Hi all, so we had A LOT of work done to our yard.

[Martsmac]

 

[DirtMechanic]

Composted cow manure. Do it now. It will get digested fast so be standing by with a competent fertilization scheme.

LoL! You reminded me..My neighbor cuts grass for a living. A month or so ago he was coming in and I was across the street in my yard. He said "Hey Tom you got the greenist yard around"! I said 'I owe it all to bullshit!"

 

[Martsmac]

Like that black kow stuff u can get? And how to apply it just spread a thin layer over the growing grass? The other concern I have is the amount of various weeds that are coming through too.

For fertilizer I was going to use milorganite but I'm not sure if u can use it on ungerminated seeds.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Black Kow and Titan Rx heat resistant fescue. Admittedly it may be this years sacrifice to the God of grass like all the others I have tried to grow under these trees.

 

[Martsmac]

I've decided to re-attack the rather large portions of my yard that are bare this weekend . Gonna re-seed, fertilize with milorganite and then cover with pest moss. Hopefully by mid summer we'll have a full lawn.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I've decided to re-attack the rather large portions of my yard that are bare this weekend . Gonna re-seed, fertilize with milorganite and then cover with pest moss. Hopefully by mid summer we'll have a full lawn.

Thats what I have been doing. Its too acid for peat moss so I have been mixing seed into composted cow manure and spreading it out of a wheel barrow with a thatch rake. The fertilizer is a good idea. It was not long at all before the grass that came up was crying for food, even though I planted it in black kow.

 

[Martsmac]

Mine just looks like crap I'm considering hiring a company to do it at this point. Tired of having a garbage yard.

 

[Martsmac]

So I have a mini update. I wasn't happy with the progress of either my front or backyards lawns so the back I tilled and reseeded along with fertilizing with milorganite and although it became greener (the very back that we covered with pest moss after reseeding came up the best and continues to do well) we are now using sprinklers on the back and doing it twice a day, but one thing I noticed was that I have a REALLY rocky soil. Is this going to be an issue to grow a lawn??


The front however i am relatively happy with so far (it is a much smaller space and therefore a lot easier to deal with, see attached picture) this seems to be coming through very nicely although there are also a lot of weeds coming through too, does anyone have any tips for killing weeds whislt waiting for grass to grow or is it pretty much a case of wait for the grass to be established then attack the weeds??

Thanks in advance.

Martin

 

[Sheal]

Hi Martsmac. This is the first time I've seen your thread.

one thing I noticed was that I have a REALLY rocky soil. Is this going to be an issue to grow a lawn??

Having looked at your soil it looks pretty clear of rocks to me. Grass only needs approximately four inches to root properly and grow, so it shouldn't be a problem. I've lived in my home for under two years and I'm gradually retrieving my gardens from nature. If it's any help I have sandy loam soil on bedrock and have been reseeding various parts of the lawns which seem to be growing very well.

 

[Martsmac]

That's the front in the picture I didn't power till it there this is the back. Straight after watering. They are only small rocks but there are tons of them.

 

[Martsmac]

Also when I do eventually get to mow it....bag the clippings or let them fall on the grass? I've heard people say both options. My concern is letting weeds seeds fall back into the lawn

 

[Sheal]

I'm thinking you mean stones not rocks. If so don't worry about them unless you think they will damage your lawnmower blade, but the mower shouldn't be adjusted that low to hit them. Bag the clippings, it will give the lawns a chance to grow unhindered. I would mow the lawns now on a high cut to tidy them up, but not if they're wet. Cutting them or walking on them promotes stronger growth both above and below ground.

Your back lawn still looks fairly bare in places. If the grass seed isn't germinating you will probably have to lay more. Grass seed isn't viable for very long so anything around a year old should be discarded and new seed bought.

 

[Martsmac]

Thanks for the tips, we literally just reseeded this month , good coverage for the seed now so it's basically just watering and waitibg at this point.

At the moment I am turning the sprinklers on about twice a day and will change to once a day when the seeds begin to germinate.

How long should I typical run my sprinklers for at a time?

 

[Sheal]

There's no need to water twice a day, once will do. It's best to water early morning or late evening when the sun isn't on the garden. I water in the evening as the ground tends not to dry out overnight unless it's hot.

The seed is close to the surface so very little water is needed. I don't use a sprinkler just a hose with a gun attachment that has different spray settings but then I'm not watering the whole garden, just large patches. With sprinklers I would say no more than 5 to10 minutes - if that. The lawns need to be damp but not running with water for germination.

 

[Martsmac]

Obviously I'm not going to put any down until its well established, but are there any products like this that you guys can recommend??? :
Scotts® Turf Builder® Triple Action


I have heard bad things about scotts products. I'm ooking for ease of use more than anything drop it and forget it ....