Grading Yard to Get Rid of Grass/Weeds?

11 years ago

Hello! I just got a house (okay, it's been a year, but I've been busy with the inside!) with a yard that's about a 1/4 acre. Unfortunately, the yard is covered with weeds and grass and has all sorts of sloping issues going on. So, we're about to get it graded, partly to have the yard slope somewhere other than the foundation, and partly to get rid of the grass/weeds.

I was thinking of putting down a pre-emergent and then either spraying, pulling, or digging any grass/weeds that pop up, but after reading one of the other posts on here, I'm concerned about using any chemicals and I'm worried that by moving all the soil around, I'm just going to cause the weeds to regrow with a vengeance.

I think the yard is too big to try any of the organic methods that were mentioned in a previous post (solarizing, cardboard + mulch, digging therapy), so I'm just wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to keep the grass/weeds at bay after the yard is graded.

Thanks for your help!

Comments (3)

tomatofreak
11 years ago
This may sound crazy, but if you have a shop vac, you could try using it to gather as many of those dried seeds as possible. Otherwise, you'll probably end up with lots of them in your newly graded yard and have more weeds after than before. Or, you could use the grader to peel off a shallow top layer of soil and pile it all in one place where you could solarize it with sheets of black plastic. You'll thank yourself for every weed and Bermuda seed you get out of there before starting to landscape.
srbeebe
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the suggestion tomatofreak!
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crista
11 years ago
Great project! I like tomatofreak's idea! You may want to consider a combination of methods depending on what your landscaping plan will be. I'm a fan of pre-emergent for areas that are going to be footpaths or covered with gravel. I have found landscaping cloth to be a total waste of money as weeds either grow up through it or as dirt/litter accumulates on top (assuming you're using gravel) then the weeds just grow on top in the gravel. Hope you share your progress!