Re-Seeding Lawn

[dmlegare]

In the middle of winter my cesspool fell so they have to rip up a good portion of my lawn to close the old cesspools and put new ones in.

Now Im faced with some lawn decisions.. rip the rest of the lawn out and Sod? or re-Seed the entire lawn?? The front of my house (lawn area is about 4500 SQ) so the cost of getting the Sod would be 3K +, not including prep work, labor, etc...

1. I wanted to HydroMulch the entire area but cant find a contractor in my area (LI NY)
2. Can I top soil the entire lawn and plant seeds without tilling it? I dont want to mess up my ingroud sprinklers.

Is it possible to buy the HydroSeeding/HydroMulch and do it myself?

[Steveo]

Do you have existing turf there now, is it thatch bound?

[trader4]

If you have decent soil there now, you can reseed without tilling it up. Rent a slice seeder, which is a gasoline powered machine that cuts shallow grooves in the soil and drops seed in them. It's one of the best ways to get good germination. Two people can easily put one in the back of an SUV, as long as its a small one, which is the most common kind. You can put topsoil just in the areas that need it.

Of course, what you're up against now is it's late for Spring seeding and Fall is by far the best time. Now you'll have to use lots of water, so I hope you have a well and don't have to pay for town water. Also, weeds will be a much bigger problem

[dmlegare]

I dont have a well but have sprinklers so I have to pay.. Those areas where grass is patchy can I throw topsoil to cover that entire area? will that kill all grass, weeds, etc to allow me to re-seed that area? Im re-doing my driveway (making it wider, new walkway) so I cant start this process until June.. So it just make sense to start prepping the lawn for now and seed in Sept?

[trader4]

In that case, unless your water rates are very low, I'd definitely wait till Fall. In the summer, it will take a hell of a lot of water to establish new grass.

Those areas

You don't need topsoil unless there is something wrong with what's there. Topsoil will kill whatever is there, IF you use a thick enough layer, but that's a lot of work and money, depending on the size. If you want to kill all the existing grass and weeds, use Roundup a couple weeks prior to seeding. Use additional topsoil just on areas that need it.

Im re-doing my driveway (making it wider, new walkway) so I cant start

If you can't start till June, I would definitely wait till early Sept.

[Steveo]

Yep.