"2. Skim the top couple of inches to incorporate the soybean residue back into the ground."

**with a tractor and tiller

What city and state are you in?

What equipment do you have available to do the installation? Or will you be hiring it done, and thus once the installation is done, that equipment has left forever?

What equipment do you have to maintain the lawn, once it starts growing? If you're going to try to maintain seven acres, with a 54" John Deere lawn tractor, I think you need more equipment.

How do you plan to water this lawn? Or will this lawn be watered by rain only?

I assume you've done the math for the amount of seed and fertilizer you'll be using because that is a lot of area just for grass. Your plan is workable, but I don't know your timeline. 'Twer me, I'd start with a much smaller area as a test plot. Then I'd plant the rest in green manures for a couple of seasons to get the organic matter worked in deep before planting the rest. Have you done a soil test for Ph and nutrients? Any plans for a garden, landscaping, pond or orchard in this acreage?

Lots of trees planted on my adjoining yard right now. I don't plan to plant many trees or landscape for this additional area at the moment. I do plan on adding a pond a few years down the road. I have decided after doing the math for seed and fertilizer to start on a smaller area now. I'll see how it goes and tackle more this fall. Thanks for all of the replies.

I'm going to sound pretty negative, but I don't like any of your plan. The main reason is it sounds like you want to do it right away. If you do you will have 7 acres of crabgrass (if you're lucky) or 7 acres of bermuda (if you're not). The only thing I would plant on that much land now is Dutch white clover. The clover will fix any soil ills for you and give you a very plush appearance without requiring any fertilizer, water, or mowing. The problem with seeding with grassy grass now is the crabgrass seed needs the same (identical) conditions to sprout as your grass seed. Another advantage that clover offers is that IF you don't mow it, it will shade out most grasses and weeds that might try to sprout.

Now, have you considered doing something less boring than planting grass? Have you considered statuary, hedges, arbors, groves, grapes, barbecue, patios, gazing balls, pink flamingos, decks, picnic areas, rock (zen) gardens, rose gardens, other flowering beds, walkways from attraction to attraction, playground equipment, water features (I remember your pond idea), out buildings, terraced gardens, topiary, etc. In my opinion nothing is more boring than acres of grass. There is a reason it is not called "Home and Grass" magazine. Gardens are more interesting. I would shoot for 1/3 of the design in grass and 2/3 in something else.

As to the particulars of your plan, wait until fall and then I would skip steps 1, 2, and 5. If you drag it (your step 3), that accomplishes what you want to do in steps 1 and 2. Replace step 5 with rolling the seed down to make good contact. The proper weight of the roller is enough weight so that after you roll it, you will not leave a foot print.

See if your co-op or extension office has a line on a grass drill. Or hire someone with one. It may save you due to drilling taking less seed than broadcasting.
That is a large task you are taking on. Good luck.

Please don't be offended but this idea is NUTS. There is no way a person can maintain 7 acres as a lawn, it takes a full time staff to do that.

"Please don't be offended but this idea is NUTS. There is no way a person can maintain 7 acres as a lawn, it takes a full time staff to do that."

No offense taken. This is the reason I posted to get other persons responses and hoping to find someone who has tackled a similar project. I'd rather be told I'm NUTS than to start wasting time and money on something that won't work.

One quick note - the main reason I'm doing this is that we run a hall rental facility and most of our rentals are wedding receptions. I plan on adding an open air facility for outdoor weddings in a few years in this area and would like to go ahead and get a jump on the grass. Landscaping and trees I'm sure will follow but not all at once.

Is maintaining this size area really impossible given I've got a 45hp compact tractor w/cab, 84" mower, and 12' 3pt boom spraying for applying fertilizer/weed control?

I guess I would encourage you to look for alternatives to 7 acres of lawn. A football field isn't even 7 acres, and I doubt that you would have a wedding that fills that entire space?

I would get a plan in place that provides a planned layout of parking, wedding area etc.

I would look into alternative mixtures (native grass and wildflowers, crp mixtures) for the area that won't be needed for the weddings. The reason most people think 7 acres is unmaintainable as grass probably due to the watering requirements in the summer? Do you plan to install a sprinkler system or let the grass go dormant in the summer?

With the price of wheat right now, I would let the winter wheat grow and then harvest and sell it before I would spray RU on it. :)

I have decied to let the wheat come in as well. I'll seed this fall when my results will be less reliant on not having a drought this summer. I did the math using measurments from google earth and the area is approx 4.25 acres. Not as big as I estimated. I already have an indoor facility that we rent out, parking lot included. I'm just expanding the usable area of the land with the plans to add an open-air outdoor facility as well. Maybe a pond, additional landscaping to come later. Just thought I'd get a jump on the grass. I'm not expecting a perfect "yard". Just a nice place for kids to run, play ball, etc. Heck, I'd be happy with a somewhat weed free stand of K31. It can go dormant in the summer, no big deal

If you want the place to be beautiful for weddings, you need to make a show place out of it. We have an art museum in the neighborhood that has weddings and wedding photographers stumbling over themselves to get their girls in. Now they are only letting photographers in after making a $10 donation to the museum, and still they are lined up.

Check out the link below for over 300 pictures taken at the McNay Art Museum. You'll get an idea of what attracts the weddings. Certainly having a mansion on the premises helps but the surrounding gardens are where most of the brides want their pictures. Important focal points are the fountains, long row of tall plants (Indian hawthorn I believe) with brick paving, curving stone steps around the fountain, and the Japanese tea garden with koi and oriental motif. Photographers love that stuff.

For some reason GardenWeb has rejected my link to pictures of the McNay Art Museum. You'll have to cut and paste.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=McNay+Art+Museum%20San+Antonio&w=all

i think you should be more worried about the trees etc. obviously you should have a plan before you do anything, but my point is that grass can grow in one season. it takes a long time for trees to mature, so the sooner you plant them, the better.

dchall, thanks for the great link. You are 100% correct. Also, I've planted over 60 trees since we bought the property 5 years ago. I will begin planting for this area as soon as the crops are out. Thanks for all the replies, ideas, and great info.

jk

jk96,

To put things into perspective the football field was a good example. A typical football playing field is 1.4 acres. And if you want the lawn portion to look that good requires a well trained full time staff of pros. Another thing to note is they donÂt use tractors, they use very specialized mowing equipment like golf courses do. Not too mention the expense of a lot of water and fertilizers.

Mr. Hall also pointed out the beauty of the museum again that takes a large staff of gardeners and grounds keepers, which means a large expense.

I am a sod farmer, rancher, own a landscape company my family operates, and have a large lawn myself. However I cannot tell you how to lay your grounds out as it is beyond my capabilities. So do what I would do if I were in your shoes, hire a designer. What I can tell you is it is going to be very expensive to construct, and even more expensive to maintain. What it boils down to is you are going to have to have a very brisk biz to break even if my assumptions are correct on what you want to create. So do some homework and really think about the scale of 4+ acres and the cost.

Good luck to you.

TW