Sad back yard-help!

[Lyoshka]

Hi all! we are in Wilmington, NC-zone 8a. Hot and humid. Mild winters. We moved into our new house 3 years ago and i don't know what grass the builder put down. But i do know that from my boys playing baseball and using slides in the backyard, it's in a very sad shape now. Lots of bare spots, weeds, etc. We use Milorganite fertilizer a couple of times last year at the suggestion of a friend. Didn't see much change, i'm sure more applications are needed.

My next door neighbor paid extra for Zoija grass, also pampers it, has it serviced and doesn't have baseball-playing children. he also has a sprinkler system, which we do not. He has a beautiful lawn.

My question- can i overseen my lawn with Zoija grass? is that wise? or what grass would you suggest for my zone? I just want my lawn to look nice and green
Also, if you can recommend a good fertilizer, preferably as natural as possible, i would be very thankful
ANY tips are welcome!
Happy to post a pic of our yard, if that would be helpful.

 

[Sean Regan]

I'd not worry too much about it. Whilst you've got kids enjoying the space, leave them to it. Whatever you do won't stop the damage and you'll be forever fretting about it. Eventually they'll stop and you can rip it up and start again. We had our three kids playing badminton on our small lawn for years, once they'd grown up enough to indulge in various sports activities at appropriate venues I re-did the lawn.

 

[Lyoshka]

I'd not worry too much about it. Whilst you've got kids enjoying the space, leave them to it. Whatever you do won't stop the damage and you'll be forever fretting about it. Eventually they'll stop and you can rip it up and start again. We had our three kids playing badminton on our small lawn for years, once they'd grown up enough to indulge in various sports activities at appropriate venues I re-did the lawn.

Sean, thanks for the response. It’ll be another 8 years till the youngest is gone. I do want it to look moderately better.... any suggestions ?

 

[Sean Regan]

Sean, thanks for the response. It’ll be another 8 years till the youngest is gone. I do want it to look moderately better.... any suggestions ?

In which case I'd returf the worst bits and seed the less damaged areas with a hardwearing grass.

I'm guessing how bad you think it is as there's no photo.


This is mine in mid-summer.

You're not going to get it looking like this until the kids stop playing on it.

"I don't even walk on mine."

Not true, but it gets little traffic.