Replant Lawn: DIY or Hire a Service?

[Gary Brown]

Hi,

Our lawn has completely died off over the past few years despite attempts to revive it. Moss has taken over much of it. Moss killer, fertilizer, and lime have had little effect other than to turn the moss brown. DIY soil testing has shown nothing unusual.

The lawn is only 2000sq ft, surrounded by tall trees. I trimmed back some branches to let in sun. The trees are part of the problem but there are similarly tree lined lawns in the area that are thriving.

I am vacillating between either DIY starting from a complete rototilling or hiring a service. Can you give some recommendations?

We are in Harvard, MA, about 40 miles from Boston.

Thanks, Gary

[JoeSpareBedroom]

First thing I'd do is contact your cooperative extension service and arrange for soil tests. These organizations will usually do the tests very cheaply. I know you did your own, but even so....

The original lawn - did you seed it? If not, you have no idea whether the right grass variety was planted for partial or full shade.