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| I have recently cleared out about an acre of land next to my home in the southern pine barrens area in New Jersey. I would like to cover this area with some sort of grass but by no means wish to have a perfect turf style lawn, just looking for something green to cover the soil :) I also do not have a permanent irrigation system on this property nor do I wish to install one. I can however put a temporary system out there for establishment. What type of grass or type of vegetation do you think would work best for my scenario? Again, I'm by far not looking for a picture perfect lawn in the lot, just something to cover the ground, even weeds would do haha! The soil is sandy and gets plenty of direct sun.
I did come across this Northeast Native Grass Mixture that sounds interesting though im not sure if it would survive being moved in the summer months even if it is left several inches long: http://www.seedland.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Seedla nd&Category_Code=FSN-NE Thanks in advance for any suggestions. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Tue, Jul 10, 12 at 21:23
| If you want a shaggy pasture look, then that should work. What it looks like when mowed, I couldn't tell you. There some pasture grasses that look excellent when mowed to normal mowing heights (3-4 inches). Another consideration is Dutch white clover. When it is seeded across an entire area, rather than left to get patchy, it is very plush. You have to appreciate bees, though. They love the white flowers. DWC grows to about 5 inches tall and then stops. No mowing, no fertilizing, and little water. |
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| You might want to contact the DOT in your area, and see what they use when they seed roadsides and medians. Those mixes do very well with little maintenance, water and mowing. They can go dormant in the summer, but come back well with cooler, wetter weather. FYI, New Jersey zones are 6a-7b, no zone 8 in NJ. |
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- Posted by nowashburn none (My Page) on Wed, Jul 11, 12 at 10:27
| Thanks for the feedback. I found the NJ DOT Grass mixes: http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/eng/documents/env/pdf/SoilErosio n.pdf It looks like they use a lot of fescues / bluegrass as the base seed. Also, from what I am reading they do use tall fescue grass a lot for pastures. Would it be worth seeding the area with tall fescue? What is the maintenance like for this type of grass? Thanks again. |
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| That DOT handbook is pretty old. K-31 tall fescue might be the best bet for you. It's pretty tough stuff, and doesn't look half bad, but it has wide, coarse blades. K-31 is pretty low maintenance when compared to the newer turf type tall fescues, and Kentucky bluegrass of course. It is pretty disease and drought tolerant, doesn't need a ton of fertilizer, and can be mowed pretty high. The next step up would be the newer TTTF's, but they are more along the lines of a very nice lawn, and require more water and maintenance. |
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