Anyone here a lawn person? Need advice.

[redrims]

This past winter has made me fustrated with my side yard. Even though this winter was moderately warm for winter, I have had a lot of snow within the past 3-4 weeks and with most of the snow forming to ice.There has never been much grass in the side yard, mostly dirt. But it has been less and less grass each year. Now it looks horrible. After the last bit of snow/ice melted almost 2 weeks ago, it now looks like a marsh. I've never seen it like this. Its very very muddy and pretty much no grass is present. Also, while the rest of my yard is completely dry, there is a lot of water in this particular area. So much, that there are puddles all over the side yard. To make it worst, this side of the house is heavliy shaded and rarely gets any sunlight, so its not like the sun is going to dry it up anytime soon.

I want to make the side yard presentable again without spending big bucks on lawn & garden companies. I just want grass to regrow again or if its cheaper or more practical, lay some type of pathway down i.e concrete, asphalt, bricks.

I read about shade-tolerated grass seeds. I think I'm going to try this. I've never done any type of yard work before, but I'm up for this one.

Any suggestions?

 

[bazooka joe]

i've had a few yrs of exp with grass, some good and some not so good...it sounds to me like you have a combination of maybe 3 problems..maybe just 2
1. low lying area where the water accumulates..so you need to build this up with more top soil
2. shade - you'll need to "get more sun" in there by cutting down trees etc...or use a "shady area" grass seed..formulated not to need as much sun and does well with a lot of shade
3. possible infestation? grubs (we have these real bad in the northeast) moles...and what happens is the grass can't re-establish itself because the root system has been eaten away

my guess...hope this helps, also lowes/home depot have great "how to" books on all this kina stuff. good luck man!

here's the fruit of my labor this past fall

 

[redrims]

i've had a few yrs of exp with grass, some good and some not so good...it sounds to me like you have a combination of maybe 3 problems..maybe just 2
1. low lying area where the water accumulates..so you need to build this up with more top soil
2. shade - you'll need to "get more sun" in there by cutting down trees etc...or use a "shady area" grass seed..formulated not to need as much sun and does well with a lot of shade
3. possible infestation? grubs (we have these real bad in the northeast) moles...and what happens is the grass can't re-establish itself because the root system has been eaten away

my guess...hope this helps, also lowes/home depot have great "how to" books on all this kina stuff. good luck man!

here's the fruit of my labor this past fall

Wow!.... Please come and do my yard!

1. That may be. I was using a straight rake today trying to act like I new what I was doing...lol There seemed to be a decent amount of clay like dirt and a bunch of stones forming.

2.Well, the trees aren't the problem. It's the house. The front of my house faces South/Southeast, so the side of my yard gets no sun .

3. I hope I don't have any infestation. That'll make my problem a nightmare. I haven't seen any moles or grubs. Hopefully I'm fine with that.

 

[mazdaspeed777]

If its a side yard that is not on a main road or surrounded by a fence I would just lay down some flagstone over the hole area. You can also plant sertain kinds of moss between the flagstone. I used to work for a landscape construction company, and a city parks department(in which I helped build many parks) for a while and I have seen this installed and it looks great. Could you post a pic of the side yard to give us more of an idea of what it looks like? Then we can give you more ideas.

 

[bazooka joe]

sounds like your soil sucks...take a pick for me....you need a good few inches of top soil for good root system....and you can treat the grass soil for infestation, no problem. another suggestion is contact one of the lawn care comapnies, they'll do a free analysis of your soil and let you know what you need...then don't sign up for the service!

 

[sanblaster]

We need pics..

1) Poor drainage area means some of the following:

No pitch/slope

Not enough sun (Are you next to an adjacent home, or do you have existing landscape such as big trees, etc?)

Does it consist of black soil or mostly clay?

Perhaps you need additional drainage help as in drainage tiles, etc.

2) You could try to fill in and re-level your existing yard and re-seed with shade tolerant seed.

3) Need pics

 

[sanblaster]

If your side yard is not very wide you can re-level and instead of grass maybe add mulch or decorative gravel with some misc. landscape such as shade tolerant perennials i.e, hosta and like mentioned some flagstone to walk on.

 

[Diehonda]

i've had a few yrs of exp with grass, some good and some not so good...it sounds to me like you have a combination of maybe 3 problems..maybe just 2
1. low lying area where the water accumulates..so you need to build this up with more top soil
2. shade - you'll need to "get more sun" in there by cutting down trees etc...or use a "shady area" grass seed..formulated not to need as much sun and does well with a lot of shade
3. possible infestation? grubs (we have these real bad in the northeast) moles...and what happens is the grass can't re-establish itself because the root system has been eaten away

my guess...hope this helps, also lowes/home depot have great "how to" books on all this kina stuff. good luck man!

here's the fruit of my labor this past fall

+rep

1. bring in some top soil as you said that while you were raking you saw rocks and clay. Clay should be further down which means that you have lost topsoil due to erosion. Rake the entire area then add topsoil and rake to level. Slope it gradually to an area that will allow it to drain freely.

2. Get full shade grass seed and lay it down, sprinkle hay over it, and water it regularly to allow the seed to germinate fully. Down't cut it until the grass attempts to seed itself. this is when it gets tall enough to sprout seed pods. Cut it at first sight of these and not after.

3. The lack of topsoil and an infestation due to such mild winters. Do you notice a lot of beetles during the summer. The start as grubs in your yard. Lowes and Home Depot sell animal safe insecticides that kill grubs, ants, and other pets that will destroy your lawn.

 

[mspdfreak]

If it's a small side yard, I'd just raze it down to level and bring in a palette or two of grass. $200-300 and lay it yourself.

 

[THEGOLDPRO]

let me chime in here.

bringing in top soil to try and raise this area up is likely going to do nothing, this area could just have poor drainage, and seeing how you said you had alot of snow reciently doesnt help this either,

i have plenty of accounts that i maintain that have ponds in their yards after a good rain, and it doesnt hurt the grass.

you likely have one of the following problems.

1. with a shady area with lots of miosture the grass could become moldy, and die. this is a huge problem in areas where alot of moisture is present.

2. over watering/water soaked lawn. which may damage or kill the lawn over time. Excess irrigation is one of the major causes of lawn demise and may include problems such as a shallow root system; increased disease, weed, or insect infestation; reduced drought tolerance; increased thatch and excessive growth; and reduced tolerance to other stresses such as shade and soil problems. To avoid over-watering, look for signs that the lawn needs water.

3. i would count out grubs, grubs are dorment and dont return until spring.

4. you could have bad ph levels in your soil, which will only get worse over time,

if i was you i would wait for the soil to dry up a bit, till it up best you can, turn the soil, and level it back out, i would start by applying lyme, and seed (they sell the seed that is low maintence, and basically grows anywhere). i wouldent even worry about covering it with hay, hay is used for two things, keeping the birds from eating the seed, and keeping the moisture in while watering, but seeing how its a wet area to begine with this prolly wont be needed.

 

[redrims]

Thanks guys! I didn't expect to get so many replies. I'll get some pics for you all. I'm getting some really good info too. Thanks again.

 

[sanblaster]

Well it is possible by adding more topsoil that you will re-establish a pitch the the yard lacks at the moment. On the other hand goldpro is also correct because if the soil is bad to begin with it really doesn't do anything for you.

We will wait for some pics redrims. It is hard to guestimate without seeing.