jj3500

Planning on some grass next couple of days. I have the topsoil all set. tractor to move it around...i need some input on type of grass seed to get. Not too familiar with this portion. I know you can get a variety of grass. Like baseball field stuff(blue grass) etc or really nice stuff for your yard. Do I go the local hardware store? is that stuff decent? or other suggestions?

thanks

mikmaze

how many square feet are you talking, do you plan on irrigation ? is it full sun, or part shade or heavy shade........ if it isn't too large an area, irrigation and sod is the way to go. no matter which way you go before you spread any soil, spray and kill what is there now, use roundup and watch that you do not get it on anything you don't want dead. Killing it now will ensure that nothing nasty makes it way through the new lawn to make it an eye sore fast. Use comes in to play as well, high traffic lawns will need a turfgrass that can handle that as well. that far north I would not recommend zoisia, high maint and brown from november till april. High quality seed is worth it, much better germination and uniformity. Seed is real picky about water, after it comes up do not let it go dry or it may just die. setting up hoses and being ready to water when it needs it, not running to the store the day it comes up is a big plus. make sure you mow it before it gets 4 inches tall or it may flop over and become a mess. Use of starter fertilizer will help thicken the lawn fast. adding pelletized lime will help with ph as well. add theese all at the same time you seed, then be ready to fertilize again early fall, say Sept 1st. ok, I am outa breath. good luck.

chaikwa

Find/use a seed mix with red fescue, perennial rye and annual rye. Good all around mix for almost any use. Some bllue grass is ok too, but it can be pickier regarding full sun or shade. The annual rye will grow fast and help to shade and protect the other varieties as they germinate. A good all around fertilizer for starting grass is 10-10-10. A fertilizer with a pre-emergent weed killer will serve the purpose of keeping weeds at bay before they even showup, but will also slow down the growth rate of new grass. Above everything else, water, water, WATER! Grass is 85% water.

When I seed a new lawn area, I spread the fertilizer first, then the seed, after-which I take a metal leaf rake, flip it over so that the tines are facing upwards and 'broom-rake' the soil/fertilizer/seed all together. The soil needs to touch the seed to germinate it properly. Pelletized lime is ok, also known as 'quick-lime', but it can have negative affects on some seed when mixed with the fertilizer. 'Regular' lime works best but takes between 6 and 9 months to become fully effective, so I usually apply it in the late fall so that it has the winter to do its thing.

Have fun!

chaikwa.

mikmaze

not quick lime, just peletized, less messy than the puverized kind... think pelletized, like your " coffee "