Grass planting in fall?

[coffeeman]

Hi all

I am thinking of planting grass this weekend. My thought is grass will get a good start as we will still get some good weather; 60 degree here this weekend. I have some weeds in the blank dirt field, but not a lot and I think lots of grass in spring will allow the grass to choke out the weeds as they will grow faster and higher and be cut by mower; allowing grass to grow over weeds. (How's that for a plan?) In addition; I don't think I'll need straw to keep in moisture since it will be moist from here out.

However, I have also been thinking of seeding dirt in Feb or Mar when snow is on ground.

Any ideas from the TBN folks will be appreciated.

I am seeding near Pennsylvania - West Virginia border.

Cheers

 

[Sackett2]

following the other advise here, I did mine early fall before the rains. Its looking good now and will be thick come spring. The more you can get it to grow the better it is; not sure about your growing season/winters- i know this method wouldn't have worked in North Dakota

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm in East Texas, and my predominant grass is Bermuda and Bahia. Both go dormant in winter, so it's very common to over seed it with rye grass. I broadcast my lawn and food plot with it a few weeks ago, before we were expecting some rain. It's now about 3 inches tall, and very thick. I'll have to mow it in another few weeks. Temps are in the 50's at night and 70's during the day. It will get down to the teens in January and warm back up in April. By May, the rye grass will dye off and the Bermuda/Bahia will be thick and lush again.

Rye grass isn't great for errosion because it's roots don't really hold the earth together. It will wash out fairly quickly when it rains. It is nice for green color in the winter and I think I read somewhere that it adds nitrogen to the soil.

I just spread it because it looks nice in my yard. Adding it to my food plot was a kind of, why not, type of thing.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[herd]

Eddeie, did you actually plant Bahia grass? I know it has a nice texture but around here it is a dreaded grass because of how fast it grow and the shoots it puts on so quickly after mowing. It is only in these parts because the Highway Dept brought it here from Florida for roadside coverage. Even they don't use it anymore!

Not knocking it, just curious. It is a nice looking ground cover when freshly mowed, just high maintainance.

 

[Jstpssng]

Hi all

I am thinking of planting grass this weekend. My thought is grass will get a good start as we will still get some good weather; 60 degree here this weekend. I have some weeds in the blank dirt field, but not a lot and I think lots of grass in spring will allow the grass to choke out the weeds as they will grow faster and higher and be cut by mower; allowing grass to grow over weeds. (How's that for a plan?) In addition; I don't think I'll need straw to keep in moisture since it will be moist from here out.

However, I have also been thinking of seeding dirt in Feb or Mar when snow is on ground.

Any ideas from the TBN folks will be appreciated.

I am seeding near Pennsylvania - West Virginia border.

Cheers

I used to seed woods roads and ditches to stabilise the soil; sometimes I would spread it right on the snow. I used an seeder bo on the back of my ATV; one year it was still so deep I could barely go in it.

 

[Deano]

Hi all

I am thinking of planting grass this weekend. My thought is grass will get a good start as we will still get some good weather; 60 degree here this weekend. I have some weeds in the blank dirt field, but not a lot and I think lots of grass in spring will allow the grass to choke out the weeds as they will grow faster and higher and be cut by mower; allowing grass to grow over weeds. (How's that for a plan?) In addition; I don't think I'll need straw to keep in moisture since it will be moist from here out.

However, I have also been thinking of seeding dirt in Feb or Mar when snow is on ground.

Any ideas from the TBN folks will be appreciated.

I am seeding near Pennsylvania - West Virginia border.

Cheers

Coffeeman,

It might be getting too late this fall for your area. I planted my pasture area 6weeks ago with almost the same conditions you decribe (field condition).
attached are pictures.
I read that somewhere that the soil temp must be 50 degrees or above for proper germination. I also planted a section of my yard about three weeks ago and it does not look near as good as my pasture.
Also, are the nutrients up to speed in the soil? Soil sample tests are only about $6 a sample so well worth it.
Research grass planting for your area on google.

Deano

 

[Tig]

I prefer to plant any time after summer peaks. This year was a wet summer so I planted in July. People in Ontario can thank me for the 4 weeks of hot sunny weather that followed. I watered daily to survive that and the grass grew in thick. I have not watered since mid August.
Normally I would have planted during the last week of August. Cool nights and the wetter season ahead makes for great grass growing. By the time summer heat comes along the grass will be reasonably established and able to survive.
Sounds like Deano has done some research on growing grass. Good luck.

 

[Duffster]

Hi all

I am thinking of planting grass this weekend. My thought is grass will get a good start as we will still get some good weather; 60 degree here this weekend. I have some weeds in the blank dirt field, but not a lot and I think lots of grass in spring will allow the grass to choke out the weeds as they will grow faster and higher and be cut by mower; allowing grass to grow over weeds. (How's that for a plan?) In addition; I don't think I'll need straw to keep in moisture since it will be moist from here out.

However, I have also been thinking of seeding dirt in Feb or Mar when snow is on ground.

Any ideas from the TBN folks will be appreciated.

I am seeding near Pennsylvania - West Virginia border.

Cheers

Now is an excellent time to seed. I'm not so sure I would seed over the snow thinking the seed could float away when the snow melts.

Some of the best grass I have done was seeded in late December on ground that was froze hard but loose and dry on the top one inch or so.

 

[dave1949]

Mother Nature seeds grass in the Fall - it works for her
Seeds are amazing things when you think about it.
Dave

 

[DJ54]

Here is a link to OSU's extension site. It covers "frost seeding". I have used this on my pasture, and hay ground with excellent results.

Improving Pasture with Frost Seeding, ANR-14-02

Although you are not sowing legumes, it works well with grasses. A buddy of mine at work years ago told me about it. They sowed KY. Bluegrass for their lawn using this method, and had great results.

I have seen them sow clover seed many times on top of the snow. I prefer to use the frost seeding method, and if you happen to catch it at the right time..., right before a snow, in my thinking it would only help take it into the ground.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddeie, did you actually plant Bahia grass? I know it has a nice texture but around here it is a dreaded grass because of how fast it grow and the shoots it puts on so quickly after mowing. It is only in these parts because the Highway Dept brought it here from Florida for roadside coverage. Even they don't use it anymore!

Not knocking it, just curious. It is a nice looking ground cover when freshly mowed, just high maintainance.

Bahia is one of my native grasses. The stems really make it a terrible grass, but it grows great here and you never have to water it. It just keeps growing and growing. I only plant common Bermuda seed. It's $5 a pound for pure, hulled seed at my local feed store. The rye grass is just for winter green on the lawn in front of my house. It's a small lawn and I put half a sack on it. Then I used the rest for my food plot as an extra to my other plants. Rye is .50 cents a pound, so it's an affordable way to have a short term lawn. It won't survive the warm weatehr here, but when it dies off, the Bermuda is coming back.

Eddie

 

[FxdGrMind]

Yup, I seed only in the FAL.

Light dirt, seed and add fertilizer over the top, rake in lightly. Fall rains are better than trying to water with sprinkler that may have areas of "Overwatering" and may wash away or disturb your seeding.

I've done two sections this fall, one in early Oct the other just last w/e. The early Oct is 4" long and growing in thick. The other is just germinating. I'll have to check when I get home.

 

[asylum575]

I seeded mid-late November last year and was a bit worried when I didn't have much grass come up before the snow came. Ground was covered from late December through late February. By late March, I had a nice thick lawn coming up. I'm reseeding some spot this year and hoping for similar results.

Mother nature is amazing.

 

[Charlesaf3]

Fall is the best time to plant grass without question. Try to leave enough 50 degree days after planting so it'll establish - 2 weeks of +50 should do it.

I'm going to plant grass today, but I'm in the iffy zone

 

[NSBound]

Agreed that fall is good for planting lawn. I was concerned that there wasn't enough heat and sun for germination, as Sept-Oct were dreary and cool and wet here. It does seem to have taken hold enough to survive though. I tilled, dragged a spike harrow around, fertilized, harrowed again, and spread the seed by a hand-held spreader. Then I went and bought a little Kubota ride-on mower for spring! These photos are (1) Before prepping and seeding, (2) Sept. 25. (3) Oct. 15 and (4) Oct. 25.

 

[asylum575]

I'm hoping to finish up the leaf cleanup this weekend. If I finish up soon I will aerate and seed.

 

[Wineslob]

I got out the old Horse tiller and tilled up some sections of cruddy looking lawn(the ground was terribly compacted) just about a week ago, and planted with a "sun and shade" mix. Raked it in and have been keeping it moist. We had light rains last night, so I think I "nailed" the timing.
I'll keep my fingers crossed, this is the second time I've tried to get a lawn going, but I hadn't tilled before.

Is it ok to top it with composted steer manure?