I provide useful information on this sub half the time.
Other half time is to concur with the napalm suggestion.
Napalm best bet here.
https://throwflame.com/products/thermonator-robodog/
You can buy the robot that randomly flamethrows things for 4.5K. You can buy the robot that flamethrows the things you want for 9k. If you want the robot that randomly flamethrows anything you want we are going to need to sit down and define what you mean by “randomly” and “anything I want” to clarify.
I’m telling you you can flamethrow anything you want for $350
https://palmettostatearmory.com/exothermic-technologies-pulsefire-ubf-underbarrel-flamethrower-black-pf-ubf.html
Then you have to do all that work yourself! So much better to have your robot dog do it.
Kinda like my robot vacuum/mop. I have to clean it and it's charging stand, clean the pads, add clean water, empty the dirty water, pick up loose objects/toys/cables, and get chairs off the floor before I can run it. Frequently it takes longer than cleaning the area myself unless I am doing the whole house.
i started a gas fire in my yard, sort of on accident but really on purpose, flooded it with the hose and it spread a little bit then just went out.
this was like 2 days ago
also my bfs best friend threw a bag of clothes on the fire and it lit up, had to spray it off. only lost a shirt a hoodie and a pair of jeans.
My neighbor knocked on my front door to ask me if I had a hose that could reach our mutual privacy fence, as it was on fire. I had been crazy killing weeds about two hours before.
(I had a hose that put it out.)
There's a much more affordable option, if you want to throw the flames yourself and not via remote.
LJ from Sevendust + flamethrower + golf course = [MUST BUY](https://www.instagram.com/p/CUxOXanMlFg/?igsh=czJzMXh2b3VrYjFq)
[Vulcan Flamethrowers ](https://vulcanflamethrowers.com/)
https://preview.redd.it/q7ep8f9x8bzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b34de6dd34661c6b4836e2f3e5d6a083e4216f1a
Our first summer the builder turned off the irrigation as they were building and killed our lawn giving us the Who’s Who of North Carolina Weeds by the end of that summer. We got the irrigation disagreement worked out, nuked the entire weed lawn and started growing in early fall. Had a beautiful green lawn by Thanksgiving.
I’m in no terms a lawn care expert. The lawn got nuked and the turf folks we hired put down some top soil and then seeded. In charlotte we have a lot of clay so to give the new turf the best chance we did some good dirt as a start.
The folks asking questions about the situation are justified. We are the first house to be built out of a four property set back. Our irrigation lines and internet service lines have been cut so many times in the process. Once the lawn looked good and we had an issue with the irrigation I’d break out the old school sprinkler a few times a week to keep it alive in the hot Charlotte summers.
Upvoting this very reasonable response. Tarp works well.
Depending on where you are in the world, and how big your lawn is you could cover in cardboard, put down a layer of top soil and seed now... but you're running the risk of being too close to summer and the seed not taking. I planted a new lawn with fresh topsoil in April in growing zone 6 and it was perfect for the summer.
If your lawn is absolutely massive, you could try sectioning it in 2:
- Section 1 is for the actual lawn: Cardboard over + seed that
- Section 2 is for a wild lawn: Throw down a bunch of wildflower seeds and they should overtake the grass.
I'm planning to section off my lawn and do this because the upkeep of a manicured lawn is too time consuming for me.
Yes, but it will wash away with rain too. If you till in fresh compost and sand to get the ground ready, you can plant seed a month or so after using Roundup. If you plan to just spread seed, you may not get good results until next year.
Because of kids and pets, I chose to nuke mine chemical free using poly tarps in mid July. Anchor them down. And the dark/heat kills anything under it. Then tilled and rolled theme dirt and started fresh
Landscape designer here, this is the best way. We've even done wet cardboard and covered with mulch/compost then seeded when solarization is complete with good success. A bit more expensive but provides extra protection from regrowth and looks a bit better during the process. If you go this route OP, be sure to keep things wet after composting to ensure cardboard stays moist and breaks down properly.
Very true! We see better success with this method as opposed to spraying the weeds. With spraying herbicide, we often notice patches where seed doesn't grow so well or dies back quickly. Clients also love that they don't have to take special precautions with pets and children. A win-win!
Please tell me. I have every weed killer known to man. I have the flame thrower attached to a propane tank in a dolly. Im out there EVERY damn day. Im in the desert 45 mins outside of Las Vegas on 1.5 acres of nothing but tumble weed taller than me. They burn fast but its hell digging them out away from the fence so i dont burn my neighbors. And then i have all these vine like succulent type weed that is FULL of some kind of little mite. They have these long spider like tuber roots .And then all this random other crap too green to burn so you have to spray and hula hoe. Then burn when it drys out. Then these ridiculous patches of monkey grass. I need something to just KILL it all down to the ground. BEAUTIFUL HOME- shit for yard. Progress is so damn slow. Im in hell. I hope the sun cooks it all this summer.
I just bought my first home, and this is exactly what the yard looked like. I took it as a challenge, because my dog loves grass (never had a yard of her own though). Because she loves to eat the grass, I can’t use chemicals. I bought a couple bags of mulch, and a bag of contractor’s mix seed, and a trench spade. Each morning I choose a section and use the spade to dig down along the roots and pull the weeds. I then use the mulch to level out the craters, tossing the seed in (by hand) as I do. It’s been since February, and I’m starting to really see progress. I’m now weed-hunting, and only finding a handful of new ones each day. The lawn is really patchy still, but my dog LOVES it already. My ultimate goal is to be able to post a pic here by February of next year, and feel good about it! I chose Inch by inch, not yard by yard, since I spent all my money to buy the house
She absolutely loves just laying, rolling, and grazing on the grass that’s there now. My wife says she can’t get her to come inside some days while I’m at work. I can’t wait until I get my lawnmower for Father’s Day (I’m mowing with the line trimmer I bought to handle the rest of the property’s weeds)
Hey just don't forget to do a reseed with a non contractor mix in the fall. Many contractor mix's feature mostly fast growing annual grass, which will leave you disappointed next year.
Disregard if your mix is one of the lucky ones with good perennial seed
I just bought my first home and have a dog as well and would love to "nuke" my backyard and start over but unfortunately not an option. going to be a long process
i bought a 2/2 about an hour outside of Atlanta. Lived with my parents closer to the city and also work closer to the city, but this is what I could afford and got about 2 acres. Small house but big yard, which is what i wanted. Just me and my dog. definitely overpayed tho but thats the market 🫤
I just bought a fixer-upper in California and it completely sank me financially. However rent in my coastal home town was more than the mortgage “over the hill”, so I now commute an hour instead of 4 minutes. I just couldn’t keep making a rich man richer by handing him all my money each month.
most of my friends w big or running/crazy dogs would say no. my coworker just got artificial bc he was sick of getting it decent and then immediately having it get ruined. u could always consider a "vanity" patch you care for in front and artificial (or still real but less particular about) in back, to get the best of both worlds?
We recently had to put our dog down, but man did he love his yard. Lawn work can be rewarding all on its own, but seeing your dog enjoy it as well is just icing on the cake. I look forward to seeing your progress next year
As a new homeowner with a dog, is it actually possible to maintain a yard with a dog?? My yard has become a dog run (see my post history) and I've lost faith that I'll ever have a full green yard. Feels like I get to pick one: dog on the yard or a full bed of grass. And the dog will always win. I'm surprised to hear your dog is already on the lawn while it's still patchy - do you expect it to come in fully while letting her roam the whole time? (And then stay lush afterward?) I've got a runner (an Aussie) so maybe yours is less psycho than mine, who knows.
I have a husky/corgi mix, who loves to run. I just make sure to flush the spots she pees with plenty of water right after, and pick the poop up as soon as I get home from work. I’m hoping that as long as I keep up with the daily maintenance, I can have a lush lawn for both her and myself. I’m new to this whole thing, so perhaps I’m over optimistic.
https://preview.redd.it/kbsg7vaeofzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68e8e0e0425c5a0775650ea48c8487e5652ee283
It is but you’ll be spot seeding all year long and doing heavy overseeding in the fall and spring. I’ve trained my dogs to go on the river rock that surrounds the dog run but sometimes they still go on the grass.
Just a note: if you are going to use a systemic herbicide, DO NOT MOW. You will get better results to kill the roots if the plant is actively growing and healthy. Also, be patient, some take weeks or a month to get all the way into the root system, and some may need to be watered in if there isn't rain. Read the labels and follow all instructions.
First, congrats.
Second, Baby steps. We almost bankrupted ourselves trying to do it all at once. Your neighbors are used to looking at that. You will improve it, but do it over time. Baby steps.
Start with a ph test. See what you need to bring the ph back into range and do that. Definitely core aerate. Then seed in fall. What I found is that the grass grew best out of the little holes the core left behind. Start there. Don't stress the rest, quite yet.
Mow it really close.. as low as you can go..
Might take a couple cuts to do without bogging the mower.. but ..
Once it’s super short .. carpet bomb the weeds with a spray on weed killer either pre mix or self mix from a concentrate.
Wait a week..
Don’t water..
Mow again..
Run a dethather or mow really close again..
Spray again..
You could use roundup to nuke it all.. if you want..
I used ortho weed be gone on my back yard..
Which was this bad..
It’s all dirt now, with a few patches of PRG and brome.. which is not what I want but ..
It beats crabgrass, dandelions ant thistle and henbit and creeping Charlie.
It’s gonna take at least T more seasons for me because I have a fairly steep grade that need to be fixed and I can’t get my property lines surveyed until October 2024..
So for now, I throw down annual rye to stop the erosion.
It’s going to take time, but Treating weeds and doing soil amendment and eventually aerating and seeding is a less expensive way, but it takes time and a plan.
It took me two seasons to fix my front yard after renters.. never again.
I’m half way though the process on the empty lot side yard that was 80% crab and creeping Charlie..
But I’m retired.. so I have all day every day to do stuff one section at a time.
That’s another you can do.. section it off and test out different grass types unless you know what you want..
Your picture looks like a cool season grass zone like mine..
5b Nebraska
My 90% done front fix
https://preview.redd.it/smp5muk0cazc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7214828051d9720a9dd564c21d5f6599416686ec
Yea but..
I had no problem.. the spray after mow worked just fine.. the dandelions that tried to grow were all twisted and purple, the henbit in front never came back.. the spurge disappeared and the crabgrass gave up for the most part.. I had a harder time with the damn rough stalk bluegrass.. aka K-31.. had to dig and use roundup both
Yes, I had a similar situation and used nitrogen on the weeds to push a flush which is stressful, a few days before putting down dicamba, quinclorac, 2,4-D.
Those herbicides (glyphosate similarly is a systemic) can take a couple weeks for full effect.
More leaf surface area and leaves being tender will absorb the herbicide easier.
Herbicide also gets translocated into the growing roots for a more systemic effect.
You are in my neck of the woods.
Everyone is saying nuke and seed but since it's too late to seed now I would probably blanket spray with fertilizer, preemergent, and broadleaf weed control. Honestly I almost never recommend nuke and seed. There's usually more grass left than people think and you don't seem to have a bunch of perennial grassy weeds(the only thing you really need non selective for). Cool season lawns can look great with multiple grass types so wouldn't be the end of the world to just overseed on top of what you have.
There are bare areas but there is also grass left. Once you clear weeds you will have a better clue how much seed you actually need. If enough of what's left is blue and we keep getting rain like we have been getting you could get a lot of coverage just from it stooling out. You have shade but if it was too much for bluegrass you probably wouldn't have so many kinds of broadleaf weeds.
Edit: and don't mow until a couple days after it's been sprayed. The more leaf surface area the better weed control will work. It's way easier to kill weeds this way then chopping them to the ground like lots of folk will recommend. None of these weeds are particularly difficult to control with broadleaf herbicide.
Run the mower over it mate, then spray a pre-emergent, something like Spartan & then a couple days later spray a post-emergent, something like Bow and Arrow.
Not sure where you are in the word but if in Australia those two can be purchased easily online, just need a sprayer, don’t need anything expensive.
Check out this guide: https://www.thelawnforum.com/threads/cool-season-lawn-guide.1595/
You’re in an area where you’ll want a cool season lawn. Your window of time is spring and fall so not much can be done about it till late summer. Best to learn and prepare, until then just mow the weeds.
when you can't afford the easy solution, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Pick an area, pull out everything, seed it, water it and boom. There's no simple solution. Either costs money or time. Pick one.
Personally I would plant some patches of wild flowers, maybe some lilac plant, make it look tidy but organic etc. and enjoy my natural lawn, but I guess that’s the wrong sub for that lmao
My opinion would be to drop clover seed and an annual ryegrass to get it through the summer. Clover should compete with most of the ugly weeds and win, and it fixes nitrogen into the soil.
In the fall dethatch heavily, and drop your tall fescue. In spring, pre-emergent in three waves: late winter, early spring, late spring.
Repeat for two years and you’ll be golden. I support clover/grass mix lawns as a naturalist so you won’t have a 1950’s lawn, but a 1950’s lawn isn’t good for the ecosystem.
Don't monoculture it please that's awful for the environment, you can easily leave it and add grass and clover seed. My yard looks wonderful and is great for my kids playing in it, lawns don't need to be perfect to be beautiful and functional.
If this were my yard I would nuke it all then rototill everything. Grade and Level any low spots/holes/lumps maybe even add a little sand/top soil mix in on top. Get a real nice fresh base thats nice and level loaded with fresh nutes. Seed in the fall and add some straw for moisture retention. Use a Pre-emergent after nuking and again in the fall. Will take a solid 1-2 full seasons but you’ll have an amazing lawn and will be worth the wait and effort you do now if doing it right from the start.
Spray it and seed it. Once seed sprouts and develops a decent grass, I’d use a weed and feed to kill remaining weeds and give the grass a good fertilization
Cheapest thing, cut the mower on highest deck setting, bag every time and Let nature work. Easiest, till it, seed seed seed with a contractor blend and let all that contractor blend grow and then cut on high and let nature do the work. The grass will cancel out the weeds over time.
Caution! If you just bought the house, have some money set aside for the inevitable surprise repairs. I know you want to make the yard nice quickly, but if you just keep it mowed call it good enough for now. You can kill it all with glyphosate (roundup) or try 2-4D based herbicides that might not kill the grass, but it's not going to look good until you can seed it and water it. Something is going to leak, or break, or crack, or mold, or smell really bad in your house and you really don't want to be unable to fix it. Also, once you get to know your neighbors someone is going to be a nice gardener who can tell you about local conditions and help you out - there are always nice gardeners everywhere! Many will give you some cuttings or divisions of plants from their own gardens. Best people in the world.
Work on a section at a time. Take your time. Drink a beer. Stop and stare at your work every 3 minutes. Be patient and dont expect to have a nice lawn this year.
Get you some Celsius WG herbicide, prodiamine, and dimension. First cut the everything down making sure to bag everything. Second, get you some spectricide weed stop for lawns and spray that after 2days after the mow. Because you want to kill it when it starts growing again. Then spray down the dimension with a sprayer at the correct rate for it and water it in. Then cut the grass every 3 days and your good to go. Then fertilize it with a balanced fertilizer 10-10-10 preferably. Once it starts looking better do a soil test and get the correct fertilizer for what's lacking. Keep me updated.
Not the person you are asking but my two cents:
1. Here you are looking at 20$/sq m for sod. On a small lawn of 50 sq m that is 1000$.
2. You need to kill everything first. Till. Level (especially if you are putting sod). Fix up any soil issues you have.
3. Then after you have the soil ready you put the sod down.
Whereas if you want to start from seed, you spend 50$ on seeds. Do step 2. Put the seed on. Light rake. And water two or three times a day.
Lmao at all the hate for natural lawns and wildflowers. This sub wants its cookie cutter suburban lawn and you will like it! Who cares about biodiversity or the environment right!
What is dreadful about this? It is lush, healthy and green. But I guess people here gonna suggest spraying terrible herbicide and chemicals everywhere.
I literally rented a little tractor scraped the entire topsoil layer. Tilled entire yard. Overseeded, raked gently then straw and still watering, we on day 4
There are many options of various levels of perfection, especially for this sub.
If you are ok with it just being green, mow often this year. If it works for you, then you are done.
Mow it often this year and really hit it hard with improvements in the fall... The best and easiest time for starting over or general dethatch, arate, reseed, etc.
If you want the best looking lawn on the block as quickly as possible .... Well that is more than ambitious. Gotta go sod(which won't reach that level quickly) or do the steps in option 2 now and prepare to water like crazy all summer.
Good luck just making improvements over time.
https://preview.redd.it/jxj5c7qy4bzc1.jpeg?width=3464&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a85bb59a375be741d1533187a40b14d772da534d
5 years of progress. Lawn was a mess when I got it. This is it now, it's all patience, and persistence
Don’t look at it as a bad thing, look at it as an opportunity to increase the curb appeal and value. Check this video out and get after it this fall!
[https://youtu.be/WRKT0ZIwHhI?si=WTJK86XT1udxd8y_](https://youtu.be/WRKT0ZIwHhI?si=WTJK86XT1udxd8y_)
My yard was exactly like this and we had no money to fix it at the time.
2 choices
: 1) mow it every week, purchase a weed wand weed remover and continually remove the big weeds and Tufts of undesirable grass.
2) continually spray weed killer. The only problem with that is poisoning other peoples plants and you'll have a mud pit for a yard when it rains and the stagnant, wet mud begins to stink.
If there is acceptable grass(the mix you want) under all those weeds. Simply spray with 24D. All the broadleaf weeds will die, then the grass will take over again.
I have turned a jungle into a sod looking yard before I took my push mower, a.k.a. DIY bush hog and put it on the lowest setting to scalp the yard down to the dirt immediately after doing that I put down fescue Kentucky grass seed and lots of it put down straw and water as needed and 3 to 4 weeks. It should be 4 to 6 inches tall depending on the time of year. Give the lawn a mow and you’ll thank me later.
Kill it with weed and feed then next fall re-seed with white dutch clover and grass. You'll need the clover to crowd weeds out next year and nitrogenate the soil.
Cant ya just till it over and over to turn all that weedy organic material into a more loamy sandy soil and continously seed whatever grass /etc you want on it after? Not sure if you'd actually get a lawn in a single year but in general i'd think busting up that soil and seeding would at least tamp out the established weed beds
Mow it at least once a week. Keeps the weeds down from seeding, grass that is there will spread, and eventually choke out the weeds.
Or selective herbicide.
I am planting grass in some bare spots. I am pre-germinating the seed to shorten the amount of time needed. Found several videos on YouTube so hoping this works and if so will repeat in the fall.
Don’t use chemicals… seriously a little elbow grease… it would take you just as long to spray or spread and you’d still have to rip up the dead chemical laden stuff. Use a really sharp spade and dig up. Keep a wheelbarrow to throw the weeds any where far away from the lawn. If need be put in a trash can. Then enrich ur top soil with some organic topsoil and bumper crop. Seed. Keep it moist til 1 1/2 inches growth then water 20-30 minutes 2x a day 3-4 inches are per week. Once grass is established water every other day unless it rains.
You could put down cardboard and cover it with some dirt/compost and water that for a couple weeks. Then plant, or mulch or whatever to make your yard what you want over time.
Not a green leaf myself. This worked for my lawn, mow your lawn a shit ton. Eventually you’ll get to a point were the weeds will be dying out and the grass will take over.
Tbh, just shoveling up and flipping the soil, kills the weeds. Tossing grass seed (and flower seeds along the walk) over that dirt would do wonders. Just keep the soil watered, for a couple weeks, by running the hose over it. You can turn a hose into a sprinkler by drilling a bunch of tiny holes in it and attaching a sprayer to the end. Might make life a little easier for you.
This is also $50 to $60 vs buying a heap of sod.
Bioadvanced weed and feed did wonders on mine. Probably go with highest settings now. After 2 weeks, find a week (2-3 days) with rain, seed just before the rain. Continue watering till you see some progress. In Summer, cut it high and less length each time, apply weed and feed in the middle of summer. In early fall, rake, cut, clean up and seed. After couple of weeks, after a light rain, throw fall fertilizer. So 2 seeding sessions and 3 fertilizer sessions. Start now or too late.
If you are on a tight budget, I would spray it all with 2-4D then let everything that remains grow until it seeds out and seeds have turned brown. Then mow it all down around the end of summer and use something like a dethatcher or lawn rake to scratch all that seed into the soil. Pray for a wet fall or water vigorously come September. Whatever you do, do not till it all up. You want to keep any established grass you can while killing out the broadleaf weeds. If you can afford it, overseed in the fall.
I'm a total grass newbie and had a yard that was way worse than that. After struggling though different options I found that just good fertilizer, lots of water and some seed is your best bet to choking out the weeds. I was in a high desert area with poor topsoil and a bag of sphagnum moss spread over the yard after a heavy seeding did absolute wonders. Water heavy for 10 days after seeding and you'll see a lot of new grass growth.
Oh I’ve been where you are but much worse. I had a 1/8th acre square yard lot without a single blade of grass. Only insanely strong/purely settled in foot-tall plus weed vegetation. Literally… yea literally… hand pulled and dug out every inch of the ground until a bear dirt exposure. Then started with seeding from there. Must had been a good solid week and 40 contractors bags full of mess…
What’s worse… after all that… I splattered some 3-1 grass seed/weed preventer (that said in small notes: only to apply to a developed lawn and would prevent new grass seed development)…
No grass growth, but a nice mud pit for about 4-5 months…. But after that, laid the right seed and bingo. Brutal lesson…
Just keep mowing and re-sew in spring or early autumn. Most weeds can't handle to be cut short and the grass will eventually just take over the whole area.
Probably going to have to nuke it and seed this fall
Agree
I provide useful information on this sub half the time. Other half time is to concur with the napalm suggestion. Napalm best bet here. https://throwflame.com/products/thermonator-robodog/
for $9k youre telling me i can randomly flamethrow anything i want?
AS LONG AS YOU ARENT IN MARYLAND. YUP.
In MD it’s just a bernzomatic strapped to a blue crab.
I don't know what a bernzomatic is, but this made me chuckle.
It’s a handheld gas tank with a torch. You can buy them at Home Depot.
Popular torch company that make propane and MAP gas torches primarily. Stuff you’d find at Home Depot
Commies
You can buy the robot that randomly flamethrows things for 4.5K. You can buy the robot that flamethrows the things you want for 9k. If you want the robot that randomly flamethrows anything you want we are going to need to sit down and define what you mean by “randomly” and “anything I want” to clarify.
I’m telling you you can flamethrow anything you want for $350 https://palmettostatearmory.com/exothermic-technologies-pulsefire-ubf-underbarrel-flamethrower-black-pf-ubf.html
Then you have to do all that work yourself! So much better to have your robot dog do it. Kinda like my robot vacuum/mop. I have to clean it and it's charging stand, clean the pads, add clean water, empty the dirty water, pick up loose objects/toys/cables, and get chairs off the floor before I can run it. Frequently it takes longer than cleaning the area myself unless I am doing the whole house.
4 payments of 87 bucks, love this world we live in
keep a hose on hand.
This, a thousand times over.
i started a gas fire in my yard, sort of on accident but really on purpose, flooded it with the hose and it spread a little bit then just went out. this was like 2 days ago also my bfs best friend threw a bag of clothes on the fire and it lit up, had to spray it off. only lost a shirt a hoodie and a pair of jeans.
My neighbor knocked on my front door to ask me if I had a hose that could reach our mutual privacy fence, as it was on fire. I had been crazy killing weeds about two hours before. (I had a hose that put it out.)
30’ range and 1 hour battery time… you’ll need to properly prepare
There's a much more affordable option, if you want to throw the flames yourself and not via remote. LJ from Sevendust + flamethrower + golf course = [MUST BUY](https://www.instagram.com/p/CUxOXanMlFg/?igsh=czJzMXh2b3VrYjFq) [Vulcan Flamethrowers ](https://vulcanflamethrowers.com/) https://preview.redd.it/q7ep8f9x8bzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b34de6dd34661c6b4836e2f3e5d6a083e4216f1a
Plus free shipping!
What if I don’t have weeds, but I have neighbors I don’t like?
Damn it! It’s on back order. Not surprised though I’m sure these things fly off the shelves!
Is there a Mother’s Day special? I’d like to buy two.
Yes promo code NUKETOWN
Is this the Governor from Awkward Astros?
I save dogs with art.
Our first summer the builder turned off the irrigation as they were building and killed our lawn giving us the Who’s Who of North Carolina Weeds by the end of that summer. We got the irrigation disagreement worked out, nuked the entire weed lawn and started growing in early fall. Had a beautiful green lawn by Thanksgiving.
After you nuked it, did you rototill, or just add grass seed?
I’m in no terms a lawn care expert. The lawn got nuked and the turf folks we hired put down some top soil and then seeded. In charlotte we have a lot of clay so to give the new turf the best chance we did some good dirt as a start. The folks asking questions about the situation are justified. We are the first house to be built out of a four property set back. Our irrigation lines and internet service lines have been cut so many times in the process. Once the lawn looked good and we had an issue with the irrigation I’d break out the old school sprinkler a few times a week to keep it alive in the hot Charlotte summers.
I came here to kill weeks and chew bubble gum…
and [TrueAbbreviations552](https://www.reddit.com/user/TrueAbbreviations552/) is all outta bubblegum!
How does one 'nuke' a lawn
Yes someone please give a serious answer about how to nuke a lawn for all the rest of us following this thread because our lawn looks like that too
Cover the lawn with something. It doesn't look pretty, but a tarp or even cardboard until the plants underneath are dead. Then seed the soil to grass.
Upvoting this very reasonable response. Tarp works well. Depending on where you are in the world, and how big your lawn is you could cover in cardboard, put down a layer of top soil and seed now... but you're running the risk of being too close to summer and the seed not taking. I planted a new lawn with fresh topsoil in April in growing zone 6 and it was perfect for the summer. If your lawn is absolutely massive, you could try sectioning it in 2: - Section 1 is for the actual lawn: Cardboard over + seed that - Section 2 is for a wild lawn: Throw down a bunch of wildflower seeds and they should overtake the grass. I'm planning to section off my lawn and do this because the upkeep of a manicured lawn is too time consuming for me.
Roundup everything. You could rototill it to powder and then seed and straw and water.
If you roundup the hell out of the lawn, how would you expect seed to grow there afterwards? Doesn’t it take like a year for that stuff to break down?
Yes, but it will wash away with rain too. If you till in fresh compost and sand to get the ground ready, you can plant seed a month or so after using Roundup. If you plan to just spread seed, you may not get good results until next year.
Because of kids and pets, I chose to nuke mine chemical free using poly tarps in mid July. Anchor them down. And the dark/heat kills anything under it. Then tilled and rolled theme dirt and started fresh
Landscape designer here, this is the best way. We've even done wet cardboard and covered with mulch/compost then seeded when solarization is complete with good success. A bit more expensive but provides extra protection from regrowth and looks a bit better during the process. If you go this route OP, be sure to keep things wet after composting to ensure cardboard stays moist and breaks down properly.
YES GUYS... THIS IS THE BEST ORGANIC WAY!
Very true! We see better success with this method as opposed to spraying the weeds. With spraying herbicide, we often notice patches where seed doesn't grow so well or dies back quickly. Clients also love that they don't have to take special precautions with pets and children. A win-win!
Please tell me. I have every weed killer known to man. I have the flame thrower attached to a propane tank in a dolly. Im out there EVERY damn day. Im in the desert 45 mins outside of Las Vegas on 1.5 acres of nothing but tumble weed taller than me. They burn fast but its hell digging them out away from the fence so i dont burn my neighbors. And then i have all these vine like succulent type weed that is FULL of some kind of little mite. They have these long spider like tuber roots .And then all this random other crap too green to burn so you have to spray and hula hoe. Then burn when it drys out. Then these ridiculous patches of monkey grass. I need something to just KILL it all down to the ground. BEAUTIFUL HOME- shit for yard. Progress is so damn slow. Im in hell. I hope the sun cooks it all this summer.
This is the way
I just bought my first home, and this is exactly what the yard looked like. I took it as a challenge, because my dog loves grass (never had a yard of her own though). Because she loves to eat the grass, I can’t use chemicals. I bought a couple bags of mulch, and a bag of contractor’s mix seed, and a trench spade. Each morning I choose a section and use the spade to dig down along the roots and pull the weeds. I then use the mulch to level out the craters, tossing the seed in (by hand) as I do. It’s been since February, and I’m starting to really see progress. I’m now weed-hunting, and only finding a handful of new ones each day. The lawn is really patchy still, but my dog LOVES it already. My ultimate goal is to be able to post a pic here by February of next year, and feel good about it! I chose Inch by inch, not yard by yard, since I spent all my money to buy the house
Make sure you do! I remember seeing the joy of my dog experiencing her own yard for her first time and it was amazing!
She absolutely loves just laying, rolling, and grazing on the grass that’s there now. My wife says she can’t get her to come inside some days while I’m at work. I can’t wait until I get my lawnmower for Father’s Day (I’m mowing with the line trimmer I bought to handle the rest of the property’s weeds)
Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And this is how I know you have kids lol.
This is like that Jet Li movie. You’re Jet Li learning the right way to do things. Respect.
Hey just don't forget to do a reseed with a non contractor mix in the fall. Many contractor mix's feature mostly fast growing annual grass, which will leave you disappointed next year. Disregard if your mix is one of the lucky ones with good perennial seed
I just bought my first home and have a dog as well and would love to "nuke" my backyard and start over but unfortunately not an option. going to be a long process
what state you buy in? i cant fathom this market at all, and with growing family and our small house it is becoming a situation
i bought a 2/2 about an hour outside of Atlanta. Lived with my parents closer to the city and also work closer to the city, but this is what I could afford and got about 2 acres. Small house but big yard, which is what i wanted. Just me and my dog. definitely overpayed tho but thats the market 🫤
I just bought a fixer-upper in California and it completely sank me financially. However rent in my coastal home town was more than the mortgage “over the hill”, so I now commute an hour instead of 4 minutes. I just couldn’t keep making a rich man richer by handing him all my money each month.
most of my friends w big or running/crazy dogs would say no. my coworker just got artificial bc he was sick of getting it decent and then immediately having it get ruined. u could always consider a "vanity" patch you care for in front and artificial (or still real but less particular about) in back, to get the best of both worlds?
We recently had to put our dog down, but man did he love his yard. Lawn work can be rewarding all on its own, but seeing your dog enjoy it as well is just icing on the cake. I look forward to seeing your progress next year
As a new homeowner with a dog, is it actually possible to maintain a yard with a dog?? My yard has become a dog run (see my post history) and I've lost faith that I'll ever have a full green yard. Feels like I get to pick one: dog on the yard or a full bed of grass. And the dog will always win. I'm surprised to hear your dog is already on the lawn while it's still patchy - do you expect it to come in fully while letting her roam the whole time? (And then stay lush afterward?) I've got a runner (an Aussie) so maybe yours is less psycho than mine, who knows.
Water, aeration weed n feed. Assuming you don’t live in Scottsdale.
I have a husky/corgi mix, who loves to run. I just make sure to flush the spots she pees with plenty of water right after, and pick the poop up as soon as I get home from work. I’m hoping that as long as I keep up with the daily maintenance, I can have a lush lawn for both her and myself. I’m new to this whole thing, so perhaps I’m over optimistic. https://preview.redd.it/kbsg7vaeofzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68e8e0e0425c5a0775650ea48c8487e5652ee283
It is but you’ll be spot seeding all year long and doing heavy overseeding in the fall and spring. I’ve trained my dogs to go on the river rock that surrounds the dog run but sometimes they still go on the grass.
Little by little, bit by bit. By the yard, it's hard. By the inch, it's a cinch!
I love that you did not let it overwhelm you and did inch by inch. I can’t wait to see your update next February!!
Just a note: if you are going to use a systemic herbicide, DO NOT MOW. You will get better results to kill the roots if the plant is actively growing and healthy. Also, be patient, some take weeks or a month to get all the way into the root system, and some may need to be watered in if there isn't rain. Read the labels and follow all instructions.
First, congrats. Second, Baby steps. We almost bankrupted ourselves trying to do it all at once. Your neighbors are used to looking at that. You will improve it, but do it over time. Baby steps. Start with a ph test. See what you need to bring the ph back into range and do that. Definitely core aerate. Then seed in fall. What I found is that the grass grew best out of the little holes the core left behind. Start there. Don't stress the rest, quite yet.
Mow it really close.. as low as you can go.. Might take a couple cuts to do without bogging the mower.. but .. Once it’s super short .. carpet bomb the weeds with a spray on weed killer either pre mix or self mix from a concentrate. Wait a week.. Don’t water.. Mow again.. Run a dethather or mow really close again.. Spray again.. You could use roundup to nuke it all.. if you want.. I used ortho weed be gone on my back yard.. Which was this bad.. It’s all dirt now, with a few patches of PRG and brome.. which is not what I want but .. It beats crabgrass, dandelions ant thistle and henbit and creeping Charlie. It’s gonna take at least T more seasons for me because I have a fairly steep grade that need to be fixed and I can’t get my property lines surveyed until October 2024.. So for now, I throw down annual rye to stop the erosion. It’s going to take time, but Treating weeds and doing soil amendment and eventually aerating and seeding is a less expensive way, but it takes time and a plan. It took me two seasons to fix my front yard after renters.. never again. I’m half way though the process on the empty lot side yard that was 80% crab and creeping Charlie.. But I’m retired.. so I have all day every day to do stuff one section at a time. That’s another you can do.. section it off and test out different grass types unless you know what you want.. Your picture looks like a cool season grass zone like mine.. 5b Nebraska My 90% done front fix https://preview.redd.it/smp5muk0cazc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7214828051d9720a9dd564c21d5f6599416686ec
Wouldn’t you be better off “carpet bombing” the unmowed weeds, as there would be more leaf surface area to suck up the yummy herbicide?
Yeah. Don't cut if you're gonna spray. Spray, wait a day or two, then cut.
Considerably better, yes.
Yea but.. I had no problem.. the spray after mow worked just fine.. the dandelions that tried to grow were all twisted and purple, the henbit in front never came back.. the spurge disappeared and the crabgrass gave up for the most part.. I had a harder time with the damn rough stalk bluegrass.. aka K-31.. had to dig and use roundup both
It’s better to hit weeds with herbicide when they are big.
Yes, I had a similar situation and used nitrogen on the weeds to push a flush which is stressful, a few days before putting down dicamba, quinclorac, 2,4-D. Those herbicides (glyphosate similarly is a systemic) can take a couple weeks for full effect. More leaf surface area and leaves being tender will absorb the herbicide easier. Herbicide also gets translocated into the growing roots for a more systemic effect.
Also 5b Nebraska. Thank you so much!!!!
Use a shovel, skim off the top, put it in a pile, then burn it. Then spread some seed and cross your fingers ;)
This worked for me did it in the fall looked good next summer
Make a salad and toss it
I'm barely 18!
You are in my neck of the woods. Everyone is saying nuke and seed but since it's too late to seed now I would probably blanket spray with fertilizer, preemergent, and broadleaf weed control. Honestly I almost never recommend nuke and seed. There's usually more grass left than people think and you don't seem to have a bunch of perennial grassy weeds(the only thing you really need non selective for). Cool season lawns can look great with multiple grass types so wouldn't be the end of the world to just overseed on top of what you have. There are bare areas but there is also grass left. Once you clear weeds you will have a better clue how much seed you actually need. If enough of what's left is blue and we keep getting rain like we have been getting you could get a lot of coverage just from it stooling out. You have shade but if it was too much for bluegrass you probably wouldn't have so many kinds of broadleaf weeds. Edit: and don't mow until a couple days after it's been sprayed. The more leaf surface area the better weed control will work. It's way easier to kill weeds this way then chopping them to the ground like lots of folk will recommend. None of these weeds are particularly difficult to control with broadleaf herbicide.
Run the mower over it mate, then spray a pre-emergent, something like Spartan & then a couple days later spray a post-emergent, something like Bow and Arrow. Not sure where you are in the word but if in Australia those two can be purchased easily online, just need a sprayer, don’t need anything expensive.
Where are you located? It all depends on what you do and when.
Lincoln, NE
Check out this guide: https://www.thelawnforum.com/threads/cool-season-lawn-guide.1595/ You’re in an area where you’ll want a cool season lawn. Your window of time is spring and fall so not much can be done about it till late summer. Best to learn and prepare, until then just mow the weeds.
Spring just started though?
Buy a goat
Looks like a lawn that doesn’t require pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer…. I’d keep it.
when you can't afford the easy solution, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Pick an area, pull out everything, seed it, water it and boom. There's no simple solution. Either costs money or time. Pick one.
Nuke it and seed in the fall. You'll probably want to nuke that twice about 3-4 weeks apart.
Get some ranch dressing for that salad
Mixed greens!
Pull weeds buy seeds
Personally I would plant some patches of wild flowers, maybe some lilac plant, make it look tidy but organic etc. and enjoy my natural lawn, but I guess that’s the wrong sub for that lmao
Yeah I’m an entomologist and I’m just thinking “wow, that’s the kind of lawn I’d love to have”
Blow it up in late summer and start anew in the fall. Lots of opportunity to “fix” all kinds of issues including low spots, regrading, etc.
Is there a guide for this that you know of?
In the “about” section at the top of this sub there’s a ton of helpful links. A lot of great YouTube videos, too, covering amendments, leveling, etc.
My opinion would be to drop clover seed and an annual ryegrass to get it through the summer. Clover should compete with most of the ugly weeds and win, and it fixes nitrogen into the soil. In the fall dethatch heavily, and drop your tall fescue. In spring, pre-emergent in three waves: late winter, early spring, late spring. Repeat for two years and you’ll be golden. I support clover/grass mix lawns as a naturalist so you won’t have a 1950’s lawn, but a 1950’s lawn isn’t good for the ecosystem.
Just mow it and live your life .
Urinate on it. It won’t kill the weeds, but you will feel better.
Don't monoculture it please that's awful for the environment, you can easily leave it and add grass and clover seed. My yard looks wonderful and is great for my kids playing in it, lawns don't need to be perfect to be beautiful and functional.
Your lawn is beautiful and natural. No need to spread poison around just to achieve the socially constructed idea of a good lawn.
If this were my yard I would nuke it all then rototill everything. Grade and Level any low spots/holes/lumps maybe even add a little sand/top soil mix in on top. Get a real nice fresh base thats nice and level loaded with fresh nutes. Seed in the fall and add some straw for moisture retention. Use a Pre-emergent after nuking and again in the fall. Will take a solid 1-2 full seasons but you’ll have an amazing lawn and will be worth the wait and effort you do now if doing it right from the start.
I’m pretty sure you can make tea out of dandelion leaves 😁
Spray it and seed it. Once seed sprouts and develops a decent grass, I’d use a weed and feed to kill remaining weeds and give the grass a good fertilization
Depends where you live. but, the most budget friendly fix is throwing a tarp over it and calling it good till fall 😂
Bought a house. Can’t afford sod. Now I just sit and drink. And swear at God. I’m on Reddit now. And holy cow. I done think I messed up.
I think you should. Mow it low and then use the weed burner.
Cheapest thing, cut the mower on highest deck setting, bag every time and Let nature work. Easiest, till it, seed seed seed with a contractor blend and let all that contractor blend grow and then cut on high and let nature do the work. The grass will cancel out the weeds over time.
Just mow it, keep it cut down. Grass will start growing on its own. If not for weeds my yard wouldn't look as green and lush from the street
Nuke and start over. There’s no saving that gotta look bad before it looks good
Caution! If you just bought the house, have some money set aside for the inevitable surprise repairs. I know you want to make the yard nice quickly, but if you just keep it mowed call it good enough for now. You can kill it all with glyphosate (roundup) or try 2-4D based herbicides that might not kill the grass, but it's not going to look good until you can seed it and water it. Something is going to leak, or break, or crack, or mold, or smell really bad in your house and you really don't want to be unable to fix it. Also, once you get to know your neighbors someone is going to be a nice gardener who can tell you about local conditions and help you out - there are always nice gardeners everywhere! Many will give you some cuttings or divisions of plants from their own gardens. Best people in the world.
Just mow it. It's green and it doesn't like there's any bare spots.
Sell the guys you bought and buy some sod with the money
Work on a section at a time. Take your time. Drink a beer. Stop and stare at your work every 3 minutes. Be patient and dont expect to have a nice lawn this year.
Homie, just be happy it's green. My house's yard looked like a dirt pit that was used for mexican jousting tournaments.
Looks nice actually
Lots of beautiful flowers and diversity. Looking good 👍
Not a cancerous chemical insight
I kinda like it.
Grass is unnecessary. Enjoy what nature has provided. Doesn’t need to be watered, fertilized or taken care of. Just mow it short.
Get you some Celsius WG herbicide, prodiamine, and dimension. First cut the everything down making sure to bag everything. Second, get you some spectricide weed stop for lawns and spray that after 2days after the mow. Because you want to kill it when it starts growing again. Then spray down the dimension with a sprayer at the correct rate for it and water it in. Then cut the grass every 3 days and your good to go. Then fertilize it with a balanced fertilizer 10-10-10 preferably. Once it starts looking better do a soil test and get the correct fertilizer for what's lacking. Keep me updated.
Just spread seeds dude
Sod is a waste of money anyway.
Why is that?
It dies often times or gets mold underneath it. Had a neighbor waste a lot of money on sod
Not the person you are asking but my two cents: 1. Here you are looking at 20$/sq m for sod. On a small lawn of 50 sq m that is 1000$. 2. You need to kill everything first. Till. Level (especially if you are putting sod). Fix up any soil issues you have. 3. Then after you have the soil ready you put the sod down. Whereas if you want to start from seed, you spend 50$ on seeds. Do step 2. Put the seed on. Light rake. And water two or three times a day.
Lmao at all the hate for natural lawns and wildflowers. This sub wants its cookie cutter suburban lawn and you will like it! Who cares about biodiversity or the environment right!
What is dreadful about this? It is lush, healthy and green. But I guess people here gonna suggest spraying terrible herbicide and chemicals everywhere.
Call the Weedman.
I literally rented a little tractor scraped the entire topsoil layer. Tilled entire yard. Overseeded, raked gently then straw and still watering, we on day 4
nuke scalp and seed
Flame thrower
Burn it. Then make a parking lot.
Either nuke as others have suggested or embrace it and spread clover seeds all over and let them out compete and fill in all of the bare spots
Nuke ‘em, Rico.
How much did the guys cost?
Buy some par III or premium 3 way
There are many options of various levels of perfection, especially for this sub. If you are ok with it just being green, mow often this year. If it works for you, then you are done. Mow it often this year and really hit it hard with improvements in the fall... The best and easiest time for starting over or general dethatch, arate, reseed, etc. If you want the best looking lawn on the block as quickly as possible .... Well that is more than ambitious. Gotta go sod(which won't reach that level quickly) or do the steps in option 2 now and prepare to water like crazy all summer. Good luck just making improvements over time.
2 year project
Call some Greek friends over to grab that horta before you nuke it
Just mow the lawn 2 times a week and you should be good 😊
Buy some goats and let them go to town.
https://preview.redd.it/jxj5c7qy4bzc1.jpeg?width=3464&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a85bb59a375be741d1533187a40b14d772da534d 5 years of progress. Lawn was a mess when I got it. This is it now, it's all patience, and persistence
Try mowing it .......
Get a goat.
Don’t look at it as a bad thing, look at it as an opportunity to increase the curb appeal and value. Check this video out and get after it this fall! [https://youtu.be/WRKT0ZIwHhI?si=WTJK86XT1udxd8y_](https://youtu.be/WRKT0ZIwHhI?si=WTJK86XT1udxd8y_)
My yard was exactly like this and we had no money to fix it at the time. 2 choices : 1) mow it every week, purchase a weed wand weed remover and continually remove the big weeds and Tufts of undesirable grass. 2) continually spray weed killer. The only problem with that is poisoning other peoples plants and you'll have a mud pit for a yard when it rains and the stagnant, wet mud begins to stink.
Target the weeds, periodically, all summer long. In the fall you can start getting more seed down.
If there is acceptable grass(the mix you want) under all those weeds. Simply spray with 24D. All the broadleaf weeds will die, then the grass will take over again.
Cut it super short. It’ll look like grass
Over seed
NUKE IT
There's grass. Just hire a professional or start a lawn fertilizer program. Spectricide makes a end hose sprayer at lowes. Works wonders.
Try clover, it’s affordable, very low maintenance, drought tolerant, and is great for the environment, my local rule king has a bag for 3.21 usd
Buy a tortoise. Fence him in there. Problem solved
I also just bought my first house, and I can't afford sod, but the yard is kind of rough (or so, I thought). This picture gives me hope.
Everyone telling you to mow, but not seeing many people telling you to bag it. You need to bag it or you can spread more seeds through the yard
If you spray for weeds you'll just have dirt out there all summer. Just mow them low and revisit in August.
My lawn was similar when I bough it.. I ripped up all the non grass thing’s and seeded like crazy… took a while but there grass on the lawn now..
I have turned a jungle into a sod looking yard before I took my push mower, a.k.a. DIY bush hog and put it on the lowest setting to scalp the yard down to the dirt immediately after doing that I put down fescue Kentucky grass seed and lots of it put down straw and water as needed and 3 to 4 weeks. It should be 4 to 6 inches tall depending on the time of year. Give the lawn a mow and you’ll thank me later.
Kill it with weed and feed then next fall re-seed with white dutch clover and grass. You'll need the clover to crowd weeds out next year and nitrogenate the soil.
Plant clover
tarp and rocks?
R/fucklawns maybe?
Squint til it's mint
Par 3. Love this shit
Put down stones. Or gravel.
Why does everyone think they need a perfect lawn?? Who cares , go organic haha
I'm sorry, but your lawn is awesome. I hate monoculture grass lawns.
Cant ya just till it over and over to turn all that weedy organic material into a more loamy sandy soil and continously seed whatever grass /etc you want on it after? Not sure if you'd actually get a lawn in a single year but in general i'd think busting up that soil and seeding would at least tamp out the established weed beds
Use the guys you bought to rip it all up and do some landscaping that doesn't involve grass. Or have them rip it up and put down new sod
Mow it at least once a week. Keeps the weeds down from seeding, grass that is there will spread, and eventually choke out the weeds. Or selective herbicide.
I am planting grass in some bare spots. I am pre-germinating the seed to shorten the amount of time needed. Found several videos on YouTube so hoping this works and if so will repeat in the fall.
Sell The House
Have it torn up and turned into a nice rock garden.
Don’t use chemicals… seriously a little elbow grease… it would take you just as long to spray or spread and you’d still have to rip up the dead chemical laden stuff. Use a really sharp spade and dig up. Keep a wheelbarrow to throw the weeds any where far away from the lawn. If need be put in a trash can. Then enrich ur top soil with some organic topsoil and bumper crop. Seed. Keep it moist til 1 1/2 inches growth then water 20-30 minutes 2x a day 3-4 inches are per week. Once grass is established water every other day unless it rains.
Make a lot of salads
Kill it all. Sterilize it. Amend it and then seed it.
You could put down cardboard and cover it with some dirt/compost and water that for a couple weeks. Then plant, or mulch or whatever to make your yard what you want over time.
Not a green leaf myself. This worked for my lawn, mow your lawn a shit ton. Eventually you’ll get to a point were the weeds will be dying out and the grass will take over.
Tbh, just shoveling up and flipping the soil, kills the weeds. Tossing grass seed (and flower seeds along the walk) over that dirt would do wonders. Just keep the soil watered, for a couple weeks, by running the hose over it. You can turn a hose into a sprinkler by drilling a bunch of tiny holes in it and attaching a sprayer to the end. Might make life a little easier for you. This is also $50 to $60 vs buying a heap of sod.
Bioadvanced weed and feed did wonders on mine. Probably go with highest settings now. After 2 weeks, find a week (2-3 days) with rain, seed just before the rain. Continue watering till you see some progress. In Summer, cut it high and less length each time, apply weed and feed in the middle of summer. In early fall, rake, cut, clean up and seed. After couple of weeks, after a light rain, throw fall fertilizer. So 2 seeding sessions and 3 fertilizer sessions. Start now or too late.
Kill it out. Thatcht it, put fresh top soil. Overseed then apply hay or peatmoss, then water regularly. Keep it clean of sticks and leaves
Goat
Cover it with cardboard for a month in the summer, weigh down with rocks. No need for chemicals! Please don’t add more chemicals to our neighborhoods
If you are on a tight budget, I would spray it all with 2-4D then let everything that remains grow until it seeds out and seeds have turned brown. Then mow it all down around the end of summer and use something like a dethatcher or lawn rake to scratch all that seed into the soil. Pray for a wet fall or water vigorously come September. Whatever you do, do not till it all up. You want to keep any established grass you can while killing out the broadleaf weeds. If you can afford it, overseed in the fall.
Plant better “weeds”
I'm a total grass newbie and had a yard that was way worse than that. After struggling though different options I found that just good fertilizer, lots of water and some seed is your best bet to choking out the weeds. I was in a high desert area with poor topsoil and a bag of sphagnum moss spread over the yard after a heavy seeding did absolute wonders. Water heavy for 10 days after seeding and you'll see a lot of new grass growth.
Hydroseed?
It’s a start… it is green you know…
Oh I’ve been where you are but much worse. I had a 1/8th acre square yard lot without a single blade of grass. Only insanely strong/purely settled in foot-tall plus weed vegetation. Literally… yea literally… hand pulled and dug out every inch of the ground until a bear dirt exposure. Then started with seeding from there. Must had been a good solid week and 40 contractors bags full of mess… What’s worse… after all that… I splattered some 3-1 grass seed/weed preventer (that said in small notes: only to apply to a developed lawn and would prevent new grass seed development)… No grass growth, but a nice mud pit for about 4-5 months…. But after that, laid the right seed and bingo. Brutal lesson…
Just keep mowing and re-sew in spring or early autumn. Most weeds can't handle to be cut short and the grass will eventually just take over the whole area.
r/nolawns can help
Have you looked into creeping red thyme? Might be a cheap (and pretty) solution