Question
QUESTION: Hi, the house we just bought was vacant and overrun with weeds in both front and back. I am in the process of killing all the weeds and want to start fresh with a new lawn (using seeds). Is there a best kind of grass for my area? I live in Covina, CA in southern California. In the front it would not be walked on a lot, I would just like it to be nice and thick and green for the year. The back is going to be played on a lot, so it would need to be able to handle that. Thanks!

ANSWER: Michelle, you have come to the right place.  Because there's nothing like a clean slate to make my day.

Just a few things I need to know.

1.  How much sun do you have on this future Lawn of yours? You need SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN to grow cool-season Grass.  Do you have Sun?  I don't mean Sun in the morning, or Sun in the afternoon, or Sun 3/4 of the day.... SUN.  Grass that BAKES in Sun.  Do you have that?  Any Trees?  They cause Shade.  Shade does not equal Sun.

2.  Do you have traffic? Any children and/or BBQs and/or Dogs and/or
Badminton Nets or Croquet Sets?

While you are answering those questions, you should go out and get a
Soil Sample and have your Soil tested.  University of Calif at Davis posts a list of good Soil Testing Labs you can review, and hopefully select one:

http://ucanr.org/sitebuilder/display/search.cfm

Most people skip the Soil Testing routine.  And you are probably tempted to do that, more likely than not.  It is absolutely the most critical step you will take.

Of course, this is for Ne Plus Ultra Grass.  I specialize in those.  You can cut corners.  But why do that?  The corners are not THAT much trouble.

Which Grass do you want to be Ne Plus Ultra?

University of California posts your answer at its website, with a page, 'The UC Guide to Healthy Lawns: Choose and identify your turf species.'

http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/TURF/TURFSPECIES/

In one of their links, 'Turfgrass selection for the home landscape,' they list the pro's and con's of all the most important Grasses you could choose from:

http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8035.pdf

Your turn.  Thanks for writing.  I await your answers.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you, thank you for getting back to me. I'm so excited to get to work on my new lawn! I have found a laboratory to send my soil to get tested. Here are the answers to your questions...

For the front yard:
1. It has 2 trees, so it is almost all shaded.
2. It does not get any traffic. There are cement walkways where people walk and it's not big enough to play in.

For the back yard:
1. It has no trees and nothing blocking the sun, it gets sun all day long.
2. This is where we have kids playing and people bbqing.


Answer
Your SoCal Shade calls for one of the newest selections to come along, California Meadow Sedge.  'Carex pansa' to botanists.  Unlike the Grass here, you grow these from plugs instead of Seeds.

Shade-loving Sedges resemble Grass, and are actually closely related, but without the demands.  Not only do many thrive in low light situations, but they need a lot less mowing, feeding and attention.  
Depending on the species, Sedge can reach a maximum height of barely 2 inches high, or mature to several feet unmowed.  C pansa reaches 4 to 6 inches tall, and it grows in Shade.  No need to prune the Tree canopy.

For the back, there are drought-tolerant, high-traffic Fescues that won't care about BBQs and Frisbee players.  Tall Fescue -- Festuca arundinacea -- performs best in fertile, well-drained Soil, pH around 5.5 to 6.5.

Let me know if you need further details.