For my yard ?

[craigh]

Hi .... Sorry for the long delay and thank you all for your opinions . I'm considering to use a I believe they are call it a sod cutter . I have an area which roughly around 50 feet by 50 , so is that 2500sq foot ? Now if I do decide to use the sod cutting machine will it kill the weeds ? More or less what happens afterwards when you use an sod cutter , Do you just rake the area over and then add fertilizer/ seeds ? Also I was think to use horse manure to fertilize . Your thoughs ?

Thanks

[ViridianFields]

Hmm, sod cutters cut off the top layer of turf, right? You should still lay down a few inches of good, weed seed free soil mixed with some composted (weed seed free) manure of some type. Or till and amend the soil as needed (composted manure for organic matter, sand for drainage, peat moss to fluff up the mix in heavy soil).

[Elena Zimmerman]

Sod cutter strips a lot of good top soil, so you need to replace what you cut off with the fresh topsoil. If you have a dog or plan to have one, you might look into lawn mixes that have clover in them, it will help with those patches dogs leave on the grass.

If you are planning to put a bed where you stripped the sod, you can turn the sod over, cover it with cardboard, and pile 6 -12 inches of compost over it to make a raised bed.

And heh, I am one of those people who try to get rid of as much grass as humanly possible. Too bad my husband insists on a lawn in the backyard for our kid to play. But once she grows up... NO MORE GRASS!!!! That wasteful, annoying, green grass....

Every time I mow the grass I wonder why so few people xeriscape.....

[Countryboy]

Sod cutters are intended to remove good sod for relaying. They are not intended for weeding. The idea of using one to create a lawn is ludicrous. I think yr looking for a magic wand and there is none.

U've got two choices . . . put down inches of soil and then sod . . . an instant fix. Or build up yr soil and lawn by aerating, dethatching . . a bit of seeding, some top dressing . . . then, next year . . . more aerating and dethatching . . . then more seed and top dressing.

The information on how to create a lawn is all available online.

[ViridianFields]

Remember also that once you have a lawn, there is the routine of overseeding (though this is optional, unless you find some spots are thin), patching of the inevitable dead spots, top dressing with compost or composted manure (the best way to keep your lawn in top condition, IMO), and being sure to water deeply in hot, dry weather as some grasses go dormant in this weather if they don't get enough water (my parent's lawn down the street is a prime example of this, they don't water and by mid July the grass has turned brown, though it comes back to life by the end of August). New soil and fresh sod are the easy fix, but make sure you lay down good soil to give the grass the best chance possible whether you sod or seed.