On 6/28/2011 6:41 AM, dadiOH wrote:
Kurt Ullman wrote:
I have this little patch of land that backs up to my lot that was
deeded to me recently. I have a few areas that I want to plant
"regular" grass instead of the stuff that planted itself when it was
still farm field. I have hoed the area that I am planting this time
to bare ground. I am trying to decide if I just want to go ahead and
plant the new grass or if I should nuke the area with Roundup and
then wait about 4 weeks before I start on the grass. Any suggestions?

Since the ground is bare, Roundup will do nothing.

A pre-emergent herbicide could help. If the area is sunny, so would staking
down some black plastic over the area and letting it cook the ground for a
month or so.


Most pre-emergent herbicides will also kill the sprouting grass seed.

This is a two-step task: seeding and weed control. The OP has to
decide which one to do first. Since we're headed into the hottest time
of the year, I'd suggest waiting a month or so anyway to start the
lawn, and it sounds like that's what he planned to do anyway. If he
wants to hit emerging weeds in the meantime with Roundup or Finale,
that'd be okay. Broadleaved-only weedkillers persist in the soil for
several weeks, so he should avoid using those. If he wants to use a
pre-emergent, he'll need to look for one that won't harm grass
seedlings. Not all that easy to find, and it's a good bit more expensive.

I'd not worry too much about weed control for the time being. If it's
a smaller area, the weeds can be prevented by laying a barrier over
the area. When he's ready to seed, he can remove the barrier (I have
some old tarps I keep for this), apply a starter fertilizer, and seed
or sod. Once the grass is up and has been mowed at least three times,
he can safely apply a weedkiller if he needs to do so.