Friday

tip-o-day

Fall is for grass. Grass loves fall.
If you have any grass to grow in bare spots or places overrun with weeds - this is the time to do it. ANYONE can grow grass in the fall.

Here are some things steps that will ensure your success.

□ Use the right seed.

o Grass seed has an expiration date - so don't try to plant stuff you found on a shelf in the back of the garage.
o Select seed specific for you lawn and lighting conditions. The packaging will tell you if the seed is for Sun, Shade, Sun and Shade or Deep Shade – pay attention to that.
o If you are patching – try to buy seed that will blend with the rest of your lawn. If you don’t know what kind of grass you have, take a sample with you to your local nursery.
If you don’t care… buy the Scotts seed that best suits your needs. (this is actually what I do – it eventually blends with the other grasses … its my little foray into grass equality)

□ Prep the area.

o If you have weeds where you will be planting, first remove them or spray them with a systemic product like RoundUp (be sure NOT to use the season long variety of RoundUp - this prevents germination).
o Wait 7 days after the RoundUp application before planting.

□ Rake up the area to be planted.

o Once the area is weed free, rake to loosen the soil to accept the seed.

□ Rake in the seed.

o After spreading the seed (I spread it generously), rake the seed into the soil. Seed needs to be covered to germinate.

□ Protect the area.

o Put something over the seed to keep it from washing away in the rain and also to help retain moisture. You can use hay (be sure to buy hay for seeding new laws, otherwise it will be filled with seeds that will simply plant a wheat field for you instead). But personally, I find hay to be a nuisance and actually prefer to use clippings from my own lawn. This way there is no clean up and clippings actually have alot of moisture in them. Be sure not to spread them too heavily, or they will smother the new seed.

□ Fertilize

o Not required, but using a Starter fertilizer will give your new grass a stronger, faster start.

□ Then water, water, water.

o New seed must remain moist. Water every day. Twice a day if you can. Don’t water so much that there is puddling – just be sure the soil is moist down through the top layer. Set up a sprinkler to make it easier… you can even put the sprinkler on a timer and then not worry at all.

You should have germination in 7-10 days.

Since I will be doing all of these step over the weekend… perhaps I will snap some pics of each step along the way.