Dormant seeding with mulched leaves
chris_chicago
9 years ago
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Mulching Leaves and Dormant Seeding
Comments (7)I'm in Michigan, so snow can be significant. The weather has changed so much over the years, it's hard to say how much we'll get this coming winter. Will the amount of snowfall affect the decomposition? Does the moisture promote it even when it's well below freezing? I'm sure we'll go through a few thaws before, or at the time of, early spring. The leaf drop doesn't seem to be too heavy when I mulch it up once or twice a week, however, in reality, it comes from 3 or 4 huge maples. You say that the mulched leaves can be a topdressing. Do you think that seed will fall below the mulched leaves? THAT I wouldn't be too worried about. Thanks,...See MoreDormant Seeding, Otra Vez
Comments (3)"Seed in December or February?" Yes. As long as it is too cold for the seed to germinate and the lawn isn't covered with snow, you can dormant seed. I'll be doing it for part of my lawn this weekend. "Broadcast on top of remaining grass or slit seed with the Ryan overseeder (which they won't rent after the ground freezes)?" Kind of answers itself. If they won't rent it, you can't use it. With dormant seeding, you rely on the freeze/thaw cycles and the snow melt to bring the seed in contact with the soil. Just spread the seed. "Will removing the dead grass cause errosion?" Maybe. Probably. "Will leaving it prevent the seed from reaching the soil?" It may prevent some from reaching the soil, but enough should still reach. "Will slit seeding in December let the seed sink deeper in the winter, too deep to germinate? " Moot since you don't slit seed in December. "With dormant seeding should the seed rate be 10-12 lb/1000 sqft as in a normal seeding of straight TTTF, or a reduced rate of 5-6 lb/1000 sqft? " Follow the seeding rate for the kind of seeding you're doing. If all the grass (or most of it) is dead, use the new lawn rate. If you're seeding into an existing lawn to thicken it, use the overseeding rate. Maybe bump it up 10% or so to account for seeds lost to a variety of factors....See MoreLime sulphur and dormant spray on leaves for composter?
Comments (7)Lime sulfur can be sprayed at any time of year (except when trees are in flower to avoid harming pollinators). It is just a fungicide - and a natural one at that - and is used frequently to combat fruit tree ailments that can occur after leafout - like scab. One of the recommendations for treating scab is to spray just as the leaves are falling, as well as during the dormant period and again as the tree is leafing out or until the climate conditions for scab no longer exist. In my area, that was well into June this year :-) It is sulfur that can become phytotoxic to foliage. Adding lime to the mix reduces the phytotoxicity - the more lime, the less phytotoxic the mix. The lime itself has no antipathogenic effect. It is included only to neutralize the sulfur. Copper fungicides can also produce phytotoxic results. But using them at this time of year hardly creates any sort of serious threat of phytotoxicity. Any leaves treated with dormant spray (horticultural oil) and/or copper or lime sulfur fungicides - all of which are considered natural or "organic" controls - are harmless when included to compost in a moderate amount....See MoreWinter dormant seeding and leaves
Comments (3)Technically, just throw it down and let it grow. No prep necessary, although you can toss some compost or peat around if you like. It's not required, though. By sprouting time, the mulched leaves should have fallen apart a good bit, so they won't be any barrier. Even if not, grass roots can adjust downward slowly if necessary. Seed sprout in decaying organics is not uncommon in nature, after all. You can do the final mow shorter if you like to facilitate sprout in spring. Generally, that would be most required in densely growing areas that won't do well when dormant seeded anyway (there's no extra room), and isn't necessary in areas with light coverage (where there aren't enough grass plants to get in the way)....See Morechris_chicago
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