Making a new lawn

Hello, I'm new to the forum, so 'Hi!'
I want to start afresh with my front lawn, but I'm not sure how to proceed. At the moment its mainly meadow grass, and its pretty bumpy, so I want to flatten it out and reseed with a good quality seed. How should I get rid of the existing grass? Can it kill it off by covering it for a few months over the winter, or just dig it all up? Its not a massive area, about 10 feet by 22.
I don't want to upset the existing soil, but I don't mind if I need to by a ton of top soil to give the new lawn a better start.
Many thank!

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner gregspalding. First off it's now becoming a little late to use grass seed, it is recommended not to sow under 52/53F temperature wise. We are also gettting to the point where frosts will start and that will stop it in it's tracks. This time of year it would be better to use new turf.

However, if you want to take the chance the quickest way to get rid of what exists is to use a systemic weedkiller like Roundup that contains glyphosate, this will kill just about everything it touches including other plants in your garden, so you have to be careful not to let it drift and use on a windless day. It will neutralise when it reaches the soil, so shouldn't have any effect on your new lawn.

You say your present lawn is bumpy, I'd be inclined to dig it up as it's not that big and then cover in a few inches of topsoil. Grass roots only grow to a depth of three to four inches. Level the soil and heel it in (walk over it until the surface is flat and firm), then rake the surface gently just to loosen it and fill any dips. Lay the grass seed and rake in. It will take a couple of weeks to show, but may be slightly longer this time of year as grass growth is slowing down. Keep it watered when it hasn't rained.

Good luck.

 

If you want to have a nice lawn you need to prepare the area (same method whether you are using turf or seed ...)

If you kill it with Glyphosate/Roundup it will take a couple of weeks to do the killing, and that will delay when you can start, and as Sheal said its getting late in the year (but personally I would still go ahead unless you are a long way North? (putting your "location" in your profile would help ) because an Autumn-sown lawn establishes so much better than a spring one).

The existing are really needs digging over, and if you do that you could "skim" the existing turf off and bury it in the "furrow trench" as you dig.

You could rotavate it, but that will mix it in, which won't be so effective, and will make it hard to make a good seedbed - because of the tufts of grass that are left.

Once dug then tread it down, rake level, and drag something like a ladder (with a rope attached to the rungs at each end) to get the surface "smooth")

Then sow the seed ...

You might be able to renovate it:

Cut (well more "shave" !!) it absolutely as close as you can.

Spread topsoil over the top. Tread down. Pull the ladder over it, as above. If you have any high spots add more topsoil, or dig the humps out (couple of feet square, put the turf to one side, replace with loose soil / topsoil).

Then over-seed the whole area. The existing grass will grow through, but provide you mow it every week (without fail !!, twice a week in the month or so when it grows really strongly in the Spring) the strong grasses will succumb in favour of the finer ones - overseed it again next Autumn if you need to help the finer grasses some more.

This will only work provided you are only putting a half-inch or so of topsoil on, with an inch in the deepest places, and maybe the odd spot where it is two inches.

It would help if you can aerate the lawn first.

Depending on your appetite for the work involved? you might want to take a chance on this with a view to doing a full-Monty job next Autumn if this doesn't bring it around next year.