Actually I’d like to Round-up my weeds first then plant with new top soil. So how long do I have to wait after I use the round up if I am planting with new soil. Whats with covering with hay? Any greens keepers out there?
As I remember Roundup is a 7 day waiting, 14 day to be safe. Really good seed is pricy!
Use straw, not hay. It keeps in the moisture to speed up the germination process. If covering with soil I wouldn’t worry about using roundup.
If your doing it in your basement, anytime.
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If your doing it in your basement, anytime.
Good one Cheech!
Now is the time! 10 days on the glyphosate ( I use Gly star because its cheap). Plant grass seed with 50% rye mixture. That will germinate and sprout quickly. After the ground freezes, do a heavy over casting of bluegrass and more desirable grass seed with no rye. You will get a thick patch of grass in the spring
straw and or hay will also keep the birds from feasting on your seed. pout
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Now is the time! 10 days on the glyphosate ( I use Gly star because its cheap). Plant grass seed with 50% rye mixture. That will germinate and sprout quickly. After the ground freezes, do a heavy over casting of bluegrass and more desirable grass seed with no rye. You will get a thick patch of grass in the spring
That’s awesome Randy 
Thank you
I just did the same thing you want to do. I bought Weed B Gone with crabgrass control. It really does kill crabgrass. Get the one that attaches to your hose. Spray everything that needs killin…give it until most everything is dead.(Remember, this way, any good grass still lives). Once everything you want dead is close to death, bring in your dirt and seed.
You don’t have to wait for anything to ‘wear off’ as far as the chemical is concerned. In fact, your biggest problem will be that weeds and crabgrass need temps above 50 degrees to ‘die’. I respectfully disagree with Randy on mixing in ryegrass. Go with a 100% bluegrass mix you can get from a Gertens type greenhouse. You can spread straw if you want, but it really is just a big mess…spread the dirt, spread the seed, lightly rake it in, keep it well watered and you will be fine. 
Rye grass will come up fast but looks like crap stick to blue grass. Killing weeds works best above 50 degree. Round up you can plant same day as soon as it is dry but waiting is nice to see you nuked. It all. Now is the time as you want 6 weeks prior to hard frost after seed germinate. 15 years in business nothing is perfect. Best method is rake in seed and compact soil with a roller keep moist.
Mike
I agree, stay away from the rye grass. If you do it right you shouldn’t have to worry about the rye grass. Prep right and take the time to do it right and you will be happy with the results. When I re-seeded my lawn I brought in the local expert and we killed everything, layed down a new topsoil, spread the seeds, took a drag over everything then rolled it with a heavy roller. Came up awesome for the first time this year.
When you bring in new dirt, you also bring in billions of new seeds that are in the dirt. Now, not all of those weed seeds are going to be in the germination layer. (Top 1inch). It makes little sense to kill off what you have now if you’re bringing in new dirt. The cleaner you can make the seed bed prior to seeding the less weeds you’re going to have to deal with later on. You’re not going to avoid weed seed germination in your new planting, the key is… Don’t let them go to seed. Don’t mow too early, as that just forces the weed to build a seed head shorter to the ground.
Place your dirt, level it, seed it and most importantly, cultipack it in. If you don’t have access to a heavy roller, simply wheel pack it in with a riding mower wheels.
Now is the single best time to seed. Soil temps are up, there’s dew to help you , it’s not too hot, and the water you add will stay put for a while. Soil temp and cultipacking the seed in are the two most important items for a good germination
Follow the last three posts advice. I just spread out black dirt, then seeded with bluegrass, then raked lightly and watered. Keep water on it for a minimum of 7 days for germination. My grass is growing good. Not as good as cheech’s 
but doing better than expected. I will spread out more seed in a week then in the spring I will spray with weed killer once lawn is established.
I agree with Rigging Guy that the last three posts are good. They are essentially the same as mine without nuking the weeds first. My only concern is that you need alot of dirt to cover all those weeds, and odds are BigPike has crabgrass in there as well, which will survive the ‘covering’ and come thru again. I would kill,apply dirt,seed, rake in(roller optional) keep moist and go….heck, after all this advice, I wouldn’t blame BigPike if he just said screw it and put down astroturf……. 
I did the same thing 3 years ago because I had both crab grass and quack grass. The crab grass can be dealt with, but not the quack grass. There is a big difference. If you have the quack grass, go nuts with the round up. It is the quickest way to get rid of it. I applied round up and then covered with pulverized black dirt. Then seeded, racked in, and covered with straw. I was really disappointed with the number of weeds that sprouted up. I assume they were in the black dirt I bought. It took a a little time the following year to get them under control. Good luck. 
Rake it in to the top soil if you can, grass seeds germinate best under the soil. Seed now and rake in and expect the best in spring.
I was told that 2/4/D weed killer works good with quack grass and crab grass. Has anyone tried 2/4/D?
Is there anything 2/4/D won’t kill is more like the question. That stuff is nasty.
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I was told that 2/4/D weed killer works good with quack grass and crab grass. Has anyone tried 2/4/D?
Does 2/4/D kill everything like Round Up does? The lawn services I asked about my quack grass didn’t seem to have a selective weed killer that would kill the quack grass without also killing the grass.
24D is a broadleaf weed killer unless applied at exorbitant amounts it will burn quack but not kill it. 24D is in almost every brad leaf weed killer out there it is no more nasty then anything applied properly.
Sorry I’ m not replying in anyone’s repossesses order but,,
The OP asks when to plant grass?
It’s not just after 2-4-D !!
What residue time does 2-4-D have??
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