I was planning to seed my yard again this year. With the current water restrictions I can only water from 6:00-10:00 on Tuesday. Is it worth seeding? I'm concerned that it might be a wasted effort if I can't give it enough water to grow.

10/4/2007 12:19:44 PM

get a new lawn irrigation permit

10/4/2007 12:26:42 PM

yeah, i dunno. I've managed to keep my front yard looking good, but my backyard, which gets 8-10 hours of direct sunlight each day is mostly dead.

I aerated and overseeded, and with the temperatures dropping and the couple of rainstorms we've had, i've had marginal success.

Nowhere near enough to replace what died, but better than nothing.

10/4/2007 12:29:27 PM

you probably should wait until we are at least part of the way out of the drought. i'd like to have water 3 months from now.

10/4/2007 12:36:29 PM

what type of grass are you seeding?

10/4/2007 12:47:51 PM

I plan on seeding in the next 2 weeks. I am going to do it myself. I dont expect results right now. What little water we do get should be enough to get the seed rooted, and then it will go dormant, and come out in full force during the spring.

10/4/2007 12:51:38 PM

Fescue

10/4/2007 12:52:18 PM

wait till it gets colder

10/4/2007 2:13:03 PM

How hard is it to seed?

I just moved into a new place. The ground is 99% clay. I have no clue what grass to plant or how to do so.

[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 2:22 PM. Reason : ]

10/4/2007 2:22:18 PM

if it's hard clay, very important to rent an areator to break up the ground.
Then after that, seeding is very easy. Get yourself a $40 push-seeder from home depot and a big bag of seeds and fertilizer.

10/4/2007 2:39:25 PM

Quote :

"wait till it gets colder"

and

Quote :

"if it's hard clay, very important to rent an areator to break up the ground. Then after that, seeding is very easy. Get yourself a $40 push-seeder from home depot and a big bag of seeds and fertilizer."

Don't waste time/money seeding your lawn until fall weather is here.

10/4/2007 2:44:39 PM

Yeah, I was going to wait a little longer, but didn't know what to do to the clay to get it ready. Do I need topsoil or anything?

10/4/2007 3:16:46 PM

i thought this thread was about making babies.

10/4/2007 3:17:58 PM

me too!

10/4/2007 3:18:45 PM

I was planning to wait another week or two.

BTW, where's a good place to rent the aerator? I need a lightweight one that I can just stick in the trunk of the bimmer if such a thing exists.

[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 8:23 PM. Reason : l]

10/4/2007 8:23:47 PM

Quote :

"Don't waste time/money seeding your lawn until fall weather is here."

I don't know what you're talking about.

It's prime seeding weather right now. You don't want to wait too long either. Between now and first frost is when the roots establish themselves. Too little time, the grass will go dormant before the roots properly establish themselves and once summer hits, that grass is toast...

--

Quote :

"How hard is it to seed? I just moved into a new place. The ground is 99% clay"

If you have no established lawn to speak of at this point, your best bet is to either sod or slit-seed. Sodding is much more expensive and requires a shit ton of water. Slit seeding is cheaper -- a machine is used to inject seed directly into the soil rather than spreading it over the top of the ground. This also dictates keeping the ground wet for several weeks afterward. Given the current water restrictions, this year is a shitty year to try to establish a lawn.

10/4/2007 9:23:15 PM

I have no water restrictions. Can you elaborate on slit seeding?

10/4/2007 9:35:13 PM

not a whole lot to it, see this: http://www.acelawncare.com/service_7.html

it's especially helpful for the hard packed, dry clay that you probably have. The slit seeder will break/loosen it up and allow the seedlings to penetrate the soil.

the first year i was in my house, i just overseeded, and it didn't do much. The following year, I had it slit-seeded, and in about a month, my backyard went from barren red clay desert to lush green fescue.

and now it's mostly dead thanks to the hottest summer I've ever seen.

[Edited on October 4, 2007 at 9:44 PM. Reason : af]

10/4/2007 9:44:30 PM

new lawn irrigation permits cost money now b/c of the drought...they used to be free.

10/4/2007 10:07:58 PM

I plan on buying sod when I eventually build a house. Instant lawn!

10/4/2007 10:09:11 PM

So, I can rent a slit seeder from somewhere?
What type of seed do I plant?
I just want something easy, that won't die.

10/5/2007 9:42:39 AM

Quote :

"I plan on buying sod when I eventually build a house. Instant lawn!"

Common misconception. Sod takes tons of care/watering to establish itself.

10/5/2007 9:49:59 AM

That sucks. What's the easiest thing I can do to get lawn?

10/5/2007 9:56:44 AM

http://www.clemson.edu/psamedia/GPACK/GPACK/gpselectinglawngrass.htm
http://www.american-lawns.com/lawns/best_lawns.html

2 pretty good reads on selecting a grass for your lawn. Unfortunately, it's tough to establish a lawn with drought and water restrictions.

You will probably want to go with a tall fescue or bermuda, each has its pluses and minuses.

10/5/2007 10:07:56 AM

So, where can I buy the grass cheap and rent a slit seeder?

10/5/2007 10:15:23 AM

You should be able to rent one at an equipment rental place. Just look up equipment rental in the yellow pages or search on the internet and start calling around.

Any hardware store (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) should have a decent selection of seeds. Other than that you would have to look at lawn supply companies, but I'm not sure what volume they sell at.

[Edited on October 5, 2007 at 10:57 AM. Reason : .]

10/5/2007 10:53:50 AM

Tall Fescue sounds good to me.

10/5/2007 11:08:34 AM

Yeah, I personally prefer tall fescue over bermuda, b/c it doesn't have the seed pods when it isn't cut (even when the grass isn't growing) and stays green for the most part. Also does much better in the shade if you have trees in your yard. The downside is you will be pissed when your neighbors don't cut their bermuda and the seeds blow into your yard.

One word of advice about fescue is resist the urge to cut it too low. You will probably want to use the tallest or second tallest setting on your mower.

10/5/2007 11:15:05 AM

How much just to pay someone to do all the work?

10/5/2007 11:22:40 AM

^ trugreen will aerate and seed for about 250

10/5/2007 11:24:52 AM

Oh fuck yeah. Link?

10/5/2007 11:25:54 AM

trugreen.com but you will have to call for prices they dont post them online. We were scheduled to have it done next week in greensboro but are putting it off till next year because of the water restrictions here

10/5/2007 11:39:00 AM

Quote :

"Sod takes tons of care/watering to establish itself."

Not to mention the prep work. If I was spending the money to sod I'd want to get a tractor to clear everything and do a little grading beforehand.

Generally speaking, if you just lay sod on top of what's there it is going to look lumpy and bad. There is more to it than having a couple of pallets dropped off and plopping it on the ground. I've done several lawns and it is quite a bit of work even with the power equipment.

[Edited on October 5, 2007 at 12:15 PM. Reason : l]

10/5/2007 12:14:23 PM

How about hydroseeding?

10/5/2007 1:50:26 PM

agreed with all the comments on sod.

it's a lot of work.

i am not familiar with hydroseeding.
---

I just spend the last couple of hours spot-repairing dead spots in my yard... breaking up clay, laying down topsoil and seeding.

I opted for the "ultra drought and traffic resistant fescue" by scott's. it was pretty damn expensive, but if it lives up to what it advertises, it'll be worth it.

now to find a way to keep my dogs out of it....

10/5/2007 2:59:28 PM

Do I need topsoil?

10/5/2007 3:26:46 PM

Shit. Looks like Durham enacted water restrictions last week.

10/5/2007 3:39:54 PM

don't do it now. there are going to be more severe water restrictions soon, as in no lawn watering at all and no public car washes. we are in a very bad spot with water right now, and it doesn't help that people aren't conserving at all. the water usage has actually hit its highest point during the drought because of the lawn issue. i think we topped out around 75 million gallons a day a while ago.

10/5/2007 10:30:17 PM

If Raleigh wanted people to conserve water they would change the water billing, so there's a disincentive to water for 2-3 hours the one day a week it's allowed, and a disincentive to take half hour showers, etc.

10/5/2007 10:45:02 PM

anyone know a good place to buy lime (other than lowes/home depot) - my soil report says i need a lot of it

10/11/2007 10:11:05 AM

Quote :

"If Raleigh wanted people to conserve water they would change the water billing, so there's a disincentive to water for 2-3 hours the one day a week it's allowed, and a disincentive to take half hour showers, etc."

Seriously! It pisses me off that there are people in my neighborhood irrigating as often as they are allowed, yet I can't wash my car once a month. If you want to drown your grass and waste water inside your home you should be allowed to. Now, you should pay out the butt for it. Changing billing is the only way to effectively manage the drought.

10/11/2007 10:40:26 AM

yeah, a tiered pay scale would be great, those that water their lawn would pay out the ass for it. I'd be willing to pay the extra for it...

10/11/2007 11:08:46 AM

Quote :

"BTW, where's a good place to rent the aerator? I need a lightweight one that I can just stick in the trunk of the bimmer if such a thing exists."

no light ones. they all require a truck of some sort.

10/11/2007 11:13:04 AM