Lawn from scratch

[FolsomGuy]

I have acidic clayey never-cultivated-upon soil in my backyard that I plan to put a lawn in. It gets hard as rock during the summer and mushy and sticky during the winter/rains. I plan to amend it with natural stuff (peat-moss? compost?), till it to a depth of 6 inches, then seed it. The area gets LOTS of sunshine (north california, sacramento area) and gets bizarrely hot during the summer - for say a good four months atleast. If seeding does not work, I may end up sodding it, but first I want to try seeding.

Any lawn experts out there care to share their insights/thoughts on such a venture?

[William Brown]

After tilling, you should run a roller across it to insure a fairly smooth surface.

After seeding, you will need something to protect the seeds from the birds. Some strew straw (not hay) and leave it there to decompose. Some use something akin to cheesecloth, that allows water, light, and air to get to the seed, but has to be removed after germination.

Frequent watering will be needed to insure germination.

If you are awash > I have acidic clayey never-cultivated-upon soil in my backyard that I

[FolsomGuy]

while you have the yard dug up

Forgot to mention this - yes, I plan to install irrigation while I have the yard dug up. I should be receiving a professional plan from toro (free!) soon on the zone-design/valves/sprinklers etc. That will go in before the seeding.

Thanks for the other ideas above.

[Kay Lancaster]

The nice folks at UC Davis have a series of publications for you:

've missed the best time for planting cool season grasses from seed, but if you want warm season grasses, early next spring will be your target to plant. Decide whether or not you're going to irrigate permanently.

If you need some quick cover for the soil for the winter, consider some of the annual cover crops like buckwheat.

Kay