Rototill then grass seed?
Cassie Haw
3 years ago
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John D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agodchall_san_antonio
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
New seed but have rock hard clay surface. Rototill?
Comments (6)I think some are against damaging the structure of the soil. And, where there is natural soil, I think they could have some merit to those arguments. However, where there is builder fill, my personal opinion is that there is little true soil structre there. So, you have to go on a case by case basis. If you have a layer of compacted clay on top, then I think your approach of rototilling, adding soil and especially organic matter is a good one. I've done it. A couple of tips. With a tractor and tiller you can do a more level job than by hand. That is one of the main problems some run in to when tilling, an uneven surface at the end. Second, if you till and add to any substantial depth, it is very desirable to stay off of the seed bed until it has had time to settle and dry after prep and seeding. This applies when its wet for weeks and weeks. Its very easy to cause unlevel areas by walking on it. Lastly, if you seed in the spring, be prepared to do a lot of hand weeding....See MorePrepping soil for grass seed
Comments (4)Call & go to all the Starbucks in your area. Collect all the grounds you possibly can, and till them into your soil. More is better, and a top covering of even more is better than that. Seriously. Go to EVERY Starbucks. Several times. A 50/50 ratio of soil to coffee grounds is what produced the best results in experiments. The grounds will loosen the soil, add nitrogen, and slowly decompose. And, oh yeah, they're free and natural, and even smell good!...See MoreShould I rototill the grass for my garden space?
Comments (7)Renee- I'll tell you what i did for my gardens. Most of them (vegetable and flower/raised and not raised) were built over 10 years ago over 2 or three seasons, though I just reworked my vegetable garden last summer. I've never sat down and figured how many square yards, but it's 3 sides of my house and a large vegetable garden. In my case I have pretty good soil (not caliche, not sand) to start out with. The grass was primarily Bermuda. Just take these as experiences, not advice. Depending on what time frame you're working with and your type of grass and soil these may not apply.. I rented a sod cutter and cut out the grass. That got rid of a lot of the grass, but as Dan said, not all the roots. Then I wet the area down and covered it with clear plastic to solarize. I'm a big fan of solarizing to get rid of grass and weeds. I left it on ~6 weeks. If I remember right ?6mm plastic. It just know it wasn't the super thin stuff. It can be reused a couple times before it degrades. Then in the flower beds (not raised) I covered with newspapers or thin cardboard. The vegetable beds were raised beds so I didn't bother doing that there. I edged all the beds with those metal edging things- can't remember what they're called. Then I hauled in as much compost as I needed to fill it all in. Some will haul in various soil mixes and top with compost. And I keep adding compost for mulching, weed suppression, and to feed the plants every year.. I'd do things in sections- start a bed in one season and have it ready to plant a season or two later. But I never had grass come up IN the beds- I just keep battling to keep it from coming in from the edges :-) I had two reasons to rework the vegetable garden- 1) I needed to set up drip irrigation to water and the layout as it was didn't lend itself to that very easily. And 2) The moles/gophers were getting everything in the vegetable garden.. I'm surrounded by pasture and they found me in a big way. I read as much as I could about getting rid of them, but everything I found said they'd eventually be back and I'd be battling again. So when I built my raised beds this time I lined the bottom with hardware cloth (metal/ 1/2" openings) to keep them from coming up. They never really bothered my flower beds much, but those are mostly perennials and were pretty well established by the time they showed up. Like I said, not all of this will apply to your situation, so take from it what you will. I do know that the time you spend up front is well worth it in the long run. HTH- Lisa...See MoreWhat is best, seed in October and add topsoil or rototill, let it sit
Comments (11)"If only you knew, you'd think what is wrong with this guy? STOP for Pete's sake! I'm not on drugs I'm just tired after working like a dog since 5:09 Am and it's bedtime now, I need 5 hrs of sleep or I'm shot the next day, goodnight." I think, perhaps, it's Pandemic Problems. I woke up this morning in a flutter and realized it was Saturday after thinking, for fifteen minutes, that it was Monday. I have completely disconnected from all concept of time. I never leave the house. The plants are beginning to talk about me. I am building a fortress out of toilet paper and canned peas in the cellar. My artwork is becoming dark and twisted and painted with my own blood. I understand completely. Ivan--Toronto, thank you! That pins it down. Yes, that's called a dormant seed and you can do that. It's the equivalent of a really early spring seeding and about as effective. It works best in areas where winters are long and consistent, so it should work pretty well for you. It's chancy in Pennsylvania, where winter is an on-and-off sort of thing and a February warm snap can start it growing. Our warm snaps are frequently T-shirt weather. Just make sure that the seed goes down after soil temperatures have dropped well under fifty (well under 10 C) in your area, with no chance of spiking back above that for any length of time during the season. A quick perusal does show an irregular winter pattern in your area, so you can also get the soil in place, and drop the seed just before winter really sets in. That's not a problem and the seed won't wash away. It likes snowfall, so putting it down before the major winter blanket of snow sets in is also great. The third option is to seed just as winter starts to let up and soil temperatures just start to rise above freezing. So basically, just as the soil is warming and the snow melts off, seed then. It's still a dormant seeding, but at the other end of winter. All of those work....See MoreUser
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agodchall_san_antonio
3 years agoUser
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoUser
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agoUser
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agoUser
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agoCassie Haw
3 years agoUser
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agodchall_san_antonio
3 years agoUser
3 years agoCassie Haw
3 years agoshivece
3 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years agodchall_san_antonio
3 years ago
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