How late can I put down grass seed in eastern Mass.

11 years ago

Just joined the forum, new home owner, we are finally down to dirt after battling bittersweet vine since we moved in May, and would like to put down grass seed. I live in Burlington, MA and I've gotten contradictory advice from local garden centers as to whether it's too late in the season to put down seed. Of course the garden centers still carrying seed recommend putting it down now, those without anymore seed are urging me to wait until spring.

Please chime in as to whether it is too late or if I can still seed last week of October and not waste my time and money. Thanks.

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Comments (5)

bill_ri_z6b
11 years ago
I seeded mid-October last year. It was slower to come up, but it did eventually, and, with the mild winter, it had time to get a foothold. Now it's lush and green. Having said that, however, it might be a bit late to be sure of good results now. If the weather stays mild it may have time. It's a tough call but overall I'd say wait until April if you can.

{{gwi:5901}}
molie
11 years ago
Shekie--- welcome to the NE forum and congratulations on your new home! I know it's a real battle to fight and then win against bittersweet. Definitely there are many folks with much more landscaping experience, but here's my 2-cents worth. I'm guessing it's too late to plant grass. You could put down seed, hoping it will stay in place for next spring, but it may wash or blow away--- especially if that storm I'm hearing about does hit New England!

We live along the coast in southern CT and had to plant a small grass area in the back yard where it's very sunny. My DH put seed in at the end of September, and it took a long time sprout because temps were cooling down. He expects to reseed in the spring.

I'm wondering if there's a cover crop you could put down now--- something that will enrich the soil and can be tilled in next spring before you actually plant the grass. One of my former neighbors planted something (?) like that and then turned it over. His grass was magnificent and thick when it came up. Maybe another member of the forum has a better answer for you.

Molie
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At 6000 feet you can probably get away with planting now. The grasses you've chosen would probably have benefited from dormant seeding, but you should still get some germination. The sheep fescue will probably germinate first, in about 5-7 days. I think crested wheatgrass will take about 5-10 days. Thickspike wheatgrass is closely related to streambank wheatgrass, so I'll guess it will germinate in about 10-14 days (It has been a couple of years, but I think that's how long streambank took to germniate). I would water 2-3 times a day for at least 3 weeks, then cut back to once a day for a week, then every other day for another week or so. You may need to water every week this year since you started somewhat late. Next year, the grass will be fairly well established. Once it's established, those grasses will stay alive in Colorado with no water at all, and should stay green if you water 3-4 times over the course of the summer. I have a similar mix (but streambank instead of thickspike since I have clay soil, and I also have some western wheatgrass). I water in early July, late July and mid August. If we don't get rain in September, I'll get some dormant grass, but otherwise, that's enough water for it to stay green all summer. 5-7 lbs should be enough. If it's not pre-mixed, I'd spread the three varieties separately. Thickspike wheatgrass seed is much larger than sheep fescue and crested wheatgrass seed, so it'll be tough to distribute evely if you spread them together. If I remember correctly, crested wheatgrass seed and sheep fescue seed are of a similar size. As a warning, although sheep fescue is incredibly drought tolerant, it doesn't like the heat very much. If it gets hot enough, the sheep fescue will go dormant, but it will snap back when it cools. That may not be much of an issue at your elevation.
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Well, here is my two cents and you can decide if it is good news or bad news on your own. ;) I too have put down a little P Rye only to discover its early aggressive growth does just what you suggest, it will take over much more than its "percentage" would indicate to the average yard guy (or gal). The good news is that Brian suggested above, it is a beautiful yard from now to next summer. Really, you can hardly beat it for that time period. The problem is it will then brown out in most places in the heat and look pretty bad until cool weather returns. My experience is it takes it two or three summers to die out on its own to the point where you can get something else established. Soo, you can take the good and live with the bad and overseed with P Rye every fall, or roundup it sooner or later and start over. Personally, I'd take the lazy man approach and wait to next fall to make a decision.
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Where are you located and what's your zone? That will make a lot of difference in what you're able to do yet this summer. Here's a link to a zone map so you can look it up. And what DID happen to your flowers? Were you spraying some weeds and the weed killer drifted onto the good stuff? Whatever happened, I'm sure you're not alone! With most systemic weed killers the area can be planted very soon after spraying, but definitely do check the bottle for whatever you used just to be sure. Good luck, Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: USDA Zone Map
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My 2 cents. I feel it is a wee bit late for you even though your zones is significantly warmer than mine in VT. You might get lucky and not get a cold snap for a while and yes, the seed may germinate and even the new thin grass will grow a little. But before it has reached a more robust perennial stage it will get nipped by the winter cold and you'll have to do it all over again. It will not have time to develop a healthy root system or rhizomes either. You might cover the area with straw (not hay) or pine bark mulch and plant seed in the spring and you'll have good grass. Cheers, JK
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claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
11 years ago
Shekie: As far as I know Burlington, MA is Zone 5 and inland. I agree with the first two posters that you're better off waiting until spring, and all three of us are Zone 6 in coastal locations, i.e., warmer than Burlington with longer fall seasons.

Hopefully some Zone 5 people will respond.

Can you mulch the exposed soil with something to keep it from washing away? Leaves are always good and the trees are generous now.

"Dormant seeding" is probably what you'd end up with if you seed now - grass seed that sits and waits until spring and then sprouts. This works fine if the birds don't get it and the rain/snow melt doesn't wash it off. For dormant seeding, though, you want to wait until it's colder so the seed doesn't sprout and immediately get frozen to death.

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diggingthedirt
11 years ago
You might consider planting a fast-growing cover crop now and turning it under in spring... although spring-planted seeds always have to compete with crabgrass, which is one reason fall planting is so much easier.

I very recently planted some small patches - about 3 x 3 feet each. I covered the seed with a thin layer of paper weighed down with bricks. I'm hoping this will keep just a bit more warmth in the soil at night, and keep the moisture constant. It does stay warm here much longer than in zone 5, though.
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
11 years ago
I would say it is late to plant grass seed, but do you have a lawn size area that is bare ground? I am wondering about soil erosion over the winter.

When they recommend sowing grass seed in the fall, they are thinking that if you sow the seed in early September, then you have some nice cool weather for the seed to germinate and the grass to start to grow, and potentially more rain then at other times. Right now, we could get lingering fall like weather, but you would be taking a chance that winter starts on time and you would waste your seed and have to do it over in the spring.

Congratulations on taking care of bittersweet, that is a big job. And welcome to the forum!

How late can I put down grass seed in eastern Mass.

Comments (5)

bill_ri_z6b

molie

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