A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Grass help PLEASE!!!!

OK-so the front of the house is finished:

before
after
before
after

Now, I've decided that I want grass right up to the house (or at least as close as I can get it). This side faces the north. I currently have a lot of weeds growing there. I've also got two young children, so I try to stay away from heavy-duty chemicals unless absolutely necessary. I plan on getting a load of fresh top soil, but first I know that I need to get rid of the weeds. DH suggested that I just lay down black landscape fabric, dump my topsoil, and seed. We're only talking about 2-3 inches of top soil though-is that enough for grass to grow? If not, what is the quickest, safest way to get rid of a kinda-large area full of weeds? Thanks!

Hi Rozy! Looks like you have had a lot going on there - much improved though, great job

As far as getting rid of the weeds, I don't know if this is realistic for you, but here's my idea. I'm as organic as I can possibly be, so I don't have any chemical solutions for you.

That said, I would start off by hand pulling as many of the weeds as possible. Put them in the trash or burn them. Getting them pulled by the roots will help the weed problem tremendously. If that's not possible, the next best thing would be to weed wack them all down, as low to the ground as possible, and then layer with cardboard and then the topsoil. I'm thinking though that you might need more than 2-3" of topsoil on top of the cardboard to ensure the weeds die. I'm sure someone else more knowledgeable will be along shortly to add to or correct anything I've said Keep up the good work!

Hi Roay,
Is sod an option? I did that in my other house in the backyard because the weeds and soil quality were terrible. It worked and I had instant lawn . Sod is very easy to work with. Till the ground and rake out the weeds. If you can affored a couple of inches of top soil great, but not necessary. Water, water, water. The best defense against weeds is a good quality lawn !

Hi Rosy,
Is sod an option? I did that in my other house in the backyard because the weeds and soil quality were terrible. It worked and I had instant lawn . Sod is very easy to work with. Till the ground and rake out the weeds. If you can affored a couple of inches of top soil great, but not necessary. Water, water, water. The best defense against weeds is a good quality lawn !

Thanks for the quick replies guys! I'm liking the sod idea-don't know why I didn't think about that myself! I have no clue how much it costs, but it's not THAT big of an area, and I'm thinking it would be worth it instead of the time and effort to seed.
What if I want to plant something in the sod-can I dig into it without harming it or should I wait a while or cut out my planting spots while I'm laying it out? This is getting exciting-Thanks again!

If you ask me