What to do when weeds overtake your lawn?

[#1]

If you lawn has been totally overrun with weeds and there is little grass left, I would start with a clean slate and apply a weed killer to the area removing all the weeds present.

I would then follow that up by aerating the lawn and filling those holes with Bastion 20kg River Sand. This will allow a route for water to drain through.

Once you have completed the aeration, I would apply Hortico 25 Lawn Top-dress Mix and then re-seed or lay turf.

Here's a couple of helpful step-by-step videos:

• How to grow lawn from seed 
• How to lay instant turf.

You should find the advice useful in this process. - MitchellMc

If you feel that your lawn has been overtaken by weeds, it is worth starting from scratch and following Mitch's advice above.

If you have some grass left and decide to try recovery first, I recommend Yates 2.4L BuffaloPro Weed 'n' Feed Hose On Weed Killer. This is safe for buffalo and other common lawn types. I then propose an aggressive campaign of manual weed removal. It doesn't have to be all in one go: you can complete the weeding in sections as time permits.

I then propose aerating the soil and topdressing it so that you can prepare it for reseeding or patching it with instant turf. - EricL

[Old-gal24]

@MitchellMc  While trying to research a way to deal with the lawn in a home I've just purchased and feeling extremely overwhelmed at the process ahead of me Mitchell, I came across this/your article.  Wondering could I do the same?

I am thinking of killing the entire lawn/nature strip and only keeping a small amount, as it's a corner block and huge. *(a mammoth task for a old gal).

I always told myself I would NEVER purchase a corner block again.. BUT have done so, as it looked great each time I went to inspect.  UNTIL 6 weeks of nothing waiting to settle.

The next thing is, we are coming into Winter here and thought if I just leave it to die, no water or TLC the bulk of it may just die off it's self. 

I truly have no idea where to start or which lawn to go with, as there are two possibly 2-3 lawn types I can identify. Kikuyu and Couch, possibly a patch of buffalo?

The bulk looks like it may have started as Couch/Bermuda, with a mix of Kikuyu. With a large patch over two mt sq of nut grass, with most of that patch being in one of the garden beds, where there are hedge trees growing.

Then there is another weed that has long spears coming off it with darkish coloured seed heads, ? Marshmallow weed and many others types.

It's a corner block and the weeds are worse around the corner, high side of the nature strip.

My main reason for killing the lot, is I don't want to worry about mowing too much at my age.  So thought I'd look at putting down crushed granite like many do here in Dubbo, with our extremes in temperature, a good lawn of such size can be difficult to manage. 

I would like to know the best and most economical way to go about this, more so the large corner nature strip.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This Old~Gal

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Old-gal24,

If your end goal is to apply a landscaping stone or to establish a lawn of one type from scratch, then killing off the grass is the best option. It's almost impossible to return a mixed lawn to one type if it has been overrun by intertwined varieties.

They are certainly an investment, but my mother recently purchased a Ryobi 36V HP™ 46cm 6.0Ah Brushless Cordless Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Kit, and it's allowed her to start mowing the lawns again. She's on a decent-sized corner block, and the self-propel function was enough assistance for her to do the job herself. I live 3 1/2 hours away, so don't think I'm a bad son.

Adding landscaping granite would certainly be the lower-maintenance option, and if that's what you are looking for, I wouldn't convince you otherwise. I'd recommend that you lay weed matting down after you kill off the lawn so no weeds germinate. The matting can be pegged down, and the granite can be poured over the top.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Old-gal24]

@MitchellMc 

Thank you for your reply.  Much appreciated.  No bad son thoughts here.  I have a son in law a few km away and he's to busy with his family to help out here.  I am rather disabled these days, smashed up spine and crushed left leg and ankle.   

I do love my gardening, but mowing not so much, so it's a chore I force myself to do..

I'm starting all over again and hoping to start out with a blank canvas, removing the lawn on the nature strip will be a good start.

The rest I will poison and go from there when spring is here.  Not much point doing anything here before Winter as they can be harsh causing lots of damage to new plants.

Thanks again

Old gal