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Seeding...again
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Posted by
lawnlady none (
My Page) on
Fri, May 4, 12 at 20:37
| As a point of reference, here's what I've done so far this season: Killed off the bentgrass that was taking over large sections of my lawn- hated it. We had a warm spell in March when I decided to do this. Re-seeded, then waited and waited for the grass to sprout because of course it got cold, snowed 3 inches etc. The new grass has started and in some areas, is coming along nicely, but there are some spots lagging way behind- barely a hint of fuzz. I've been cutting around the repaired "islands" but the areas that are growing are nearly long enough to cut now. I'm sick of looking at a staked off yard, but am reluctant to mow the patches because they're so sparse in parts. Scary as it is to mow new grass, I've always felt that once done, it toughened up the new grass. Should I just cut it as is and re-seed the patches figuring that what's come up is it for that first seeding? It's been watered,fed and the weather has been warm enough to expect that at least the PR would germinate by now ( seeded 1/2 PR and 1/2 KBG )If I do add more seed, should I run the flat side of the rake over it or just walk it in so it makes soil contact without disturbing what's there? Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Seeding...again
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| Where do you live? Did you roll the seed down? How are you watering the new seed? Don't mow until the new grass is tall enough to mow at your routine mowing height. |
RE: Seeding...again
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| I didn't roll the seed down...just tamped with rake. We added alot of bags of Scotts lawn soil because after raking off all the dead grass from the Roundup kill, I needed to re- level large areas. Some of the seed may have been too deep? The weather seemed to be the biggest set back but now that the temps have improved, there's more new growth showing. It was watered lightly twice a day. I sifted some top soil to make it really fine, then seeded the spots that had nothing happening again. Not sure getting rid of the bentgrass was worth all the effort, but no turning back now...if it comes back- I'll learn to live with it. At least I've found some seed that I really like the looks of from Outsidepride.com and I'm not getting weeds in the new growth. If I stand across the street with one eye closed it might look pretty good by June! Thanks from Rochester,NY. |
RE: Seeding...again
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| As far as the seeding process: I have found it is well worth the $45-60 to rent a verticutter/slit seeder (not sure of what they are actually called as it seems it depends on the rental shop). The type of machine that has fixed verticle blades (not flail used in a dethatcher) common manufacturers are Billygoat and Ryan. You can adjust the depth of the furrow/slit. Spread the seed and follow up by passing the machine over the area in two perpendicular passes. I've tried the rake method, the roller method, the "topdressing" method, and this verticle slit method and the slit method by far gave the best results. Just no comparison to the other methods. |
RE: Seeding...again
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| Ok, Rochester. The mix of PR with KBG is an interesting one. PR sprouts in 3 days while KBG takes 3 weeks. The tendency is to stop the daily watering long before the KBG gets enough of it to sprout. Grass seed does not need to be buried under anything to sprout. It does need to have good contact with the surface of the soil. Burying it could postpone germination until it comes to the surface some time in the future. Watch the lawn over the summer. In early August, reevaluate to see if you want to reseed again. Spring is not a good time for several reasons. Fall is a great time for seeding. |
RE: Seeding...again
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| 50/50 PR and KBG is a very common and popular mix up here in Ohio, dchall and probably in most cool season grass areas like IN, PA, NY etc. I agree with you, logic would tell you that they wouldn't be very compatable with their disparate germination rates, but it seems to work. I was surprised too see tiemco's post in another thread that PR produces a chemical that retards the growth of other grasses when so many seed mixes contain PR. Of course there are a lot of different cultivars. |
RE: Seeding...again
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| I used 50/50 PR and KBG mix because years ago I renovated a lawn with a seed mix called Picture Pride made by Scotts and loved the look of it....fine blade, dark green color and it looked like a carpet- it was beautiful. Then Scotts discontinued it and from that point on, I hadn't found a seed mix that wasn't full of crop seed, "clumpy" grass or coated with moisture lock of some sort in an attempt to make it idiot proof. The coated stuff looked like minute rice in the bag and I gave it away. Someone at Scotts was nice enough to pull up Picture Pride on their computer and told me it was a simple 50/50 blend of PR and KBG-no fescues etc. I wish PR germinated in 3 days here, but it's much closer to 7. I'll keep up the watering rotation for the KBG and with the moderate temps in the 60's we're having now, I'm hoping it'll finally sprout. Those night temps we were getting in the 20's really screwed up any predictable germination rates, so I don't even have a true start date from that first seeding at the end of March...April was a bust, so by the end of May, it is what it is :( On the plus side, if my flowers are fierce, maybe no one will notice the less than stellar lawn this year. Thanks for your advice and comments- you guys know your stuff! |
RE: Seeding...again
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| Well dchall maybe, but I'm just an amature with a bit of hands on with mostly KBG. KBG takes forever to germinate and can be very trying. I kept it moist, not wet, and eventually it would come in.. one seeding took 5 weeks before I saw any fuzz!! |
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