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Lawn Care Tips (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter andy_b
- Start date
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Big debate on this. I personally don't think that just spreading seed over a lawn does much unless you top it with soil or compost and keep it wet. Seed will grow out of the aerated holes, because you get good seed to soil contact. The question is how whether this grass survives as the holes close up. I've seen varying opinions.MattFancy said:
DevilDog919
Footballguy
I pulled up some stepping stones in our front yard, and they were down about 8 inches below our yard level. I'm wanting to plant some seed to fill in the spots, but obviously need to get it level with the rest of my yard.
Do I just fill with top soil, then lay down the seed? 2X2 foot spots, about 6 of them.
Do I just fill with top soil, then lay down the seed? 2X2 foot spots, about 6 of them.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
You probably need to really compact the soil you put down first. Do you have a tamp?
NutterButter
Footballguy
Now we're talking boys. Get your overseed on.
ragincajun
Footballguy
So what’s the fall prep for Centipede in the south? Now the time for a pre-emergent for crabgrass and other crap?
I may scalp the lawn down in the spring and add sand/soil to level also, so I am not sure I really need to aerate/dethatch this year.
I may scalp the lawn down in the spring and add sand/soil to level also, so I am not sure I really need to aerate/dethatch this year.
DevilDog919
Footballguy
shuke said:
Nope. I looked up some stuff and it said to put planting soil mixed half and half with sand. Said to make it about an inch taller than my yard level and it will compact down.
Im new to this stuff though, not wanting to mess it up.
mr. furley
Footballguy
ripped out some stumps, leveled half my yard. it's now just dirt.
3 weeks ago tilled it up as best i could, threw down late-season grass seed and dropped straw over the top.
after a dry, rainless summer, like some miracle the day after i dropped seed we got rain.. then again the next day. then lots of sun for a couple days. and more rain. essentially we've had perfect growing weather (except one all night/all day soaker in there).
noticed in the last 3-4 days, nice bright green grass shooting up everywhere.
when do i take the straw off? let it sit all winter? take it off before snowfall?
3 weeks ago tilled it up as best i could, threw down late-season grass seed and dropped straw over the top.
after a dry, rainless summer, like some miracle the day after i dropped seed we got rain.. then again the next day. then lots of sun for a couple days. and more rain. essentially we've had perfect growing weather (except one all night/all day soaker in there).
noticed in the last 3-4 days, nice bright green grass shooting up everywhere.
when do i take the straw off? let it sit all winter? take it off before snowfall?
Fat Nick
Footballguy
How thick did you put it down? When I seed new spots, the straw isn't super thick - I don't take it off. I just leave it. When I get to the point of cutting the new grass, the mower just chops the straw up. No harm in leaving it. If anything, you probably risk damaging the grass more trying to rake up the straw than you would leaving it.
mr. furley
Footballguy
not real thick. not uniform, in that some spots are a bit more "heavy" than others but certainly not like a blanket.
mr. furley
Footballguy
urbanhack
Fight The Power!
plant and scatter some natural grasses and then put down a layer of gravel across that entire area.
urbanhack
Fight The Power!
mr. furley
Footballguy
Garrett
Footballguy
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
@mr. furley @mr. fruley @mr. furley_ @furleybaby @mr fruley @mr furley
Greenview grass seed accelerator instead of straw.
mr. furley
Footballguy
shuke said:
well, there's a whole bunch of emails i didn't need
mr. furley
Footballguy
too late to throw this stuff on the lawn if i thin out the straw?
there are some bare patches that don't seem to be taking as well as the rest of the seed
there are some bare patches that don't seem to be taking as well as the rest of the seed
ChiefD
Footballguy
I think most guys here just shred hundred dollar bills and use that. It composts nicely into the soil also.
mr. furley
Footballguy
ChiefD
Footballguy
mr. furley
Footballguy
bale of straw = $6 - $7 bucks here depending where you buy it. we used 3 1/4 to cover our space.
grass seed was like $13 for a bag that covered "10k sq feet" which was really not even remotely close to true. one bag covered most of about 2500sq feet for us.
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shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Depends. Did you fertilize? If so I wouldn't because it has fertilizer in it. Otherwise, if you want to mess with pulling up the straw it's probably fine but really it is best for initial seeding because it stays wet for so long and keeps the seeds wet.
mr. furley
Footballguy
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
I think it's recycled newspaper mixed with fertilizer and made into pellets. It's cheap. It's only like 12.50 for a bag that covers 600 sq ft.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
mr. furley
Footballguy
adding seed on top of existing lawn
or, in this case, throwing down seed on existing seed/bare/new lawn.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
You said you tilled up areas and put seed down. That's seeding. If you raked up dirt in an bare patch, that's seeding. This stuff is good for both.
If you are talking about just walking around your yard and throwing seed down without preparing the soil, that's a waste of money and I don't know why people do it.
Fat Nick
Footballguy
I'll have to take a look. I'm more worried that I'm seeding too late in the season, but I think I'll be OK.
HellToupee
Footballguy
Just closed on a new house and have an issue I've never dealt with before , acorns 
It was raining acorns last weekend . What is the best way to get rid of them ,ust raking or some other method? Are they bad for lawns?
It was raining acorns last weekend . What is the best way to get rid of them ,ust raking or some other method? Are they bad for lawns?
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mr. furley
Footballguy
bring in squirrelsHellToupee said:Just closed on a new house and have an issue I've never dealt with before , acorns
It was raining acorns last weekend . What is the best way to get rid of them ,ust raking or some other method? Are they bad for lawns?
Garrett
Footballguy
It's tough.Just closed on a new house and have an issue I've never dealt with before , acorns
It was raining acorns last weekend . What is the best way to get rid of them ,ust raking or some other method? Are they bad for lawns?
You can get rollers that try to pick them up with their rotation and walk them all over the yard. That's only practical on small spaces and, even then, not very effective in my opinion.
My suggestion is to get the biggest baddest leaf blower available and launch them all into orbit. It's a little pricey out of the gate, but commercial blowers will last 10-15 years for homeowners. That amount of power some of these units have will surprise a lot of people.
https://imgur.com/a/xxctI
NutterButter
Footballguy
I get tons of acorns from a big oak tree. Never had a problem with them. Squirrels probably eat most of them.
Garrett
Footballguy
The hard freezes haven't reached me yet, but they are coming so I'm starting to shutdown.
I'm around the edge of Northern Cool Season/Transition Zone grasses; the main question around here is if you try to support KBG through the summer or not. I've failed at that multiple times so I seeded in a lot more Turf Type Tall Fescue this Fall. Everything looks good now, so the real test will be in July/August next summer. I will say the newer/better varieties of TTTF look great after seeding (not to mention it germinates twice as fast or better).
I'm a huge fan of organic fertilizer, so I have been hitting it hard with Milorganite the last 3 months. I'm debating dropping a single app of fast release Nitrogen down after the cold sinks in, but I'll probably pass so I can stick with organics.
I didn't do any grub control this year and I think I am paying for it now. I've got some spots that, I think, raccoons are tearing to hell looking for food. Reading up on that, it looks pretty simple to lay down a preventative in the mid summer to break that cycle.
Today really started to feel like things were slowing down, so I took a couple pictures for reference next Spring...
https://imgur.com/a/27i9T
I'm around the edge of Northern Cool Season/Transition Zone grasses; the main question around here is if you try to support KBG through the summer or not. I've failed at that multiple times so I seeded in a lot more Turf Type Tall Fescue this Fall. Everything looks good now, so the real test will be in July/August next summer. I will say the newer/better varieties of TTTF look great after seeding (not to mention it germinates twice as fast or better).
I'm a huge fan of organic fertilizer, so I have been hitting it hard with Milorganite the last 3 months. I'm debating dropping a single app of fast release Nitrogen down after the cold sinks in, but I'll probably pass so I can stick with organics.
I didn't do any grub control this year and I think I am paying for it now. I've got some spots that, I think, raccoons are tearing to hell looking for food. Reading up on that, it looks pretty simple to lay down a preventative in the mid summer to break that cycle.
Today really started to feel like things were slowing down, so I took a couple pictures for reference next Spring...
https://imgur.com/a/27i9T
Garrett
Footballguy
You can mow when the grass is not frozen (day before no problem); after a frost is OK too as long as the grass is no longer frozen when you do it. I don't know the specific reason, but trying to mow grass when it is at all frozen screws it up pretty bad.
Yeah, it's pretty common to drop nitrogen late in the year. Once the temps cool down the top growth really slows down as well, but roots are still actively growing at that time. A late application of nitrogen will give you a big head start in the coming Spring.
popeye
Footballguy
I seed in February, intentionally before a snow fall - no soil prep, just cast the seed onto bare spots or areas that need thickened. That spring have had great growth and thickness. Seems contrary to what others have said about prep and timing, but results have been outstanding.
Garrett
Footballguy
That makes sense for dormant seeding. It's cold enough then the seed it going to get down into the ground, but it's not going to germinate until it warms up later in the Spring. I was actually hoping to try that out this year.
The issue people run into is putting seed down late, but when it is still warm enough in the Fall for it to go ahead and germinate. It starts the germination process and gets a small footprint going, but it's not nearly developed enough as grass to survive a hard freeze.
NutterButter
Footballguy
I don't know where you live but in NJ there's pretty much always snow on the ground in Feb. It also doesn't sound right that the seeds germinate prior to it warming up. If you put them down in feb, that's literally a few months.
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Fat Nick
Footballguy
Yeah - this is my worry - I noticed a few little green shoots coming up, then zap - Friday we got a heavy freeze/frost. I'm going to end up re-seeding in Feb/March just because I don't think enough will survive the winter.
My general rule with grass is that the most important part is to protect the seeds when they first germinate. Fall - with at least a month before the first frost, or early early spring are probably the best months. Summer is the worst IMO because you're going to be watering constantly to keep the top 1-2" of soil from drying up.
offdee
Footballguy
Old owners of my house had 4 pallets in the yard where they grew vegetables. I hated them since day one and finally got around to removing the pallets and getting rid of the mesh underlayment and potting soil ( I'm guessing it was potting soil as was dark black and very lightweight).
Now I'm left with 4 squares of raw dirt that I want to fill in with grass seed and ultimately blend in with the rest of the yard. Pic of what I have going on presently
https://www.flickr.com/gp/145687765@N04/p0h40R
I chatted with my lawn guy who sprays for weeds and stuff and tips he gave me. Agree, disagree, other advice?
This is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin btw
- get rid of mesh and soil on top of the mesh (done)
- rake through the remaining soil to dig up any roots from weeds, dig out rocks, etc. (done)
- wait til steady 50 degrees outside to continue (prob in a few more weeks)...
- get a combo seed of bluegrass, perennial rye and creeping fescue. (Don't get a hard or coarse fescue)
- Mix soil and above seed together in pail, pour onto dirt squares in lawn and rake smooth (mixing seed in with soil = no birds stealing and don't have to lay hay on top)
- Keep watered and should grow in nicely.
Outside of addl advice, my one question from above steps....should I dig up the dirt I already have on ground from pic and mix grass seed to that inside of a pail? Or should I get new fresh soil, mix with seed and lay that on top of dirt I already have there now?
Now I'm left with 4 squares of raw dirt that I want to fill in with grass seed and ultimately blend in with the rest of the yard. Pic of what I have going on presently
https://www.flickr.com/gp/145687765@N04/p0h40R
I chatted with my lawn guy who sprays for weeds and stuff and tips he gave me. Agree, disagree, other advice?
This is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin btw
- get rid of mesh and soil on top of the mesh (done)
- rake through the remaining soil to dig up any roots from weeds, dig out rocks, etc. (done)
- wait til steady 50 degrees outside to continue (prob in a few more weeks)...
- get a combo seed of bluegrass, perennial rye and creeping fescue. (Don't get a hard or coarse fescue)
- Mix soil and above seed together in pail, pour onto dirt squares in lawn and rake smooth (mixing seed in with soil = no birds stealing and don't have to lay hay on top)
- Keep watered and should grow in nicely.
Outside of addl advice, my one question from above steps....should I dig up the dirt I already have on ground from pic and mix grass seed to that inside of a pail? Or should I get new fresh soil, mix with seed and lay that on top of dirt I already have there now?
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Sheriff Bart
Footballguy
That sounds like sound advice. My only suggestion would be to add some compost too as it will provide additional nutrients and keep the soil moist.
offdee
Footballguy
Noted. When I mix the soil and seed (and now also compost) should I shovel up the soil already in the ground or use new fresh soil to add on top of what's already there?
Gordo
Footballguy
offdee
Footballguy
