Great reminder.....thanks!

OOPS!

I didn't mow, but I added some more seed and milargonite on Monday with my lawn tractor. I just went in straight lines, no turning. Oh well, what's done is done, I guess.

That's all well and good to not mow, but I thought I'd pass on a little tidbit that happened to me a year or so ago. I allowed my newly sprouted grass to get a little tall (maybe 5-6" or slightly more) just to be sure all had germinated, and I got nailed by a torrential rainfall. Several sections of my yard had a runoff area straight off my yard...and all that new grass was laying flat on the ground.

Despite all the raking and gentle lifting, that new grass never did stand back up and I had to reseed all those areas. So if there's rain in the forecast and your grass is fairly tall, I think I'd mow it and take my chances. Just my $.02

Someone needs to invent a hovering robot mower.....

I'm not sure I completely agree. I think it's important to stay off it most of the time. But I don't think an occasional walk on it to pull weeds or throw down some more seed will hurt, if you are careful. (Stay off it when it at its wettest, for example)

Last year I stayed off of the seedbed and allowed the weeds to grow and get established along with the KBG grass. I really regretted it this spring, as the established grassy weeds were very difficult to pull.

This year, I've taken weekly walks to pull the weeds and the grasslings are doing fine and I have very few weeds in the seed bed.

In the backyard, I'm doing a monostand of Midnight II, so I have no problem with whether or not all the cultivars are coming in. The Midnight II started germinating at day 6.

Now I'm not advocating traipsing all over the seedbed every day several times a day.

But I can tell you that I've got a pretty big backyard section I am doing right now and I have very uniform coverage (a single bare 12-inch bare spot at the edge of the seedbed) and the grass shows no evidence of damage from my walks.

I think like anything else, you need to do it (walk on the seedbed) in moderation. I'll post day-25 pictures of my lawn later today.

Great point about the slower germinating stuff. It's day ten for me and I have some spots that are coming in strong and I have others that aren't coming in at all. I know I put out enough fertilizer, I know I put out enough seed evenly distributed, and I know I've been watering it a plenty. I really want to add more seed to the bare spots but I know there's seed in those areas that for whatever reason is just taking a while. I'm thinking just give it some time and it will come in. Heck, my Moonlight probably hasn't even started to germinate yet.

Very good point, Philes, but I can't totally agree. Perhaps it's up to each individual, and I wouldn't want to sacrifice one circumstance for another. Granted, give all the seeds time to germinate, and kbg may take 3 weeks for all to germinate. Then, some exhibit better seedling vigor than others, but it won't hurt the late bloomers to mow the taller grass. I wouldn't suggest a tractor though. You want to promote tillering, and that's what early mowing does. Two inches is ideal time for the first mowing. Two and a half inches if you want to give the late bloomers a little more time. There shouldn't be much at that point that haven't grown in and rooted well enough to walk on. I only see possible problems for those who overseeded and not for those who began from scratch.

I have no push mower, only a riding mower. So they're gonna get the riding treatment unfortunately.

You could probably rent one if you're concerned.

Eh.... I am not particularly that worried about it. We'll have to see. My lawn is very square-ish so except on the edges I am able to drive on and off straight.

I may borrow my fahter-in-laws, when the time comes. I'm probably still six weeks away from that anyways.

How many mowings can I expect to get in this year? I can't imagine more than 1-2... I won't even have enough lawn to mow untill halfway through October.

turf toes, But I don't think an occasional walk on it to pull weeds or throw down some more seed will hurt, if you are careful. (Stay off it when it at its wettest, for example)

For us rookies at renovation, how about a few pointers? At what day did you first decide to walk on the new seed bed? Most of us are watering 3 times a day, so it is always moist, do you go out right before the sprinklers come on in the afternoon?

Considering the photo of your lawn is probably the reason the reason that most of us are renovating this year, with the mag 3, a little insight from you would be greatly appreciated!!

eastpenna,

Well, I didn't start doing it until like day 17.

I tried to do it intitially early in the morning. But when I cut back to two waterings a day, I did it just before the 2nd watering at 5 p.m.

I should note I normally only do it once a week or so. (So I've only been on it twice).

Also, I try to not stay in one place too long. And yes, I do tend to walk on the balls of my feet or toes. Hence, the name turf_toes.

Use a bit of judgement though. If the grass looks too frail to walk on, then don't do it. I still haven't walked on the area where the four sprinkler heads overlap. I threw down seed from the edge of that area. It just seems to damp to walk on now.

turf toes, And yes, I do tend to walk on the balls of my feet or toes. Hence, the name turf_toes.

Funny you mention that, I was going to ask if you wear boots, sneakers, or just go out there in your turf toes.

Cool, thanks!! I am sure that anybody that is going through their first lawn renovation really does appreciate hearing some of the little things that you and others who have done this before have learned. Please feel free to keep it coming.

Thanks Again!!

I come to this forum to learn, share, laugh and gage my own sanity. I knew that I was obsessive about the intricasies of lawn care but, at least I know that I am not alone. :).

I am so bad that I have a 48" riding mower, a 22" front wheel drive push mower and I just purchased a scotts adjustable reel manual mower specifically because I didn't want to risk torturing the seedlings anymore than I have too.

Karensson,

Me too. I purchased a Scott's Classic reel mower two years ago so that I could cut the front lawn without damaging the new seedlings.

It was a great purchase. (Cuts up to 3-inches high).

Best idea yet though I know not everyone can do it.

It just seems to damp to walk on now.

Ack!

I hate when I do that.

That should have read "It just seems too damp to walk on now."

How embarrassing. ;>)

Yeah 'toes...I was gonna comment on that, but decided to let it slide. ;)

This reminder is especially important to those planting mixes. Rye will be up first, followed by Fescues and finally KBG. If you start walking on it early or back off watering, you'll end up with mostly rye, some fescue, and very little KBG.

I had the lawn overseeded last Thursday and I had to mow today, with a rider no less. The grass was tall enough and has been growing so vigorously that if I didn't mow, I would be cutting off more than 1/3 of the grass blade, and that wouldn't be good, or I'd have to mow again sooner to finish the rest, that's not good either. I also don't own a bagger, so I'd be smothering the lawn with clippings, also which isn't good. I also didn't want the grass to get so high that they block light from the new seedlings.

I consulted the landscaper who did the job and he said it would be fine at this stage as the seeds are underground and probably haven't even germinated yet (I haven't noticed anything quite yet). Even when they do germinate, the tractor shouldn't hurt them. Yes I don't want to be mowing every 4 days like I usually do (more like 7-8) and I have to be careful when turning that I don't disturb the soil, but it's something that has to be done.

If I could have waited longer I would have, but I couldn't. Temps have been much cooler and because I'm watering 3 times a day, even though the grass was cut really short to begin with, it's just been taking off.

I made the mistake once of running over a 3 week old (from the time of seeding) kbg that I had just patched, with my riding mower. Seedlings were pretty much dead thereafter. I wouldn't minimize the effect of a heavy tractor. Including myself, that is close to 700lbs on a small contact patch of the 4 wheels.

There must have been another reason beside the tractor that the grass died; a reason that it wasn't as strong as it could have been to begin with. If a tractor is all you have, I can't imagine having to go rent or buy a walk behind, especially if you have a large property, to baby new seedlings until they've been up for a few months.

Fourstringdrums,

Well, when I renovated my front yard and side yards, it cost me about $300 for the seed alone (This is a couple of years ago when the seed was cheaper than today).

I certainly didn't think twice about buying an inexpensive reel mower to protect that $300 investment.

If I was dealing with the standard Scott's Pure premium stuff, I probably wouldn't bother as the stuff is pretty cheap (in both senses of he word) and I could always just buy more seed.

I don't have the option of using any sort of walk behind mower, especially a reel mower, because I have a disability so walking around to even do .25 of an acre would guarantee trouble walking for a few days afterwards. That's why I only have a riding mower. My wife could certainly do it, but she is so busy with work that she just doesn't have the time. That leaves paying the landscaper that did the job or someone else to mow, and most of those companies around here have industrial walk behinds, if not riders, that weigh as much or more than my Husqy. The only other option is my neighbor's kid, but he does such a lousy job and is careless that I wouldn't want to take a chance anyway.

So am I to assume that I've doomed my lawn, or that as it seems on this forum, everyone is just overly cautious?

everyone is just overly cautious?

Bingo. You do the best you can, and it'll turn out just fine.

Yes, you'll probably do a little damage but probably not enough that you'll even notice.

Everyone is just cautious. Youwill be OK. It might take an extra week to get to where the walked ones are but in six months from now no one will know the difference.

Alright good. There is just really one spot where it is very thin and almost bare. It's just an overly large area. I suppose I can just take extra care if and when I notice germination.

I revived this thread to be able to use the sketch again. But I have mowed twice, with a push power mower, on my two plus acres. The seed went down Aug 13th, so I'm at about six weeks, maybe seven. It's come in nicely. But I still don't want to get the 48" tractor out for mowing.

I'm STILL finding sprouts coming up, quite small, whether they're from tillers, or from seed. They're there, and they're quite small. Anybody else noticing this, in their renovation?

I have resolved, again, to stay off that lawn as much as possible. And give it some time.

My two cents are that like most things, it is a matter of degree. In a perfect world it would probably be best to stay off seedlings around six weeks, then let it dry moderately before getting on it for the first mowing.

Funny thing is, most of us don't live in a perfect world. ;) Two weeks after my front yard overseed of an existing front yard I found some places I couldn't get the slitseeder close enough to to get the seed in there, and some other places that were a little weak. So, today, I got on the grass to hand re-seed and also to apply a layer of peat moss on those areas. This required some stepping on some 14 day old seed (a fescue/p rye and KBG mix).

I think the benefits of filling in the missed/weak areas while I am doing all the watering for the first overseed will outweigh the damage done by getting on it. Every situation is a little different.

You just have to weigh the risk v. reward and take your best shot.

PS Yes I know the KBG might not even be coming up yet, but, most of the re-seeding was done in shady areas where I put PRye and fescue which should be showing most of what its going to do in 14 days since its been very warm here the whole time (80's to upper 80's in fact).

Hi everyone - first time poster in the Lawncare forum. Great stuff on here from people who obviously love their lawns.

My lawn is very small in comparison to most people with yards, however, it's very big compared to many people in S. Philadelphia, at over 1200 sq. ft, where many people around here have concrete or patios for yards.

The lawn is one-year-old mostly TTTF (Tall Fescue?), that is from sod. As the sod was expensive and I'm determined to have a nice-looking lawn, I've been doing my best to take care of it. I aerated in the spring, after which I used corn meal gluten as weed preventer/fertilizer. I aerated again this fall and decided to do my first overseed project based on what I've learned here. I dethatched, and then aerated, and then used Scotts Tall Fescue premium blend, 14 days ago, and had been watering 3x now down to 2x and will switch to 1x daily tomorrow (oscillating sprinklers that unfortunately get stuck when I'm not monitoring them).

Now the lawn looks lush and green, and the sprouts are about 3 inches high. Can I mow it yet? I don't want to smother my seedlings or squash them with my walking and my Black and Decker electric push mower (very lightweight). Can someone give advice to a new lawn afficionado? I will try to take a picture later this week. Thanks.

I'd wait until those seedlings get to 5-6" and mow when the grass is dry. The thing you might encounter if you blade is dull is the lawn mower blade grabbing the new grass and pulling it out of the ground whole, especially if you cut wet.

Having said that, just go ahead and cut it when it's tall enough...it's just grass and its been growing forever without our help before. :)

I'm STILL finding sprouts coming up, quite small, whether they're from tillers, or from seed. They're there, and they're quite small. Anybody else noticing this, in their renovation?

Yes--at Day 60, there are still a few springing up. Not many, but some. I'm mowing and not worrying about them too much. They'll probably grow no matter what I do at this point.