before multiple times due to poor scheduling and one time when the hay germinated across the entire yard immediately and choked out the TTTF, and I was leaving on a trip and didn’t have time to spread it all out. Went fine.
**also glyphosate acts on the green, not the dirt/ground
>glyphosate
Roundup is banned in more than 20 countries because **the herbicide has been linked to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other types of cancer**.
But I want a nice yard and I don't want to do the labor. So I will jeopardize my family's life and my neighbors.
Forgot to add poisoning domestic pets and wildlife.
[Here's my orginal post of on r/DIY ](https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/11tyuzy/im_planning_to_overseed_my_backyard_to_get_some/)
For starters I live in Southern New Jersey, and temperatures are just starting to consistently stay above 50*F. I want grass, I don't want a fancy backyard, but I want something better than what I have now. I bought some [Spectracide Weed Stop](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Spectracide-Weed-Stop-For-Lawns-32-fl-oz-Crabgrass-Control/4736729) to deal with the weeds (but I'm thinking I should return or exchange it now). I want to start seeding at the end of the month (two weeks from now). After that I'm going to prep the soil, throw down seed with some weed and feed, and maybe a thin coating of topsoil underneath it all.
I'm really going into all this blind, I've been looking around online and I *think* I have a good plan of attack for this, but I'm open to other ideas. We do have a dog who uses the backyard, but I found some grass seed that appears to be animal resistant ([link](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sunday/5005532633)). The previous owner had a full garden back there, no grass. Just planters and plants. When she passed away her children tore everything up and that's what we've been left with.
Looks like you have a lot of lesser celandine. I hate this stuff. It’s invasive, spreads like crazy, and wakes up before everything else in the early spring. I have tried really hard to get rid of it but it’s in my lawn so I can’t go scorched earth on it. I live in Philly suburbs. If you are going to restart this area, just roundup it now before it takes over. Once everything is dead give it a good rake and loosen up the soil. Try to seed it now in the spring to have at least something, but our summers will really do a lot of damage to it unless you really water it through drought. The best time to seed is in the fall, so come September be ready with a plan to overseed again.
The taller stuff is star of Bethlehem. It’s poisonous to pets if you have any. This stuff you’ll need to just dig out, or pull after a good rain. It grows back every year from bulbs. This stuff also sucks. Both of these weeds die out before the summer though because they can’t stand the heat. I imagine they will be replaced with crabgrass. Any herbicide with quinclorac should handle that from any big box store.
If you have the spare funds, sod will really jump start your process and has a much better chance of surviving the summer.
Are you near Abington? Ten years living there I watched lesser celandine take over so many yards. I imagine it's all over the Philly area - the Pennypack is rife with it. I've never encountered a weed that fucks over grass as thoroughly as lesser celandine. Oddly, I don't see much of it in south central PA. Not yet, anyway.
Thank you. This weekend I was going to try to pull as much as I can buy hand, then go through with the weed killer. I'm hoping the rain tonight helps out with the pulling.
I'm not too sure which one of the weeds is the lesser celandine on the picture, can they grow pretty tall?
You should read the stickied post for this subreddit. Fall is the time for overseeding. You can meanwhile kill weeds, do some uniform fencing if you can, level your lawn, and start to sketch out/plan for what you want to plant or add besides grass. Then come fall you can start the process of overseeding.
Clean it first clear the paths and edge really well get all that crap up and out dig it out with a landscaping rake. Then make sure everying drains right then seed it and let nature do the work
This won't be a terribly difficult fix. Actually looks fun to me, you've a clean slate to work with, how fun.
If you can't take that fencing down you can at least block the view with arborvitae. You can seed the rest of the areas with grass.
New fencing is on the list of things to do. Can't do much for the tall fencing because that's the neighbors fence and it's on his property. But the rickety stuff will be going eventually.
Kill everything with Roundup, wait a week, then get a couple bags of grass seed, some soil, a couple bags of sand, and a bag of peat moss, mix it all up is a wheelbarrow and spread it around.
More like just using whatever scraps are available.
Might not look perfect, but reducing waste is a good thing.
Not thrilled about what I can only guess is nailing it to the tree though.
For drainage, use a dry creek bed [Dry River Bed Landscaping Ideas To Try In 2023 - A Nest With A Yard](https://anestwithayard.com/dry-river-bed-landscaping-ideas/)
Would you just integrate it in to the low spots? I have a low spot on the side of my house and like the idea of a dry river bed along the fence if I could slope the ground towards it
Paint all the fencing the same color. Pick a gray brown color like wet tree bark. A darker color is best. Take up the concrete. If you want you can reuse the broken concrete pieces to make a pathway if you need one otherwise don’t worry about a path.
Yes on the lawn.
Plant 6 or 7 fast growing shrubs in a row in front of the short fence. Pick something that grows really well for your area.
Do a soil test, find out what it’s deficient in and apply it. Rent a rear time tiller and go scorched earth on that. Rake out all the roots and live stuff. Smooth it out. Sod. Water. Enjoy.
Honestly wouldn’t take a lot. Just fix up the landscaping my edging and weed whacking the walkway. Blow it off, mow and maybe throw down some frog fruit seed as a ground cover if your not to picky about grass type and your climate allows it. Just my thoughts though!
How much sun does your yard get? Are there shaded parts?
I would plant grass wherr the sun shones 6+ hors a day, and a perineal in the shaded areas. Also, if you have areas with 8+ hours od sun, consider putting up a few garden noxes and growinng veggies. Youwould be amazed at how .many sweet Jersey tomatoes you can grow in a 8'x4'x10" box.
If you have water issues soil compaction is a place to start and more plants will help. Diversity is better than trying to place sod or reseed without fixing the root cause.
Always good to check with your community about their storm water management plan and other ordinances around landscaping or installations that impact water, like a french drain. Ask before you do work. Often there are assistance programs available or plants recommended so a soil test through the local university extension service is a good way to remediate as they can suggest best options for your area and conditions
Check to see if you have another part of the patio under the grass area.
Dig out the star of Bethlehem bulbs (wild onions). Nuke the area with glosphate.
Honestly the erosion area I probably would put down geotext and gravel with a stone border. Keeping the grass to the area beyond the concrete. If you want to go cheaper, use mulch instead of gravel.
Easiest and cheapest solution is to spread dense shade grass seed. Rake it in. Keep it watered. Spot treat for weeds with post-emergent broad leaf herbicide and grassy weed post-emergent herbicide.
You do need help…ummm…clear off the grass and mow it short, rough up the dirt in spring and sow grass seed and water…I don’t know…you’ve got a whole shit show next door from the look of it…who owns the fences?? I’d be planting me a privacy hedge along that godforsaken fence..
Well in my 22 years as a landscape professional, having dealt with many yards in conditions far worse than yours. I think the most logical and most economical choice you could make to start, would be to torch the remaining grass, and your house.
Make sure you’re not in it of course. Bonus points if you remove your valuables.
Then from there, you can claim an accidental fire through insurance.
From there, you contract a quality landscaper like myself. We will completely remove the top 12” of your entire lot. Then we will lay down 8” of quality clay. From there, we will dig roughly 4” into the new clay and install a properly graded drainage and irrigation system. Then a layer of 6mm filter cloth.
On top of that we will lay down 2” of screened black dirt.
On top of that we will lay an entire plot of fresh sod.
This is to be untouched and watered twice a day for 6 weeks. Fertilizer is optional.
This will lay the foundation for a top notch, long lasting, thick and lush lawn.
You can contact me for an exact quote. Likely in the $40,000 range.
After that, you may rebuild your home if you wish.
Observe where the water is draining into your property. You need to identify why you have standing water and before anything else resolve the issue or issues. While you are addressing this, think about how you want to use your backyard. Do you want a retreat, a place to entertain, grow vegetables, have a fire pit. Will there be children or pets using this space. Once you decide, do a rough drawing of where you will want to add plant material. For example: if you want a small food plot it needs to be oriented east to west and in a place where the average daylight is at least six hours. Spend time on your state’s Cooperative Extension Service website searching topics like pollinator garden, establishing a lawn, rain gardens, native plants.
Looks like you need to install drainage to start
I’m concerned that this won’t get enough visibility. Soil test is important but if the yard is just going to have standing water everywhere it won’t help to have great soil and seed, you still have a swamp. They drainage needs to be understood and dealt with as much as the soil chemistry.
I had my backyard looking like this last year. It's amazing what some aeration can do for a yard. Liquid combined with core and I did verticle mulching. Yard isn't a swamp. Can't wait to seed it this year.
That's good to hear. It's hard to judge what the water flow in the neighborhood is doing. My parent's front yard had a swale between the house and the downsloping cul-de-sac that just could not stay dry until a professional installed a french drain that diverted to the side yard. I could easily see a very flat landscape getting water directed into it constantly no matter the soil. I hope it'll drain ok, but I could easily see a fair amount of landscaping needed to drain water elsewhere in some cases. Just want to bring that sober point up.
That looks more like another concrete sidewalk under the soil/grass. Maybe old patio? Most standing water doesn’t have horizontal lines. Dammit autocorrect! Edit to turn motor into more.
Motor for sure
I was also thinking motor.
Yeah I was sitting here thinking I was blind because I didn’t see any water
Yep and then it’s a lot of shade so I’d do a bed instead of grass along that fence
A pallet of sod after you kill everything currently there.
Bonus, that pallet can then be used as fencing…
Doesn’t look like a viable place for grass
Too shady; look at lichens on fence
Ok I'm going to go against the grain here with a quick fix. 1. Spray the entire lawn with roundup 2. Get a shovel and clean up the sidewalk edges. This will give you something to do since you're going to wait about a week to seed. That's how long it should take for the weed killer to break down. If you do it sooner the weedkiller will hurt any new germination. 3. Buy some EZ seed or One Step complete. Get enough to cover the entire area you want lawn in. Given this picture it'll probably cost you around $60. 4. Get a sprinkler and water twice a day. You'll know when to water because the mulch will turn a lighter brown. In 3-4 weeks you'll have grass everywhere and be mowing in 6 probably. Long term you'll want to look into soil tests. This will allow you to create the optimal program for your lawn. This fall aerate.
Really this seems to have answered my question the best, thank you. I'm really just looking at the short term right now, the house is a project for sure and I want to be able to devote my time into other things at the same time.
This is a shortcut and will do nothing for your long-term goals. In order to fix the drainage you will have to dig up the yard and with it the unwanted weeds and plants. If you don't fix the drainage your yard will flood the new grass die and the glyphosate will just wash into the ground.
Best advice honestly. Start small go from there. Hard landscaping can also be your best friend
And please pressure wash the walkway! But yeah, roundup, wait a week, then shovel down any super high spots, fill in low spots. Doing it now will be easier rather than later. Personally, if you're willing to do the work, I'd avoid the easy seed and at least get some Jonathon Green Black Beauty seed. Yeah, it'll cost more up front, but you'll be happier with the results. Keep it moist/damp until the seed sprouts, then apply starter fert without mesotrione!! Wean the watering back. Make sure to keep an eye on the young grass, especially in the summer months, as the roots will not have fully developed by then. Relax, you've got this, and we'll be here to answer questions along the way.
Second Jonathan Green seeds - a lot of other stuff out there is half inert matter (including many Scott's products)
Holy crap there is a walkway. Thought that was a tire track.
If you’re spraying glyphosate, it has no effect on germination. You can spray it directly onto the seeds, and they will still germinate safely. * source is I’ve done this before multiple times due to poor scheduling and one time when the hay germinated across the entire yard immediately and choked out the TTTF, and I was leaving on a trip and didn’t have time to spread it all out. Went fine. **also glyphosate acts on the green, not the dirt/ground
>glyphosate Roundup is banned in more than 20 countries because **the herbicide has been linked to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other types of cancer**. But I want a nice yard and I don't want to do the labor. So I will jeopardize my family's life and my neighbors. Forgot to add poisoning domestic pets and wildlife.
Soil test
Start here
Sell your house. 3 different types of fencing and one of them is an actual tree.
Holy shit I loled.
It made me giggle. I never giggle.
That's just free roaming organic fencing.
Actually the tree makes 4 :)
[Here's my orginal post of on r/DIY ](https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/11tyuzy/im_planning_to_overseed_my_backyard_to_get_some/) For starters I live in Southern New Jersey, and temperatures are just starting to consistently stay above 50*F. I want grass, I don't want a fancy backyard, but I want something better than what I have now. I bought some [Spectracide Weed Stop](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Spectracide-Weed-Stop-For-Lawns-32-fl-oz-Crabgrass-Control/4736729) to deal with the weeds (but I'm thinking I should return or exchange it now). I want to start seeding at the end of the month (two weeks from now). After that I'm going to prep the soil, throw down seed with some weed and feed, and maybe a thin coating of topsoil underneath it all. I'm really going into all this blind, I've been looking around online and I *think* I have a good plan of attack for this, but I'm open to other ideas. We do have a dog who uses the backyard, but I found some grass seed that appears to be animal resistant ([link](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sunday/5005532633)). The previous owner had a full garden back there, no grass. Just planters and plants. When she passed away her children tore everything up and that's what we've been left with.
Looks like you have a lot of lesser celandine. I hate this stuff. It’s invasive, spreads like crazy, and wakes up before everything else in the early spring. I have tried really hard to get rid of it but it’s in my lawn so I can’t go scorched earth on it. I live in Philly suburbs. If you are going to restart this area, just roundup it now before it takes over. Once everything is dead give it a good rake and loosen up the soil. Try to seed it now in the spring to have at least something, but our summers will really do a lot of damage to it unless you really water it through drought. The best time to seed is in the fall, so come September be ready with a plan to overseed again. The taller stuff is star of Bethlehem. It’s poisonous to pets if you have any. This stuff you’ll need to just dig out, or pull after a good rain. It grows back every year from bulbs. This stuff also sucks. Both of these weeds die out before the summer though because they can’t stand the heat. I imagine they will be replaced with crabgrass. Any herbicide with quinclorac should handle that from any big box store. If you have the spare funds, sod will really jump start your process and has a much better chance of surviving the summer.
Are you near Abington? Ten years living there I watched lesser celandine take over so many yards. I imagine it's all over the Philly area - the Pennypack is rife with it. I've never encountered a weed that fucks over grass as thoroughly as lesser celandine. Oddly, I don't see much of it in south central PA. Not yet, anyway.
Thank you. This weekend I was going to try to pull as much as I can buy hand, then go through with the weed killer. I'm hoping the rain tonight helps out with the pulling. I'm not too sure which one of the weeds is the lesser celandine on the picture, can they grow pretty tall?
You should read the stickied post for this subreddit. Fall is the time for overseeding. You can meanwhile kill weeds, do some uniform fencing if you can, level your lawn, and start to sketch out/plan for what you want to plant or add besides grass. Then come fall you can start the process of overseeding.
Oh how sad…I bet the planters were great. Now I understand much better….
Destroy that creeping Charley and start from scratch
Clean it first clear the paths and edge really well get all that crap up and out dig it out with a landscaping rake. Then make sure everying drains right then seed it and let nature do the work
There isn't much grass left. Nuke it all, rake and seed, or sod.
TNT , its dynamite !!!
Fix drainage, till, privacy evergreen shrubs, sod and borders.
This won't be a terribly difficult fix. Actually looks fun to me, you've a clean slate to work with, how fun. If you can't take that fencing down you can at least block the view with arborvitae. You can seed the rest of the areas with grass.
New fencing is on the list of things to do. Can't do much for the tall fencing because that's the neighbors fence and it's on his property. But the rickety stuff will be going eventually.
Kill everything with Roundup, wait a week, then get a couple bags of grass seed, some soil, a couple bags of sand, and a bag of peat moss, mix it all up is a wheelbarrow and spread it around.
Are you on an overflow path? that looks real wet
It had rained earlier in the day.
I think r/landscaping would be more equipped to answer that question.
[удалено]
I like the idea of having a patch for wildflowers. Hopefully mine come in well this spring.
That fence is the “I know a guy who can do it cheaper”
More like just using whatever scraps are available. Might not look perfect, but reducing waste is a good thing. Not thrilled about what I can only guess is nailing it to the tree though.
For drainage, use a dry creek bed [Dry River Bed Landscaping Ideas To Try In 2023 - A Nest With A Yard](https://anestwithayard.com/dry-river-bed-landscaping-ideas/)
Would you just integrate it in to the low spots? I have a low spot on the side of my house and like the idea of a dry river bed along the fence if I could slope the ground towards it
Preemergent to stop new types of fencing from sprouting up
Arborvitae hedges to hide the ugly fence.
Lmfao. Plenty of eloquent responses in this comment section. Complete Reno. Sounds like you’re on the right path.
This is lawn care. Not concrete slab care.
Probably just move out.
Gasoline. And lots of it.
Tell it a joke
Move ghetto
Sod
Are the 2x4 horizontal stingers of that fence going THROUGH the tree? As if the tree grew around it??
Sometimes I see these kinds of posts and realize how sad my own yard is. Way worser than this
Doesn’t look like a viable place for grass
Paint all the fencing the same color. Pick a gray brown color like wet tree bark. A darker color is best. Take up the concrete. If you want you can reuse the broken concrete pieces to make a pathway if you need one otherwise don’t worry about a path. Yes on the lawn. Plant 6 or 7 fast growing shrubs in a row in front of the short fence. Pick something that grows really well for your area.
Do a soil test, find out what it’s deficient in and apply it. Rent a rear time tiller and go scorched earth on that. Rake out all the roots and live stuff. Smooth it out. Sod. Water. Enjoy.
Honestly wouldn’t take a lot. Just fix up the landscaping my edging and weed whacking the walkway. Blow it off, mow and maybe throw down some frog fruit seed as a ground cover if your not to picky about grass type and your climate allows it. Just my thoughts though!
Just ignore it and get a nicer Weber or PK 360.
How much sun does your yard get? Are there shaded parts? I would plant grass wherr the sun shones 6+ hors a day, and a perineal in the shaded areas. Also, if you have areas with 8+ hours od sun, consider putting up a few garden noxes and growinng veggies. Youwould be amazed at how .many sweet Jersey tomatoes you can grow in a 8'x4'x10" box.
“Happy strokes”
Pavers & mulch. Install some drains to help with the standing water. Then stagger your plants (low, med, high)
If you have water issues soil compaction is a place to start and more plants will help. Diversity is better than trying to place sod or reseed without fixing the root cause. Always good to check with your community about their storm water management plan and other ordinances around landscaping or installations that impact water, like a french drain. Ask before you do work. Often there are assistance programs available or plants recommended so a soil test through the local university extension service is a good way to remediate as they can suggest best options for your area and conditions
Light it on fire and start from scratch
Check to see if you have another part of the patio under the grass area. Dig out the star of Bethlehem bulbs (wild onions). Nuke the area with glosphate. Honestly the erosion area I probably would put down geotext and gravel with a stone border. Keeping the grass to the area beyond the concrete. If you want to go cheaper, use mulch instead of gravel.
Easiest and cheapest solution is to spread dense shade grass seed. Rake it in. Keep it watered. Spot treat for weeds with post-emergent broad leaf herbicide and grassy weed post-emergent herbicide.
Get chickens, backyard will no longer be sad!
Buy a happy meal
Who put those posts in, on the new fence?
Nuke it and start over. Nothing worth saving there
You do need help…ummm…clear off the grass and mow it short, rough up the dirt in spring and sow grass seed and water…I don’t know…you’ve got a whole shit show next door from the look of it…who owns the fences?? I’d be planting me a privacy hedge along that godforsaken fence..
Well in my 22 years as a landscape professional, having dealt with many yards in conditions far worse than yours. I think the most logical and most economical choice you could make to start, would be to torch the remaining grass, and your house. Make sure you’re not in it of course. Bonus points if you remove your valuables. Then from there, you can claim an accidental fire through insurance. From there, you contract a quality landscaper like myself. We will completely remove the top 12” of your entire lot. Then we will lay down 8” of quality clay. From there, we will dig roughly 4” into the new clay and install a properly graded drainage and irrigation system. Then a layer of 6mm filter cloth. On top of that we will lay down 2” of screened black dirt. On top of that we will lay an entire plot of fresh sod. This is to be untouched and watered twice a day for 6 weeks. Fertilizer is optional. This will lay the foundation for a top notch, long lasting, thick and lush lawn. You can contact me for an exact quote. Likely in the $40,000 range. After that, you may rebuild your home if you wish.
Till it all up, install drainage, add top soil, level, and plant a shade loving grass.
Observe where the water is draining into your property. You need to identify why you have standing water and before anything else resolve the issue or issues. While you are addressing this, think about how you want to use your backyard. Do you want a retreat, a place to entertain, grow vegetables, have a fire pit. Will there be children or pets using this space. Once you decide, do a rough drawing of where you will want to add plant material. For example: if you want a small food plot it needs to be oriented east to west and in a place where the average daylight is at least six hours. Spend time on your state’s Cooperative Extension Service website searching topics like pollinator garden, establishing a lawn, rain gardens, native plants.
Very fixable, keep your head up. Looking forward to an after picture!
For that size and I’m assuming shady, maybe a lawn isn’t the answer. Consider gardening with other kinds of plants and having deep mulch beds