Question
Charles,

I recently cleared my back yard of a large amount of trees.  The trees obviously dominated the cover and the turf but allowed for ivy and weed growth.  Now that the trees have been removed, it seems every type of weed and wild plant is growing in the trees' place.  The stumps were grounded leaving heaps of wood chips.  

Eventually I would like a lawn, what steps should I take in achieving my goal?  Thanks for your time.

Lars  

Answer
1) removal all vegetation (weeds, unwanted plants)
2) you will have to condition the soil
    a) bring in fresh screened topsoil
    b) dehydrated compost
    c) some peatmoss
3) decide if you want to seed or sod
    Sod is instant but expensive
    Seeding takes 2-3 weeks to germinate
4) If you have a large property, I would recommend you have a landscaper do the job.
5) If you decide to do it yourself and you choose to seed, do thies in order:
- once soil is conditioned and tilled, you have to level and grade the soil.
- after everthing is level, its time to seed, use a tall fescue blend( tolerate drought well, and is disease resistant)
- after seeding , rake in gently, them throw somemore seed down and rake in again, then use a product called penn mulch or seed aide.  This product will help retain moisture to help with germination and provide some startup nutrients for the seed.

Hope this helped

Bud