|
| We are going to be laying down seed this weekend for a new lawn. I feel fairly confident with most of the process (can you tell this is my first time?) but i'm unsure how the edges work out. Do you generally allow the edges of the grass area to be what they may until the grass fills in and then edge the lawn? How is this generally handled?
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by cloud9landscapes 11 (My Page) on Fri, Aug 12, 11 at 23:46
| After the lawn is established, a 1/4-1/2 inch edge is established using a walk behind edger. You can use a stick edger with less satisfactory results. Walk behind edgers are harder to find outside of southern climates but I'm sure you can rent a stick edger from you local tool rental or better yet, invest in a edger. |
|
- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Fri, Aug 12, 11 at 23:56
| Here is the basic plan for new seed: 1. Remove the vegetation from where you want to grow the grass. You may scratch the surface of the soil to a depth of about 1/8 inch if you feel the need. 2. Scatter the seed. 3. Roll the seed with a water fillable roller. 4. Water every day, 3x to 4x per day, for 10 minutes each time, for the next week (for rye), next 2 weeks (fescue), next 3 weeks (Kentucky bluegrass). 5. When you feel you have 80% of the seed germinated, start to back off on the watering until you are applying about in inch of water all at once. That should last you a full week in the heat of summer and a full month in the heat of winter. 6. When the grass is tall enough to mow, mow. For rye and fescue that would be the mower's highest setting. For KBG it would be 3 inches. Note that you don't need peat moss, straw, additional topsoil, aeration, rototilling, or compost. These elements seem to be standard to locations, but they are not universally standard. Mother Nature does not use any of them when she is reseeding. To your specific question, huh? Edges of the grass area? You mean concrete? Flower bed borders? I'm not sure what you're asking. If you are in Washington and planting the standard rye grass lawn, it is not going to fill in except where the seeds went down. One rye seed grows one plant. That plant will get bigger but it doesn't really spread to fill in bare spots. |
|
| Flower bed borders. Around my back lawn I have a dropoff to keep the grass from spreading. The blend is ryegrass, fescue, and bluegrass. |
|
- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Sat, Aug 13, 11 at 1:27
| That blend is the worst combination for the newby. Why? For no other reason other than because the rye will jump out of the ground in a few days leading the newby to believe all the grass is up. Au contraire. Bluegrass is often the preferred variety because it is the only one of the three that will spread to fill in the gaps between the rye and fescue plants. KBG will save this lawn as long as you get some of it to sprout. So after the rye has sprouted, keep up with the daily watering ritual. Then after the fescue has sprouted, keep up with the daily watering ritual. Keep it up until you get a good amount of the KBG sprouting. That will be at least 2 weeks. KBG will be the grass that tries to invade your flower beds. The other two stay put. But KBG is fairly easy to control as it spreads. It won't get too jumpy until the 3rd year. First year it sleeps, second year it creeps, third year it leaps. I would start mowing at 3 inches. Then next June, reevaluate the mowing height to see if you want to go all the way to the top of the mower's setting. There is no reason to mow these grasses lower than 3 inches unless you are reseeding. |
|
| Thanks for the input. I figured I'd have to water til the KBG came up, and knew that it would take longer than the others. All the PNW blends didn't have KBG, but I figured I'd like to have some and if it doesn't take, then no harm, no foul. I will simply overseed with additional PNW blend. Thanks for the input. A grass lawn is the most concerning thing I've come across with gardening. So many variables! |
|
- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Sat, Aug 13, 11 at 12:14
| Sounds like you have done some homework and come to grips with the realities of lawns. Best wishes to you. |
|
- Posted by bassplayer7 6 (My Page) on Sat, Aug 13, 11 at 12:59
| @dchall - I'm curious your thoughts on using straw when seeding a new lawn. I've always understood that it is best to put down a light layer of straw to help keep some water in, but it certainly is more work, and a step that would be nice to cut out if it doesn't do any good. |
|
- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Sun, Aug 14, 11 at 21:36
| bassplayer7, depending on which part of the country you live in, local people will swear up and down that they need to use straw, and/or topsoil, and/or peat moss, and/or aeration in order to retain moisture on the seed. Mother Nature takes the approach of pushing the seed down into the surface of the soil with Her hooves and leaving well enough alone. When a seed germinates the sprout comes out as a curled over stem with the leaf pointing down. If the stem is covered with anything heavy, it will tend to keep the sprout from unfolding and pointing the leaf upward. If the surface is moist soil then most of the sprouts will probably make it through. Straw is special in that it cannot separate to allow the sprouts underneath to peek through. I believe that is the concern behind the concept of raking the straw off at a certain point in the seeding/germination process. When you rake it off you have the other concern of raking away the new seedlings. If you have an opportunity, try it both ways and let us know what you learn. |
|
- Posted by bassplayer7 6 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 15, 11 at 12:50
| Thanks. That makes sense. Next time I seed new, I think I will try that. I had not thought of it from the perspective of it possibly inhibiting the initial growth. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Lawn Care Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.