New homeowners want advice on clearing overgrown lawns
16 posts in the last 30 days, all from r/lawncare.
“Id scorch it and start from scratch [re: How do I get my lawn(1st pic) to look like my neighbors(2nd)?]”
“Really looking to restore my yard and not sure where to start, new homeowner in Northern NJ. Ive read that sometimes it might make more sense to just nuke the whole thing and start over. The 1st (2) pictures are of my small front yard that gets great sunlight. The remaining…”
“As title suggests, trying to get the grass looking as nice as possible, all I’ve done is run the mower over it last weekend. Seeding / rotivator needed? SE UK so weather is as temperamental as that one broken charging lead we all have… TIA”
Multiple new homeowners are seeking guidance on how to tackle existing, overgrown lawns. Suggestions include raking and removing debris, scalping the lawn, covering it with a tarp for several weeks, leveling, topdressing, and reseeding in the fall.
SOURCES (60)
“Mow all one direction in a windrow for easy collection [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“Mulch them in place. Start at a higher setting, and repeat. You'll get a thinner coating of tiny bits that will break down over winter. I've done it for years. [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“We have just as many and we always mulch them in place. But I have a riding mower set up as a mulcher. You'll have to go over them several times. [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“LMAO [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“Just mow em a few times they’ll disappear. [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“Dude you can mow over anything. I mow rocks with my mower. Stumps. It also functions as a bushhog. Good ol zero turn has treated me well [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“yeah if you have a powerful mower with a mulch blade. i do a spot like this and go over it like 10 times heh. granted its like 20% the area of yours [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“I did it two weeks ago and it was fine. If I did it today, it would be a mess. At some point there's just too many. [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“Ahh, I see what you mean. [re: First time home owner. Back yard has a TON of leaves. Can I mow over these?]”
“Maybe just wait until after the first mow [re: How long until my toddler can play on the overseeded grass?]”
“Knocked down severely overgrown garden area, seems to be sitting higher than the rest of the lawn, looking for where to go from here? I know it’s about to get cold soon, so I was intending to do a bunch of prep, and start next season? I’m new to having a lawn to play with. Please guide me masters of green grass. submitted by /u/SfBattleBeagle [link] [comments]”
“Hey there, I recently purchased a home and have many questions about caring for and restoring my lawn. These are the pictures of my lawn currently, I have done some reading and kind of preemptively bought a bag of Scotts Turf builder (fall blend) and a seed spreader. Other than that, I have real basic lawn care equipment, electric lawn mower, leaf blower and weed eater. Additionally, the previous owners had either covered a bare spot, or created one with a artificial grass pad that I'd like”
“I just bought my first house and therefore my first yard and it’s HUGE. Not riding mower huge, but enormous for the Burbs of Denver. My question is, what is your general yearly plan? We’re moving in around thanksgiving so I’m thinking I won’t do much until spring, but I’m super white belt with this and have no idea what is even needed. Do you have some general guidelines I could follow to get started? submitted by /u/TheGeneralist_ [link] [comments]”
“Look over a basic Toro Recycler unless you want something bigger. Just make sure you mow consistently, not when it's over 6" tall. [re: New to mowing (Always lived in apartments) need opinions on mower.]”
“Id scorch it and start from scratch [re: How do I get my lawn(1st pic) to look like my neighbors(2nd)?]”
“After 30 days, we finally mowed the lawn for the first time! We bought a Husqvarna LC 137i and as complete newbies we’re super happy with it so far. The lawn still has some patchy areas where the grass hasn’t fully developed yet. There are actually lots of small seedlings coming through, so I’m hoping that over the next month, before the colder weather arrives, those spots will fill in and become a bit greener. What do you think? Should I overseed the patchier areas now or just be patient and le”
“First time home owner. Didn’t know anything about lawncare. Joined this sub, educated myself and applied the methods. submitted by /u/ilovenyc [link] [comments]”
“I came from an apartment and never had to care for lawn before. what is my best plan of action to make this a more beautiful place? I added concrete extension in the back of home. visible is the transition here is attempt to try to make it meet with the grass again. submitted by /u/AviatorMilo [link] [comments]”
“UK here. Rake/scarify it, you want to get as much of that thatch up as possible. Optionally core aerate it. Then get either topsoil or a topsoil/compost mix to top dress/level it and put some dwarf rye seed on it. Keep it wet until you see green shoots from the seed.”
“Bought a house, lawn is either bare or a little bit of moss. Want to keep costs low (just got a new roof obviously 😁) - what’s the best DIY order to do things? If I’m going to spread compost, seed, and fertilize, do I need to aerate first? Curious if aerating is needed if the seed is basically going right on the bare soil. PS - I’m in upstate South Carolina, looking to do this in the next couple of weeks. Thanks! submitted by /u/JSscguy [link] [comments]”
“First mow since a reno with Twin City Blue Resilience. Scalped, aerated, overseeded, and top dressed with peat moss and some top soil. Then just watered, watered, and watered. submitted by /u/fizzzicks [link] [comments]”
“In the Southern Ontario area, bought a new house that is overrun with weeds. How should I proceed for this year? It’ll start to get to 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit in a few weeks. Was thinking I should just get rid of the weeds this year and get new sod laid next spring? submitted by /u/genorules17 [link] [comments]”
“Decided to do a fall overseed on my lawn as a first-time homeowner. Previously, our lawn was a mix of grass species, clover, and weeds. I only mowed once per week and didn’t do much maintenance. I never loved the look of it so I decided to do somewhat of an overhaul myself. I did some research for about a week or so then went at it. I scalped and thatched with a rental power rake. I then used Black Beauty Ultra followed by tenacity for the weed grasses and clover. I am in southern WI. The last p”
“First time owning a home in Calgary. Previous tenants did a number on the lawn and I’ve been able to recover it over the last 2 years. Previously looked like my neighbour’s (comparison in 3rd picture). From seeing other posts here, I’m at the point now where I want to aerate it and level it out. Was thinking about getting a cheap manual aerator from Home Depot (it’s just a small front duplex lawn). But I have no idea what kind of seed to use in Calgary. I’ve just been buying random bags from Hom”
“In a new home and we’ve hit spring here now, I have, rounding up here and taking the paths and shed out of the equation, about 4m x 12m of buffalo. I don’t have a mower as I haven’t had grass of my own for almost 20 years. What is the best type of mower to buy for this size?And what type of care do I need to do for buffalo coming in to spring? I haven’t mowed or watered it outside of the rain since we moved in July. I know it’s been dormant through winter, I know of some basic terms as I look in”
“You need to scalp before overseeding. You won’t be able to mow for awhile so you need to cut it really low. It also helps with seed to soil contact, sun expose, etc.”
“Like the title says we bought a house with a lawn in Corrales, NM (7b if that's important) and I've never maintained grass before. We'd like to keep it maintained for the kids to play on. Google lens says I have dichondra, spot spurge, torpedo grass, and nutsedge. It feels overwhelming compared to xeric plants on a drip system I'm familiar with. Any recommendations on where to start and what to read? submitted by /u/Spirited_Ad_2865 [link] [comments]”
“I'm a new homeowner, and the previous owner left me a very patchy lawn. I am inexperienced with lawn care aside from cutting the grass and pulling weeds. With that being said, I want to get rid of the lumps and have a luscious, full lawn. Am I hooped in the sense where it needs to be ripped up and start fresh with sod, or is this a relatively simple fix with some elbow grease and proper seed/fertilizer? submitted by /u/UnKown_Pickle [link] [comments]”
“We've had an incredible amount or rain and my existing lawn is growing fast. At what point should I mow after overseeding?? SW Pennsylvania. submitted by /u/Der_Missionar [link] [comments]”
“I scalped my lawn & dethatched. Threw weed and feed about 8 weeks prior to overseeding. I threw some starter fertilizer when I overseeded. This was Friday. So in about 5 weeks we’ll see if I made the right timing. I’m in 916 area. For yours, I would say scalp it, weed & feed, level, work on the irrigation system (I’ve had to do that this past 3 days), overseed in mid to late Oct (I put starter fertilizer too)”
“Just glyphosate the whole thing, fix sprinklers, in 2-3 weeks re-spray surviving weeds, then reseed.”
“Hello! Total beginner here. My wife and I just bought our first house and the lawn could use some work. From the brief research I've done, it seems like now is the perfect time to tackle this project. The yard is pretty infested with weeds, though i am not sure what type. I am also not sure what the grass is for that matter. I believe i am dealing with crabgrass or dallisgrass competing against the Bermuda? But please correct me if I am wrong. In addition there is some serious browning that”
“Bought a new house recently. Apparently the lawn was overgrown with so much shrubbery and trees you couldn’t see the grass. They cut down 10 trees. Now the backyard is covered in mulch-like scraps. With weeds and little tiny sprouts coming out of the roots and base of the tree. What are my options. First 3 are backyard, last 3 are front yard. My plan is to nuke the backyard, mulch around trees, aerate, and seed. My plan for front yard is to mulch around trees, spray a weed killer, aerate, and se”
“FYI if you want it to look nicer while letting it grow taller you could start spacing your mowing out by a couple more days and gradually step up the mower height after every cut.”
“We bought our first home this summer and honestly pretty much let the lawn go while we were getting settled. Now I'd like to actually start taking care of it and hopefully have it looking a lot better next year. The lawn has a few different issues: We have a dog, so there are some dead/bare spots from urine and digging There's a pretty large strip of what I believe is crabgrass running across part of the property There are some other completely bare/thin areas I'm honestly not even s”
“Really looking to restore my yard and not sure where to start, new homeowner in Northern NJ. Ive read that sometimes it might make more sense to just nuke the whole thing and start over. The 1st (2) pictures are of my small front yard that gets great sunlight. The remaining pictures are of the back yard and I believe part of the issue is that the yard is shaded by large oak trees. Would really love yard(s) of healthy grass rather than all different weeds. Any advice on the best way to start woul”
“Moved into a new house and this is the hand I was dealt. New to lawncare, curious what steps I should take to bring this lawn back to life and make it full? With fall approaching I figured I should start getting a game plan together. submitted by /u/Michigun_ [link] [comments]”
“Mow it short and rake/catch the grass and what's kicked up. Take a pH of the soil to determine where it's at and add fertilizer as needed. Do a core aeration on the full lawn and overseed. Water for the next two weeks until temps drop into the 30s overnight. In the spring start the cycle of treatments for fertilizer, weed control, grub control(if needed), and lime(if needed)”
“You want to mow when doing so will cut a mere 10% of the new grass. Looks like you should get on it now. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ay/ay-3-w.pdf”
“Let er grow. Wait 4 weeks so the roots can get established. Don't want the mower ripping the new plants out of the ground due to lack of roots”
“I typically do not mow for at least 3 weeks after overseeding. And when I do I cut at 4” (mower max height) and cut at 4” for the rest of the season.”
“Just moved from an apartment into a house with a lawn. This is my first time learning about yard care. I know mowing is just one part of it. There’s watering, weeds, fertilizer, edging, and probably a few things I haven't thought about yet. My first thought was to buy a mower, but I saw robot mowers like Navimow and Mammotion when browsing Amazon. If it can save my time and energy, maybe I could spend more time learning the other parts of yard care. My lawn is about 0.4 acre, and models that”
“Just cut my new yard for the first time! At my previous house I had a tiny yard so just had an 18 inch electric ryobi. I have almost 1/2 an acre at my new house (total size, not just grass) so I bought an eight year old Toro 22 inch recycler self-propelled mower off marketplace to get the job done. Surprisingly it wasn’t too miserable even in the Alabama heat. I believe I have centipede grass at the new house. I’ve never had centipede. What is the typical maintenance I should be aware of? I don’”
“Moved into this house a year or so ago and finally want to tackle this yard. Pretty sure everything here is just various weeds. What all do I need to do to get this yard ready for next spring/summer? Northern kentucky region. Pictures of yard attached. submitted by /u/pacsouth121 [link] [comments]”
Buy a manual reel mower. I always do my first mow or two with it
“As title suggests, trying to get the grass looking as nice as possible, all I’ve done is run the mower over it last weekend. Seeding / rotivator needed? SE UK so weather is as temperamental as that one broken charging lead we all have… TIA submitted by /u/joester381 [link] [comments]”
“To be honest it’s not a bad start. I don’t see too many weeds. Do the usual steps for fall overseed. Dethatch, aerate, overseed, water. You can pick up some mesotrione for weeds and peat moss to retain water. You should be good in a month or month and a half. Any vids on here or YT will explain it all.”
“I purchased a new house mid July and want to have a nice lawn… I’m planning to overseed soon (if it ever cools down in KCMO). I’ll list my questions below, thanks in advance to any guidance anyone has on the questions or anything else! Should I aerate? The ground is extremely hard and it could be beneficial for the overseeing? If aerating won’t help this, what will? Should my order be, scalp lawn, aerate, seed, fertilizer, topsoil? If I decide to topsoil, should I plan to try and get 1/4th an in”
“New house and this is my backyard. There is some grass but a ton of weeds mixed throughout. I want to get it in much better shape for next season, I was thinking of ripping up the lawn and starting fresh so I do not have to spray a ton of harsh chemicals to kill the weeds. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Located in New England area submitted by /u/wrldtravel [link] [comments]”
“Located in regional NSW Australia. Moved into a new place, the front lawn is heavily weed infested with mostly capeweed and clover. Clearly suffered neglect from previous owners. Little to no visible grass. I suspect Bermuda was originally planted. Ive done an application of hose on weed and feed which seems to be having some results. Also done a bit of manual weeding. Starting to feel like it may be a start over and redo job, but just seeking opinions at this stage. Pics show a portion of front”
“Two things… if you are aerating you probably don’t need to dethatch…. Just make sure to aerate good Second don’t scalp the lawn. You have to lower the deck a bit every day or two and cut off about 1/3 of the height until you get down to about 1.5-2” Clover is a nitrogen fixer…. It means that your lawn is deficient in that area…. If you get the fertilzee right the grass will out compete it.”
“Hi everyone, I have a small lawn here in the UK (Southern England) and I know I need to get a few jobs done before winter. I have no idea what order to do them in. 1: Deal with Leatherjackets. Last couple of years I’ve had an issue with them but as the lawn is only 35sqm I just picked them up by hand. But I think I should put down some Nemotides. 2: level the lawn, it’s not crazy bumpy but definitely needs attention. As it’s the only thing I have any control over at home, I want it looking as go”