Sometimes, the grass is indeed greener on the other side of the fence.

You can either feel a sense of envy and let your yard remain an eyesore, or turn things around with your lawn.

Perhaps you bought your home with the lawn in its current lackluster condition. Or perhaps a few things came up that required your undivided attention — the birth of a new child, a loss in the family, a job promotion, etc.

One thing is for certain — you need to revamp your lawn.

Surrendering from an uphill battle

Why should you hit the reset button and kill your existing lawn?

According to a trusted lawn care professional from Chesterfield, MO, there are plenty of reasons to start things over. For one, the problems you might be dealing with your lawn may be too overwhelming — diseases, pests, and other headaches.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the underlying foundation of your lawn, the soil, has been in bad order for too long to sustain the growth of healthy grass.

The perks of hitting the reset button

Apart from helping you finally attain a magazine cover-worthy lawn, there are plenty of reasons for homeowners to consider killing off the bald patch they call their lawn, and start all over again.

With a totally new lawn, you do not have to deal with the usual headaches associated with a problematic lawn — weeds, pests, diseases. That means that you’re off to a great headstart and you can focus all your time and effort toward keeping your lawn in good condition.

Second, because the lawn is in peak condition, the amount of time and effort you need to invest in it is substantially reduced. That is because a truly healthy lawn can withstand the arrival of pests and diseases. You can then allocate your extra time toward other endeavors.

Of course, there are a couple of drawbacks. Chief of these is the amount of effort you will need to invest, especially during the initial period of building your lawn.

The upfront cost may also be steeper.

But when you weigh the pros and cons of rebuilding your lawn, you can gain more value from hitting the reset button.

Rebuilding your lawn

If you are keen on rebuilding your lawn, here are the steps that you need to undertake.

Kill off the grass

There are two ways to go about this task.

First, you can solarize your lawn. Essentially, this entails covering your entire lawn with a plastic cover.

Covering the lawn increases the temperature of the soil, killing the grass as well as the weeds.

Solarization is usually done in two stages.

During the first stage, there will be a few survivors which you can pull off from the ground. In the second stage of solarization, you may need to amend the soil and then rake it before putting the plastic cover back.

The second method of killing the grass is done through the use of herbicides which is a pretty straightforward process.

Soil prep

Before you can reseed the lawn, it is a good idea to test the soil first. This will ensure that your new lawn will have a good foundation.

In some instances, the soil itself will be in good condition and amendments may be minimal. But in most cases, you will have to compensate for nutrient deficiencies in the soil through the use of an appropriate fertilizer.

Once the necessary amendments have been made, you will need to aerate the soil before applying a seed-starter fertilizer.

Next, you will need to prep the soil with a dethatcher. The dethatcher will ensure that there is ample soil material coming into contact with the grass seeds.

In some properties, it may necessary to level the soil. This task can be done using a rototiller.

Seeding the lawn

Once the soil has been properly prepared, you can begin seeding your lawn.

After seeding the lawn, it needs to be watered twice a day. This ensures that the topmost layer of the soil is moisturized.

If you notice bald spots during the initial weeks, you can reseed those areas.

Time is of the essence

In rebuilding a lawn, timing is important. And in order to know when the best time to start this project, you have to take into account where you live.

If you live in an area where it is advisable to use cool season grass, start the rebuilding process at around the final week of August to the first two weeks of the following month.

If you live in an area where warm season grasses thrive, you can begin your project anytime between the tail end of spring and the start of summer.

To repair or to rebuild

Deciding on whether your lawn just needs a repair or a rebuild is a tough call to make.

At first sight, you might think that your lawn is dying but it may simply need more TLC than usual. Of course, there are instances wherein a complete rebuild is the right way to go.

Still can’t make up your mind? Consider consulting with a lawn care company from Ballwin, MO to arrive at an informed choice.