Growing a new lawn

[zeke83]

We have been building our new house all winter, and its going to be time to do the lanscaping soon...if it ever stops raining!!

The house is in a wooded lot, with about 2 acres cleared. Im not looking to have a lawn like a golf course, but I want to get something growing asap. The seed I see forsale, like Scotts, is way too expensive. I could just get a hay chopper and go that route, but I think that does not work very well.

Any suggestions?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Fine fescues and I would mix in about 10% annual rye (which will give you a quick start and help cut down on erosion).  you are probably looking at around 3 pounds per 1,000 sf (about 130-140 pounds per acre)

[Geno C]

i use all scotts stuff but i remember buying a seeds in a 50 - 60# for about 50 to 60 bux and i believe it was a Kentucky blue grass... but i got it through my step dad who is a landscaper so im sure he got it through a contractor place.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Get it Hydro seeded, that will grow the fastest. and most consistent. Call a local guy that does it and get a quote.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

They do have some good hybrids of Blue grass out there but they usually aren't very tolerant of shade...the ones that are can be a bit pricey.

fine fescue would be your best bet if there is less than 4 hours of direct sun on the lawn and the soil is poor. (stay away from tall fescue)

I would say hit a feed and grain supply....like an agway

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Get it Hydro seeded, that will grow the fastest. and most consistent. Call a local guy that does it and get a quote.

$.05 to $.18 per square foot depending on the mix and fertilizer and any prep needed.

[zeke83]

I guess my first stop will be agway to see what they carry.

Can seed be spread by hand, or should it be planted?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Spread....lightly rolled in....and once wet.....keep wet. The seed you choose will give you the spreading rates and setting for spreaders.....I have done them with an inexpensive hand spreader but you might want to buy a walkbehind if you are smoothed up

[WNYBuckHunter]

Culver's on the ball today!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

No...just bored out of my ever lovin mind!!!

[sits in trees]

hows your soil, hard to grow grass no matter what seed you use if your soil in poor...

[sodfather]

Take a sample of your soil to your local nursery and have them check the ph level, you may need to add lime or some sort of herbicide to it before laying that down. Personally I would Sod it and call Oasis Irrigation of WNY for a automatic underground lawn sprinkler system (716-684-0518).  It will be set on a timer, have a rain sensor and all you have to do is cut it and fertilize it. I own the company you can get the ny hunting forum discount from me. Good luck to ya.  

[Single_shot]

Last summer we did the cabin yard and used a cheap seed from Kmart. Raked the stone out,seeded,walked on it and threw hay on it and watered it 1 time. Hope and a prayer planting,lol. We used seed that produced slow growing shade resistant grass. This spring it looked quite good and should bounce back well when it dries up some. I personally wouldn't spen alot on seed....the cheap stuff works just fine and you can seed it heavier because it's cheap.

[fasteddie]

So far this spring about the only thing you could plant that would grow is RICE !

[zeke83]

Well I went to agway last night, and they had a lot of choices. All different choices seemed to say the same thing....good for new lawns, over seeding, covers well..ect.

My lot is in an old maple harwoods, with a good amount of clay in the soil. Last summer where ever I cleared and the sun hit the ground, the weeds would grow to about 6 foot tall.

I think I am going to go with the seed gives me the most bang for my buck from agway.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

don't use annual rye unless you are just looking for a temporary cover. If you can swing it I don't think you will be disappointed in a creeping fescue.

[zeke83]

This is the description of what I am thinking about getting

AGWAY CONSERVATION GREEN

Agway Conservation Green is a mixture that tolerates full sun to medium shade and is quick and easy to establish. It is an excellent choice for soil erosion control or hard to grow areas. This mixture contains 5% white clover.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

should work fine. Perrenial rye....fescie and KY bluegrass...clover is a bonus for the whitetail nibblers you want to take off your deck

[zeke83]

Now what about covering the seed. I have read that I should rake it, so to cover it with no more than 1/4 of dirt. Would a york rake be ok to use?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Now what about covering the seed. I have read that I should rake it, so to cover it with no more than 1/4 of dirt. Would a york rake be ok to use?

I would say yes if it has gauge wheels so you are only lightly raking it. then a light roll. Good soil contact is important and it keeps the birds from eating all your hard earned money...lol.

THe only thing any type of mulch does is maintain the moisture in the soil and retard the evporation out of it. You can easily skip any straw mulch if you want but you have to watch the watering even closer then.

How big of a lawn are you putting in?

[HUNT6246]

Our local Agway has a lawn seed that in our case they call a Niagara County shady Lawn mix.  I don't remember what's in it.  But, it does quite well around our house which is in the woods also.  One thing we do notice though is that some of the seed that we've used for re-seeding produces grass that is a MUCH darker green than what ever was used in our lawn by the original owner.  I'd suggest sticking with grass from one supplier to avoid different color patches.

[zeke83]

It will be about 1 acre

[Doewhacker]

Hey culv what about re-seeding or mixing it into already established lawn, what should I do? I have patches where the grass grows perfectly and othere where it had died back from lack of care before we bought the house (3 years ago) and crab grass now grows but not till later in the summer. For now its all patchy, nice grass and sandy soil mixed together. I am thinking of tackling it one part at a time so's not to go broke and end up with a water less well, haha. Also less than an acre for me.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Doe, crabgrass is a tough one. It can be treated with a pre-emergant chemical that basically makes a barrier....but as soon as it is disturbed...all bets are off. I would wait until it comes up......roundup the area...wait the prescribed time and reseed. I did the same in my lawn....piece. at a time. I shouldn't have said round up....I actually have better luck with the spectacide products. Bluegrass is nice but I really like the creeping rescues.....shade tolerent and the roots travel well to fill in. Google them and they have some nice deep green varieties. I will be doing some more thissummer myself where my Leach lines settled

[Doewhacker]

Thanks Culv. I googled and found a type to look into getting perhaps..

"Creeping Red Fescue is a economical cool season grass with a very fine Texture and is the best shade Tolerant fescue. Creeping Red Fescue is often is another name for Red Fescue. Red Fescue is a shade tolerant, eco-friendly grass that is easy to grow from seed. Red Fescue is easy on the environment due to low water, mowing and fertilization requirements."

Perfect!