I need grass...UPDATED

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
Not that kind;)

I’m not one to care all that much, but this yard is in rough shape. Nothing but weeds and clover. Definitely not looking to spend a fortune. Call it .4 acre.

I need something that doesn’t mind, or loves, shade.

What say y’all, and how do I get there from here?
 

buckshooter

Old Mossy Horns
Not that kind;)

I’m not one to care all that much, but this yard is in rough shape. Nothing but weeds and clover. Definitely not looking to spend a fortune. Call it .4 acre.

I need something that doesn’t mind, or loves, shade.

What say y’all, and how do I get there from here?
Pm @kilar Hamilton he works in grass 😉
 

Papa_Smurf

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
well, it's almost the right time of year to sow.

Best thing to do is sow this fall and put down pre-emergent a few times during the spring/summer next year, and fertilize in the spring so your grass gets well established before the summer heat..
 

Einstein

Six Pointer
Not that kind;)

I’m not one to care all that much, but this yard is in rough shape. Nothing but weeds and clover. Definitely not looking to spend a fortune. Call it .4 acre.

I need something that doesn’t mind, or loves, shade.

What say y’all, and how do I get there from here?

Where do you live? That will help a lot in deciding where to go from here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
If you have shade I have 3 suggestions.........Creeping red and kentucky Bluegrass with the bluegrass being at lest 30 percent of it but 40/60 would be better. and the 3rd suggestion since you have shade is to lime, when you think you have limed enough do it 3 more times. I lime my back yard monthly with 5 bags and it still isnt enough. those trees add soooo much acid that lime is one of the keys.

Research has found that at least 5 -10 percent of bluegrass with fescue helps aslo to cut down of fungus as fungus that like fescue do not like bluegrass and vice versa.......my back yard has improved dramatically since i went with Ky Bluegrass and Creeping red. Front is sunny so it has Zoysia.
 

nchawkeye

Old Mossy Horns
You know, 5-10 years ago I had a great yard but dang if I can control crabgrass anymore...I think it's gotten immune to chemicals..
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Pre-emergent is the key to keeping crabgrass down and timing when you do it. It will take at least two applications a year.
 

Johnnie

Ten Pointer
In shady areas, I prefer Creeping Red or other "thin" fescues. Been fighting the shade thing for 15 years at my yard, CR and the "thins" do best, but I still don't have a nice stand. My very small back yard gets 4 hours of Sun (at best) and I cannot keep a stand back there at all. Sun and adequate water are key. If your yard is shady, good luck. I haven't tried the multi-lime method by Mack above, but I do lime to keep my pH as close to 7 as possible (is that a mistake?).

Johnnie
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
You can't put down enough lime up in these parts. My neighbor has a "lawn". He is constantly throwing seed and fertalizer at it but will not put out lime. He fights weeds and crabgrass constantly. Me, I've got a yard. Over the years, much of the back has turned to a low moss which I wish would take over the whole place. I'm planting the lower end of the yard in clover this fall. Shoot um out the bathroom window.
 

BLOODBROTHER

Twelve Pointer
Best thing to do is quit trying to get grass to grow there. Make a natural area and border it with something. Plant a few shade tolerant shrubs or flowers. Maybe add a bird bath. I’ve found that the cost and effort aren’t worth it. I deal with the shade of mature oaks and it’s a PITA. Just mulch it and go hunting.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Creeping red and Bluegrass plus LIME but there is one problem now with having a nice lawn in a shady area now.

Japanese Stiltgrass......dang invasive that loves shade so even in my shady backyard I have to apply crabgrass preventer in late feb early march and again in 2 and 1/2 months and I still get a little bit of it. Crabgrass preventer ctually keeps any grass seed from germination. Japanese stiltgrass is worse than crabrass
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
Best thing to do is quit trying to get grass to grow there. Make a natural area and border it with something. Plant a few shade tolerant shrubs or flowers. Maybe add a bird bath. I’ve found that the cost and effort aren’t worth it. I deal with the shade of mature oaks and it’s a PITA. Just mulch it and go hunting.
I’ve done put out 16 yds of mulch. I don’t need no more dang mulch 😂
I’m not concerned about the worst spots, just the rest of the yard. It gets sun, but not full sun.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Ky 31 fescue mix with Kentucky bluegrass will grow in shade.
Aerate lime and seed.
Midnight Kentucky bluegrass 1 pound per 10 pounds of ky 31 fescue.
Fertilize triple 17
 

Homebrewale

Old Mossy Horns
Buy every type of fescue in the store, mix, spread on yard and let Darwin take over.

Or just mulch the whole thing and hunt more.
 

bigdrumnc

Ten Pointer
First and fore most......get a soil test! Not. One from the extension agent or NC state. Use a real lab like spectrum analytical or Logan labs. It will tell you a lot more than just npk. Do not buy your seed at a box store. Pure seed in Raleigh, untied turf online, or southern seed in middlesex all provide superb seed blends. Don’t skimp on your seed. Seed mid September, Feed the yard based on your soil test. The end of feb apply prodiamine or hire some on to do it’
 

stilker

Old Mossy Horns
My mom and pops backyard was always hard to get anything to grow in,a bed of white flint and shady they had a couple loads of topsoil brought in and planted creeping red fescue and now they have a really nice little area
 

todobien

Eight Pointer
Mack - I have stiltgrass in dwarf mondo. Do you know if the crabgrass spray would be safe for it?

Q: I have a dry stream bed with stone and dwarf mondo grass that has some weeds in it. How do I control them?

A:Imazaquin (click for sources) kills many broadleafed weeds plus fescue, ryegrass and crabgrass. Sethoxydim (click for sources) kills bermudagrass. Both are labeled for use on mondo grass.

I went ahead and googled and found this -
 

JonBoy

Four Pointer
Japanese Stiltgrass......dang invasive that loves shade so even in my shady backyard I have to apply crabgrass preventer in late feb early march and again in 2 and 1/2 months and I still get a little bit of it. Crabgrass preventer ctually keeps any grass seed from germination. Japanese stiltgrass is worse than crabrass

I had Japanese Stiltgrass bad at my last house and bought Acclaim Extra to treat it. It's pricey, but you use less than 0.5 oz per gallon to treat Stiltgrass. It worked well from what I remember.
 

Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I would think fescue where you are would be the best option and there are several versions out there. Killing it all will help but you will have to do it a couple of times before you plant, and you may be running out of time for that. I did not kill mine first, I did spray it with a weed killer that would not hurt what grass I had. Then aerated and spread lime, and sowed over the fresh aeration.. I basically plowed the yard with the aerator and sowed before a good wet streak in the forecast.

Cover the worst areas with straw and make sure it all stays moist for a couple of weeks at least. If you need to borrow my aerator let me know its a plug that pulls behind the mower.. need to hit mine again labor day or the week after.

BTW, I have that pull behind 25 gallon boom sprayer if you are borrowing things that beats a backpack on a big area.
 
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smort

Button Buck
Camp Chemical in Roxboro can help with seed, fertilizer, and lime. I did the same as firedog and mine turned out good.
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
I would think fescue where you are would be the best option and there are several versions out there. Killing it all will help but you will have to do it a couple of times before you plant, and you may be running out of time for that. I did not kill mine first, I did spray it with a weed killer that would not hurt what grass I had. Then aerated and spread lime, and sowed over the fresh aeration.. I basically plowed the yard with the aerator and sowed before a good wet streak in the forecast.

Cover the worst areas with straw and make sure it all stays moist for a couple of weeks at least. If you need to borrow my aerator let me know its a plug that pulls behind the mower.. need to hit mine again labor day or the week after.

BTW, I have that pull behind 25 gallon boom sprayer if you are borrowing things that beats a backpack on a big area.
Why do I have to spray multiple times? I don’t really have any grass I want to save lol
 

Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Why do I have to spray multiple times? I don’t really have any grass I want to save lol
You will not kill it all the first time.. general idea is kill it, water it, and then kill what comes back to make sure you get all the weeds. Like I said, that is not the route I went because then you will need to straw cover the whole yard to prevent runoff of dirt and seed. I sprayed the broad leaf killer then mowed it super short but left the other stuff for the grass to choke out..
 
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