tilling tears you up along with the ground
Before:
I know it looks kinda like grass in that pic, but very little of it is. By the fence it was some sort of clover and up by me was tons of sunflowers that had been trimmed down weekly. The only good grass is the little blotches by the garage. Three areas I needed to till. The main lawn in the pic, a kennel next to the garage which we are going to plant a garden, and an area in the alley where Theresa wants to put fruit bushes and lilacs.
The tiller was decent and Jeff at Ace told me it would wear me out. Oh man I had no clue. First the thing did not have grips and it was so powerful that you had to lean back and basically pull it really hard to keep it from running away from you. I made it maybe 15 feet till I said no way. Went to the truck and grabbed a ratcheting tie down strap and made a loop for my butt. I reserved it for 3 hours but needed 4. It really wore me out after the first hour but I kept going.
The garden was still damp so it was really tough and did not turn out well. Might need to hit it again.
The main yard got chopped to heck and I raked and raked some of the green stuff out. It took me a while to get a system going, but using a 4 pronged hoe to get the green on top and then a regular plastic yard rake did wonders. It still needs a few more passes. I have hay and seed ready to go. Gonna pull up the wood next to the paver sidewalk and de weed that area.
Behind the garage was a pit for 7 years. In that little area in the pic there was tons of construction debris, wood, scrap metal, shingles, huge weeds, and tree debris after the year it took me to cut down a huge mulberry tree. The wood had mostly rotted away, many cats were born in that area over the years. It took three trips to the dump to clean it all out. Surprisingly the dirt under was amazing. The bushes are gonna be really happy there.
My arms are really sore. I still have a lot of work to do 
Looking good! I recommend a starter fertilizer with crabgrass preventer. You might have to go to Earl May or Campbell’s for that.
Comment by West A Dad — May 14, 2008 @ 7:07 am
Crab grass sounds really strong and able to handle doggie traffic, hmmmmmmm……?
Comment by beerorkid — May 14, 2008 @ 7:40 am
Well I suppose it would. Tall fescue works under Zack and Zoey. What seed did you buy?
Comment by West A Dad — May 14, 2008 @ 8:52 am
Perennial ryegrass. Prob get some of the starter seeds to mix in.
Is fescue perennial?
Comment by beerorkid — May 14, 2008 @ 8:55 am
Yes fescue is a perennial. Some “starter” seed mixes contain annual rye grass. It gets going quick to give the appearance of a nice lawn while the perennials are slower growing and will fill in afterwards.
You made a good choice though, ryegrass is thick, tough and durable.
Comment by West A Dad — May 14, 2008 @ 9:10 am
[...] Tilled last week and I have baby grass sprouting like crazy now. Been watering lightly morning, noon, eve, and night every day and it has finally paid off. The straw kept the puppies feet from getting muddy, although Fuggles tearing around messed it up a few times. I just need it to get strong enough to handle the abuse. [...]
Pingback by BEERORKID » the grass is growing — May 20, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
[...] rain has been amazing. You can look back to when I first tilled, first sprouts, and seeded. I have tried for the past 6-7 years to get to this point. First there [...]
Pingback by BEERORKID » I always wanted to be the guy with the perfect lawn trimming it all day and waiting for the chance to mow. I am there now. Does that make me old? — June 27, 2008 @ 12:09 am