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tim_ma

New lawn - to tamp or not to tamp?

Tim_MA
10 years ago

Outstanding forum! Looking for some advice: Heavy rain washed away half of the shady grass seed mix I planted. I now have 50% 4 inch baby grass and 50% new seed thrown on top of excellent quality raked soil.

Question: should I tamp? I tamped the first time and, as noted above, lost half the seed to heavy rain. I'm thinking untamped soil will keep the seed in place because water absorption will be faster and the raked texture will serve to keep the seed from moving. Grade is flat to very gently sloping away from plant beds.

Also thinking straw strictly to keep seed protected from heavy rain until it germinates. Good idea?

Other concern about tamping: combination of rain and sun lead to a pretty hard crust, which I doubt is conducive to germination. It took a bit of pressure on the rake to loosen up this centimeter thick crust.

I appreciate any advice!

Comments (6)

  • Tim_MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you, dchall! Just a note on New England coastal weather - it ain't Texas. A scorcher this summer is 85 with a nice breeze. You should see the grass that has germinated. Absolutely gorgeous. It's almost too thick and lush. Soil quality is exceptional.

    I'm curious: what's the advantage of a roller over a good old-fashioned tamper? I like your idea of simply walking on it until my foot prints disappear. This might be the easiest given the patchwork of freshly-seeded raked soil and lush four-inch long grass.

    My primary concern is not the heat, but heavy rain. Granted, they are related. Maybe I just cover with a tarp when the radar looks ugly?

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    Hmmm. The old old fashioned roller vs the old fashioned tamper debate. I hate to open that kettle of fish.

    Actually there is no real debate like that. My concern with a tamper is you can over do it in spots. With a roller it just rolls along and you don't over tamp. But when you see Mother Nature seeding the prairie, the stampeded areas seem to do a little better than the walked on areas. All you have to accomplish is to make good seed to soil contact. If you already have a tamper and can control yourself, then use the tamper. You should not need straw. That introduces other issues.

    You did not mention coastal Mass. I automatically assumed you live inland - not all the way to the vast deserts of Mass, but back in the warmer area away from the sea breeze. People don't realize how important location is to diagnosing lawn issues. USDA Zones mean nothing. It is all about the location. So, 15 yard penalty for withholding information!

    I would still wait until late summer to seed new grass. I had a secondary reason which I was withholding because I did not think I would need to play this card. The second reason for waiting to seed is that crabgrass likes to sprout in the spring. Since you have spring-like weather, it could still be waiting to sprout. If you wait just a little longer, the crabgrass senses the days getting shorter and will not sprout in the fall. And, hopefully at that time you will not have the heavy rains. It could be with you it is a matter of statistics in getting enough seed down between storms to establish the lawn. If some of your seed is Kentucky bluegrass, it will all fill in anyway. If it is fescue, then you just have to keep after it every fall until you get the density you want.

  • Tim_MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Massive thunderstorms wiped it all out again. Dchall, I may need to wait. :-)

  • maplerbirch
    10 years ago

    Work the seed in a little deeper then soak the area and let it dry, before moving ahead with irrigation. Your soil stabilizes best with water instead of mechanical compaction equipment. :)

  • Tim_MA
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you, maplerbirch! I'll give that a try. Looks like I got some solid germination and coverage despite the downpours. I'm up to about 60% lawn now... Little by little...