You MIGHT be a SEED-A-HOLIC...
xiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (37)
EricaBraun
8 years agobluee19
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Hello, I'm Gina, and I'm (apparently becoming) a chicken-holic
Comments (4)Hi Gina, I'm Cheryl. And I'm a chicaholic too. Four years ago a friend offered to give me a dozen chickens for free. So I decided to have a small shed built for them, $700, and the enclosure with gate $150. But the chickens were free, remember? When we finally brought them home, I was absolutely hooked. I love my chickens. We were so successful at raising our chickens that pretty soon our small 16'x16' enclosure and 8'x8' henhouse was deemed too small. So we built a larger enclosure, 75'x 110'($450) and had ANOTHER shed built 10'x12' ($900) this time to accomodate all our new arrivals. Now we have a huge area for our chickens to live in (roughly 3x the size of our own home) but our flock unfortunately has decreased due to predators that inhabit the area. And all the while did we enjoy the advantages of fresh chicken dinners on Sunday? Oh no! We named each of our chickens, and as anyone knows, you can't eat an animal who has a name. We do get lots of fresh eggs, which we usually wind up giving away to family and friends because we can't eat them all. So why do we keep doing it? We're both hooked. Chickens are fun. They're interesting to watch. Besides, all our kids are grown and gone from home and we both still work full time, so what else do we have to do with all that disposable income but blow it on a bunch of spoiled birds? My name is Cheryl and I'm a chickaholic....See MoreA very old post that might be helpful when seeding
Comments (19)To overseed your existing lawn, you have to mow down the grass in order to give the seeds and seedlings a chance at survival. Your intention where the old lawn is concerned determines how you mow it down - gradually or all at once. The theory you refer to is scalping it all at once in effort to weaken/stress the existing lawn if you want to try to get rid of it without killing it off with that "R" word stuff. Then, you'll manage for the new grass after established to try to further stress the old grass. This is theoretical and is not expected to be 100 percent effective. However, if you want to overseed with as little damage to the existing lawn as possible, then mow it down gradually, not removing more than 1/3 at a time. Then lowering the height and raising it again should be a gradual process. 1. Get a soil test. Call your nearest county extension service for a test kit and sampling instructions. It will likely take two weeks for results. If you need to apply sulfur, lime, or any other amendment per test recommendation (that is not applied in Step 5), you can do it after seeding if you don't get results back in time. 2. Mow to within one and half inches, but mow it down gradually. Cut off 1/3 the grass blade and another 1/3 three or four days later. Repeat if necessary. 3. Rake it up 4. Core aerate or cheat and apply Nitron A-35 to relieve soil compaction. 5. Fertilize 6. Sow seeds (slit seeding is best) 7. Topdress 1/4 inch layer compost, peat moss, or clean straw (weed-free). (One cu. yard/1000 sqft). 8. water 15-20 minutes twice a day for two weeks water 20-30 minutes once a day for one week water 30-45 minutes once a day every other day for one week water 30-45 minutes once a day twice a week for one week move into deep irrigation, increasing the time to provide 1 inch of water all over and decreasing the frequency to just once a week. Starting off, the schedule supplies roughly 1/4 inch of water, then increases that amount while decreasing frequency of application at the same time. Like practically everything that concerns lawn care, this schedule is a general guideline and should be modified to accomodate your specific conditions. The lengths of time should be modified if you have an automatic sprinkler system since that will not take as long to provide adequate moisture. So, decrease amount of water (time) but maintain frequency as is. The tuna cans test is recommended. If it is still especially warm, you may want to irrigate 3 times a day (10-15 minutes if necessary) for that first couple weeks. Your objective is to keep the upper 1 inch of soil moist and not let the seeds dry out. 9. First mowing is when the new grass reaches two inches. However, the existing grass will be considerably taller, so you'll have to mow down gradually again to the point of mowing 1/3 off the new grass. You do want to get the new grass mowed early at this time in order to promote tillering. Then, you want to gradually raise the mowing height to desired length of 2.5 inches. Higher if you prefer....See MoreHi, I'm Tigerdawn, and I'm a hoya-holic
Comments (2)As usual . . . I agree with Denise. :) The first one looks a little light in color to be DS-70, but it's probably just the flash or bright light making the leaves appear so. Lovely plants. Carolyn...See MoreSeed Germination: What might a UK seed packet labeled "crfincr" c
Comments (2)Or if you post a picture maybe we can id the seedlings. BTW I don't know of a Basil cultivar called Wilkinson. But the is a supermarket chain called Wilkinsons. Your page says you are in the US but your link says you are in the UK. Which is it?...See Moreirishdescended
8 years agoBenLovesBeets (Zone 7b)
8 years agolexiegurl09
8 years agobeth_b_kodiak
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years agocottonwood468
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoirishdescended
8 years agobeth_b_kodiak
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years agobeth_b_kodiak
8 years agoirishdescended
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years agoMargi Fisher
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years agocottonwood468
8 years agolexiegurl09
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoMargi Fisher
8 years agoAMANDA PUCKETT
8 years agolexiegurl09
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years agocountryladies14
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years agolexiegurl09
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years agocountryladies14
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years agoval (MA z6)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoMelissa
8 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
8 years ago
Related Stories
NATIVE PLANTSWhy Aggressive Plants Might Actually Be Your Friends
Sometimes a garden thug is exactly what’s called for
Full StoryGREEN BUILDINGWhy You Might Want to Build a House of Straw
Straw bales are cheap, easy to find and DIY-friendly. Get the basics on building with this renewable, ecofriendly material
Full StoryWINTER GARDENINGExtend Your Growing Season With a Cold Frame in the Garden
If the sun's shining, it might be time to sow seeds under glass to transplant or harvest
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESUnleash Your Guerilla Gardener
Toss some seed bombs around the yard for easy, beneficial plantings
Full StoryGARDENING AND LANDSCAPINGGarden Musts for April
There's plenty to do in your garden this month without mucking around in the mud. Think seeds and let the rain do its work
Full StoryHOUZZ TVHouzz TV: How to Make and Plant a Veggie Box
See how to start edibles from seed, then transfer the seedlings to a box on stilts to make harvesting more fun
Full StoryFALL GARDENINGBe Your Own Wildflower Nursery
Gather seeds from your garden in fall, and you'll have a selection of plants for next year — without spending a dime
Full StoryNORTHWEST GARDENINGPacific Northwest Gardener's February Checklist
Let witch hazel cast its spell, shut off your mason bees' snooze button and hit up the nursery for seeds and roses
Full StoryWINTER GARDENINGInspiring Winter Scenes From the Denver Botanic Gardens
Use seed heads, bare branches and grasses to design lovely garden displays when the ground is frozen
Full Story
xiangirl zone 4/5 NebraskaOriginal Author