In article , Robert wrote:
Thanks Brad,

The reason I asked about Ironite was that I overheard part of a conversation
in which the manager of a big landscaping firm swore by Ironite along with
fertilizer when planting grass. The Ironite package claims that it promotes
strong root growth but I'm old enough to not believe everything I read,
especially advertising copy. ;-)

I see road crews and landscapers successfully plant grass in the spring all
the time around here so there must be some secret to it. I've noticed the
straw that road crews use is different from the stuff you can get a Lowes,
HD or the garden centers.

The secret is they almost always have to reseed in the fall. But in the
case of a shoulder of a road you just want the grass to hold long enough
for the weeds and crabgrass and such to take over and hold the soil.
Likewise the landscapers reseed bare areas knowing little will survive
but even dead grass holds soil better than no grass. Plus landscapers
may be putting in irrigation systems also.

Right now I'm trying out Southern Gold (the only grass seed I've been able
to get growing here) and Espoma Organic Lawn Food (
http://www.espoma.com/default.asp?st...ryID=3&id =20 ) .
If anyone has a better suggestion for seed (shade, clay soil that has been
amended but still compacts easily when walked on) or how to get good results
I'd love to hear it.

Thanks,

Robert

"brad heidinger" wrote in message
...
Oh yeah,
I don't personally use wheat straw. I believe it only brings weed seeds
into the
yard as well as my neighbors. If you plant now, you won't have to worry
about the
soil drying out. Just make sure the soil stays moist. Mother Nature
usually takes
care of that, but you never know.

As far as Ironite goes, I am not a big fan. It greens up a lawn quickly
but it
doesn't promote the health of the grass. People can have a greener lawn
without all
the fuss by feeding the roots in the Fall with a quality slow release
fertilizer.
Healthy roots will give rise to healthy green vegetation. Just my $0.02

Brad

brad heidinger wrote:

I suggest planting an annual rye. It grows quickly and greens nicely.
The
drawback is that it is short lived. It worked wonders on some erosion
problems
I had last year. I did some landscaping in the Spring and my regular
grass
became ruined in a few spots from heavy foot traffic during the
construction. I
planted annual rye and bingo I had grass again. It croaked by the end of
September but at that point I was ready to Fall seed.

To establish the grass I added small amounts of starter fertilizer to
the soil.
Scratched up the soil and sowed the seed. Kept moist until established.
The
seed isn't cheap seed but it does work well. Expect to re-seed in the
Fall with
a more appropriate grass seed. Hope this helps.

Brad

Robert wrote:

I know that the fall is a better time to plant grass seed around here
but I
have a need to get some planted now in some spots I've dug up or added
topsoil to. Does anyone have any tips on planting grass now? Straw or
no
straw? Ironite? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Robert





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