lawn

I am starting a portion of my lawn over again. I have loosened up the soil, fertilized, and seeded. I now have placed hay all over. Is is necessary to continue to water when using hay? (so far no results!)

Reply to
SCR
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water, water, water

Reply to
Srgnt Bilko

A newly-seeded lawn shouldn't be "watered" (an inch a week) -- it should be constantly moist. The first couple of weeks after seeding, you should sprinkle it at *least* daily, preferably more. If the dirt looks dry, it's too dry. If the dirt doesn't look dry, check with a knife; it might still be too dry (crumbly).

When you see seedlings, you can back off gradually.

Reply to
Dan Hartung

Sprinkle lightly every day. The top 1/8" (about 2 mm) of soil must remain moist. This means you can't put down 1/2" to 1" of water once a week. It is difficult to keep that top 1/8" moist without daily water, and in hot/sunny/dry conditions, twice a day may be necessary. Once it sprouts, you can back off some.

Austin

Reply to
AustinMN

That grass is never going to grow. This is the WORST time to plant seed. Fall is the best time, then spring, but NEVER in the dead heat of summer. How well did you loosen up the soil? And what kind of fertilizer did you apply? You shouldn't have done that. Any kind of fertilizer with a weed killer in it such as "weed n feed" and the grass won't germinate. Grass seeds ALWAYS need to be kept moist. You must water the seed every day. I wouldn't have covered with hay, I would have covered with a product called "penn mulch" instead. What type of grass seed did you plant anyway?

Reply to
Probably

I plant grass seed in the summer all the time. As long as you keep it wet, water deeply every morning before 11:00 am for about 2 weeks, and the grass will come. I am in Iowa so I guess the local weather would be a huge factor in success or failure. Iowa versus the Arizona desert or Florida. It really is best to plant in the spring or, better yet, fall because it just needs less babysitting. And hay works fine and is cheaper than the manufactured mulch, but is harder to manage. If cost is not a factor, then the manufactured mulch is preferrable as "Probably" suggested. And, if you fert., use a plain starter fert. DO NOT use weed and feed.

Reply to
GFRfan

You can plant grass in summer, just like you can go to the beach in January, but neither is advisable. Summer requires a lot of water, there is intense competition from weeds, and cool season grasses like fescues and blue grass don't like to grow in high temps. In another month, it will be the optimum time to seed, so why do it now?

Watering deeply once a day is not what seed needs. The surface should be kept constantly wet, which usually means watering it several times a day lightly when temps are high, which is one reason why summer is the worst time. A quarter inch 4 times a day is what it needs, not an inch once a day. Also, hay generally has weed seeds present, so I'd avoid using it. Peat moss or weed free straw are preferable.

Reply to
Chet Hayes

You know, some people need to realize that the internet is global. Nothing wrong with going to the beach in January if you're in Australia. And nothing wrong with planting grass in summer if you're in Greenland. Neither you nor Probably know (because he didn't tell us) where the original poster is or what zone he is in (if in the US). I'm in Minnesota, and although it's not typical, the high here yesterday was 57 degrees F (14 Deg. C). That's not too hot for planting grass.

Austin

Reply to
AustinMN

In fact, the original poster's email address (downeast.net) suggests that he lives in upstate Maine (in the Bangor or Bar Harbor area). The average high temperature in August is about 78 in that area. That's maybe a little warmer than ideal for growing grass, but not much.

Reply to
Chris Craig

I planted yesterday (Aug 12) because the forecast is for cool weather and I have irrigation. I plan to seed again in Sept in the areas that did not come in well.

I find that planting in the fall leads to far fewer weeds. When I plant in the spring, I get weeds everywhere.

Can anyone tell me why fewer weeds in the fall ? Is this my imagination ?

HtH

Reply to
Heidi the Horrible

Short answer: annual weeds don't germinate in the fall, they prefer spring.

Reply to
Steveo

Which blend did you plant, Horrible?

Reply to
Steveo

It's Ms. Horrible, puhleeze.

Mix of Turf-type tall fescue varieties with some bluegrass in the sun and for the shade I did a mix of hard, chewing and creeping reds.

HtH

Reply to
Heidi the Horrible

Let's not forget that in the southern states of the US we grow different types of grass. Bermuda grows best between 90 and 100 degrees F. ...best time to plant is during the beginning of summer. ...don't do that with Northern grass types, however.

Reply to
Jeff

Yes, and others need to realize they don't know much about growing grass period. Higher temperatures are just one issue with trying to grow grass in summer. Another is major competition from weeds, which greatly diminishes in fall.

Reply to
Chet Hayes

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