Fixing a dead lawn and garden

[Anonymous No.524042]

OK, so a while ago I bought a house on a short-sale. The owner had not been maintaining it, so right now my front yard looks like something out of Fallout. Honestly, this is my first house so I don't know a whole lot about gardening and landscaping. There are a couple of garden areas with wood chips in them, and a bunch of dead plants and weeds popping up. The grass on the lawn is pretty much brown and looks dead. Also, apparently the previous owner had a dog or something because there are a bunch of bald spots on the lawn. How can I go about fixing this? Since it's already mid-September and I only have 6 weeks at most of nice weather left, (I live in Minnesota) should I just leave it?

[Anonymous No.524102]

Ill give it a go because I want to know about short sales? Do you have to pay alot of back taxes? how did you find it? how much? I dont mind putting in work I just dont understand the process?

I would say if they look like flower beds or the wood chip area I might hold off until spring to see if you have anything worth saving flower wise. things like lillys and other annuals can surprise you. or ask a neighbor. if you have alot of weeds I would spray them. but if everything is dead you are probably better off to go to the local hardware store and buy a mix of grass seed. big box stores tend to over charge. if the percentage on the bag of inert matter or stuff that isnt seed is high its not a good deal. best to buy just seed. thats easier to do at a hardware store than big box stores sell them with magic dust. buy one of the things with the tines and wooden handle to break up the first half inch of soil. or a rake. do that. then throw the seeds down. its a good time of year to get grass started. as in right now not later. . water them for a few days after you sow them. you can throw them by hand unless your yard is huge then you could buy a seed spreader but I like by hand. you throw/sling them not like flower seeds. water the snot out of them until they sprout. then back off on the watering. its easier to take care of the grass now. i would leave the plants and hope they come back in spring

[Anonymous No.524159]

You live in Minnesota, eh? Where abouts? I live there too. I am a horticulture major, so I will give you some tips...

1. You can't really plant anything outside now because the growing season is shitty.
2. You need pics.
3. What are you growing, or planning on growing?

Another thing... I would recommend getting a soil test just to see what your soil is like. Just go the U of MN's soil dept. It's like 30 bucks but it will tell you what you need to add, or how you need to fix the Ph.

For right now, I would just leave it like it is and work the yard next spring.