planting grass.... this is awesome... not

[arrowdem]

ive heard all the horror stories planting grass, well i am in the process seed is on the ground.. hopefully enough seed, so tell me how much should i be putting down? and how much water to i need to put to it now that its planted?

 

[martinslanding]

how much "grass" are you planting?

 

[DirtyMike]

First, don't believe "will grow anywhere Guaranteed!" It's bs and growing grass is my nemesis. I got kinda tuned up last spring and decided to weed and feed my lawn. Got talking to my neighbor over a few cold ones and didn't realize I left the little opening open on the broadcast seeder. Scooped up a couple piles of weed and feed and I have been battling those dead spots ever since.

 

[Lycanthrope]

One thing Ive read that I found interesting is that more seed isnt better. Often grass mixes wont grow properly when planted too heavily because whatever type of seed germinates fastest will get a headstart on the other varieties. When planted too heavily these quick growing types will choke out the ones that germinated slower, but are often a less desirable type of grass. Some blends even have annual grasses included because they grow and green up faster, so the lawn will look great initially, but the following year will look like crap because those varieties wont regrow the following year.

 

[arrowdem]

i dont think i over seeded i think im ok there.. i did get the stuff with the blue coating that is supposed to hold in the moisture on it but how much water to i need to put on them, i heard watering in the morning and evenings is best when the sun isnt bearing down on them so im watering right now with cloud cover and cooler temps

 

[nxtgeneration]

Ugh I hate this crap. We bought our house 1 1/2 years ago and have been trying to get the yard back in shape ever since. We will be bringing in a bunch of fill in the next couple weeks, followed by fertilizer and seeding and I am in no way looking forward to it. Our entire yard will be basically new. Everything I've read says to make sure you follow mfg seeding recommendation. Well one thing I hate just as much as planting grass is reading directions so I'm probably screwed.

Anyway....In the little reading I've done they recommend watering lightly 2-3 times a day rather than completely soaking it once a day. If the seed starts to germinate and you let it dry out too much the seed will die and you'll need to start over. You are supposed to continue this watering schedule until you've mowed twice. First mowing isn't suppose to occur until the grass is 3.5"-4" long.

 

[MarbleEyez]

We bought a house in winter of 2012 that was affected by the flood. With all the sandbars that filled our yard, I wasn't going to haul in semi-loads of black dirt for top soil to seed our grass into. I leveled out the sand yard and bought a semi-load of sod out of MN. It was the best $1300 we ever spent. I put in underground sprinklers and then laid the sod. I watered each zone for 15 min, 3 times a day for the first 2 weeks. After that I cut it back. Was the nicest lawn in the entire area. Best part was it didn't really start to green until later in the spring, and once I put the water and fertilizer to it, it was immaculate!

 

[guywhofishes]

First, don't believe "will grow anywhere Guaranteed!" It's bs and growing grass is my nemesis. I got kinda tuned up last spring and decided to weed and feed my lawn. Got talking to my neighbor over a few cold ones and didn't realize I left the little opening open on the broadcast seeder. Scooped up a couple piles of weed and feed and I have been battling those dead spots ever since.

ba ha ha - that is funny

 

[Captain Ahab]

Instead of cutting my grass every week, I would like one of those Arizona desert yards. Then I could just hit it with Roundup every 2-3 weeks.

 

[3Roosters]

Has anybody else noticed that you really don't see youngsters anymore hitting the local neighborhoods asking homeowners if they need a lawn mower person for the summer? Must not need the money or too busy with other things...ie video games, cell phones.:;:stirthepot

 

[johnr]

The seed bed is as important as the seed itself. Prepare the area to plant, and once level and ready, sprinkle the seed down, and lightly rake the seed and dirty to put just a slight bit of soil on the seeds. I also then save grass clippings from where I have weed free grass and spread a light layer of clippings on the area to keep moisture in.
Keeping the area moist in the first 2 weeks is essential, water morning, afternoon, and evening to keep it damp, after 2 weeks and it is growing you can go back to a normal watering routing.
Now is the perfect time to do this prior to the summer heat.

good luck.

 

[martinslanding]

i dont think i over seeded i think im ok there.. i did get the stuff with the blue coating that is supposed to hold in the moisture on it but how much water to i need to put on them, i heard watering in the morning and evenings is best when the sun isnt bearing down on them so im watering right now with cloud cover and cooler temps

I had good luck with the blue stuff last year....depending on the size of the area once I rake and put the seed down I cover it with a "frost blanket" kind of like landscaping fabric but white...keeps the birds and wind from the grass but holds in moisture also incubates a bit for early season planting....

 

[Ericb]

Has anybody else noticed that you really don't see youngsters anymore hitting the local neighborhoods asking homeowners if they need a lawn mower person for the summer? Must not need the money or too busy with other things...ie video games, cell phones.:;:stirthepot

I have my boy mowing a few lawns but mainly family and friends. Sounded great when I got him into it. When I have to drive him and somewhat supervise it cuts in to a lot of free time.

Making about $50wk he can buy all his own toys plus he's got a new rifle each year.

- - - Updated - - -

For watering less more often will be better. Just don't let the soil dry out. Growth will be slow until we warm up a little.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Yup, DONT LET THE SEEDS DRY OUT, that will kill them sure as shit. Set your system to water a few times a day, a few minutes at a time. When its hot water more frequently.

 

[sierra1995]

yep, what johnr said. Keep it damp for the first couple weeks, but don't bother putting fertilizer down until you are closer to mowing it. Rule of thumb for fertilizing - once in may (memorial day) and once in the fall (labor day or after). This will give the grass enough nutrients to make it through the summer. The fall fertilizer will give the grass enough food for the winter and allow it to come back healthy in the spring. Just make sure not to over water your lawn - moss growing on the ground is not a good thing. Don't do any weed spraying or weed & feed for at least 2 month after you've mowed for the first time.

I also use grass clippings to cover my seeded areas as previously mentioned. Just don't put them on too thick, or while they are still green. The clippings will harden and won't allow the grass seed to grow through it. I've heard of people putting burlap over seeded areas with success, but never tried it.

 

[fly2cast]

Has anybody else noticed that you really don't see youngsters anymore hitting the local neighborhoods asking homeowners if they need a lawn mower person for the summer? Must not need the money or too busy with other things...ie video games, cell phones.:;:stirthepot

Not sure where you live but in Bismarck I know of a lot of kids mowing lawns (and making pretty good money I might add)

 

[Up Y'oars]

Most of the seed won't germinate for another month, if the soil temps don't go up. I believe the landscaping folks don't even begin to lay stuff down until after Mother's Day. If you already have it laid, it might be lots of water through May.

 

[huffranger]

Good info guys ! I have a HUGE planting project when I get home from work. ( 120#s of grass seed )

Anybody know where to get a truckload of compost to mix in my seed bed before I plant ?

Lots of great info in the land of Youtube also...

 

[Captain Ahab]

If you can plant before a large rain event your job will be a lot easier on the front end. I've been lucky on my last 2 grass projects. I planted before a large rain and it rained so often after the planting, I never had to use a sprinkler. One project was 2-3 acres.

 

[onpoint!]

Put down hundreds of pounds in last two years, what really made the difference: straw. Spread straw bales - this finally produced a nice lawn despite two other applications that ended up very sparse and spotty. We left the straw down, blown almost clear now; but I suppose you could gently rake it up this fall. We were pretty diligent about keeping it sprayed twice/day, too.
Might get some burlap for spot fixes this year instead of straw, and picked up a steel roller for behind the atv cuz I believe that helps lots after laying seed down.
So my two tips: roll it and cover it.