what seed to use
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CompactTractorFan
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Have you looked at the different blends available at the "box stores"?
RobertBrown
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DO NOT USE PENNINGTONS! They will not stand behind it. I used thier seed once and could not get it to germinate, not one seed under a variety of conditions.
The type of seed you use is going to vary depending on location and your specific conditions. Look at your surrounding lawns and see what is working there. Be sure to ask your neighbors about thier watering and fertilizing habits. Understand that fertilizer is becoming a dirty word as it winds uo in streams and rivers causing and increase in aquatic plant growth, impacting the wildlife. Consult you county extension and see what they recomend. I suggest you put some thought into your decision as your going to have to live with it.
Good Luck and keep us updated please.
twall
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I'm quite interested in this thread; I live right near Lake Erie in WNY, and have PINE TREES. Nobody seems to know what will work best with the lower light and acidity of the pines.
I plan to go to the greenhouses when they start back up; they'd know, if anybody will. They always have every kind of grass seed imaginable - and from brands that I've never seen. Anyone had good luck getting seed from greenhouse-type stores? (the really good seasonal kind.....)
I plan to go to the greenhouses when they start back up; they'd know, if anybody will. They always have every kind of grass seed imaginable - and from brands that I've never seen. Anyone had good luck getting seed from greenhouse-type stores? (the really good seasonal kind.....)
RobertBrown
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Honestly? Down here getting grass up and established from seed is very difficult. Thats one reason why I like bermuda grass. Any body can get a rye grass lawn up.... but they are so fragile, 4-6 hot dry days and it's done without irrigation.
Grass seeds need to be planted correctly, to deep and they won't germinate, to shallow and they float to the top with a hard rain and the birds eat them. If you can choose a stoloniferous grass, a grass that uses stolons to re generate you will be a lot better off....at least in Florida.
Bermuda is that type of grass, It grows laterally or horizontally on top of the ground and it produces seeds in little more than a week in the summer. As it "runs" it drops a set of roots every few inches, these are the stolons.
The down side is that it goes dormant as soon as the temperature gets in the 50's. But by that time I'm sick of cutting grass in 95f @ 90% humdity anyway.
I guess my advice in somewhat geographically specific...but it's all I can offer.
Please be aware of the amount of sunlight your grass will get in the day, during the summer. look at the ground in the morning and note where the shadows are and look again in the evening, Remember that now the sun is more to the south or closer to the southern horizon during afternoon than it is in the summer. In the summer it will pass from east to west a little north of the east/west line. There may be areas in your yard that don't drain or have a different soil deposit than the rest. A sandy area or an area wih a clay deposit......You may need more than one type of grass.
It gets hard to say what may work in your yard, but that doesn't mean you have to speculate. Someone has already made the mistakes, so you don't have to. Consult the county extension or the guy with the best grass on your street. See what they are doing and learn what you can. Understand that some grasses are higher maintenance then others. St Augustine (for exampl another stoloniferous grasse) will reseed into a completely different grass if not cut regularly and alowed to produce seeds. Thats why you cannot get St Augustine seed, you can only get sod or "Plugs" (small grass plants in small pots used to fill areas).
Anyway.... do your homework before you commit.
twall
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@RobertBrown:
I think the best people to ask for advice are the greenhouses. No offense, but here in NY, if you ask the 'county extension' (dunno what that means - and have never heard of it in NY.....but I take it that it's asking county beaurocrats about what seed is best) you're likely to get an answer that includes paying a county beaurocrat to come to your house - and give you no answers - and issue you a few citations, too. :laughing:
I'm thinking greenhouses, because they depend on return customers, season after season. If they give bad advice on what they sell, why would I go back to them for advice on what flowers to plant on the West side of my house?
I think the best people to ask for advice are the greenhouses. No offense, but here in NY, if you ask the 'county extension' (dunno what that means - and have never heard of it in NY.....but I take it that it's asking county beaurocrats about what seed is best) you're likely to get an answer that includes paying a county beaurocrat to come to your house - and give you no answers - and issue you a few citations, too. :laughing:
I'm thinking greenhouses, because they depend on return customers, season after season. If they give bad advice on what they sell, why would I go back to them for advice on what flowers to plant on the West side of my house?
RobertBrown
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Most places with a significant amount of agriculture going on have private and government organizations that will keep track and store information on agricultural issues, as it enhances the local economy. Things like 4H or FFA, or the county coperative will help people with challenges such as these.
I have been to New York state and New York City. Base on that experience I can see where they would not be encouraging anyone to plant anything as it may encroach on a future parking space and potenial revenue. Perhaps if you were to use your internet to locate some of the more rural counties you may see what I'm talking about......
Oh! look what I found...http://chautauquacce.shutterfly.com/
Chautauqua County Cooperative Extension
3542 Turner Road
Frank Bratt Agricultural Center
Jamestown, NY 14701
or, just go to the "greenhouse"