what is the best low maintance turf grass. i have a small area(500 sq. ft.) that is freshly tilled and i want some grass for my kids. whats the process.

Sun or shade?

Are you in North Texas?

Arlington, house faces northeast. the grass is in an area in the front yard. We get morning to early afternoon sun.

Buffalo grass is Howard's fav. It needs little water, little mowing, little fertilizing but it won't tolerate kid use.

Celebration Bermuda is also drought tolerant but handles traffic better, also requires less mowing than common Bermuda (5-7 days as opposed to 3-5).

Thank You,
I have my kids Wed. and every other weekend. the traffice will be minimal. is the buffalo nice and thick?

Yes, but the primary benefit is the low-maintenance.

There's plenty of google pics of buffalo turf if you want to see it.

thanks for the help. i have a pretty good scale drawing that i have made of my front yard and am looking for some economical help making a master planting plan. I think it would be good to start with a plan instead of doing this by the seat of my pants. Any help would be great.

I assume that I can scan and upload my drawing.

First step is to until the soil. Unfortunately it takes 3 years for the soil to reestablish the structure it had before you tilled it. But you can get a jump start by watering it for a few hours and letting it dry. Then water and let dry. Repeat that for as long as you see it settling. Then relevel the surface with sand or new topsoil. Then water that and let it settle.

Don't jump the gun on buffalo grass. The seeded varieties will leave your lawn looking like the grass at the side of the road. The sodded varieties are much improved and will become a dense turf. Do some research on the different sodded varieties. One I know that looks very nice is called Tech Turf by the Turffalo company. It comes as a flat of plugs that will spread quickly to fill.

thank you