Have to sow new grass seed soon - tips?

mr chips

Some digger work has finally resumed at my place following the lockdown and is due to finish within the next week or two. There's a large area which was well torn up with diggers/tractors etc going back & forth across it, to the point that it was just bare mud as far back as January. Plan was to have it all finished by the end of March, but then of course everything ground to a halt with the pandemic.

That whole area (about 180 sq m) is due to get a going over with the power harrow so it can be levelled and sowed out with grass seed. So I've gone over it with weedkiller to get rid of the docks & thistles that have popped up, along with the odd clump of long straggly grass so that the harrow can get through. I have the seed already, but I know it's not the best time of year to be sowing grass. What can I do to help it come through if it's only going in at this time of year? I'd like to be able to walk on it towards the end of July, but I'm not sure if that'll be possible.

All this was supposed to happen back in the spring, but hey-ho.

Jim_Hodge

Too late now really. Wait until September. You could sow but it's going to need regular watering when there's now a hosepipe ban.

mr chips

No choice, unfortunately. Has to be done sooner than that, even if only some of it comes through.

Truthvader

You can sow anytime but water water water. And dont forget to water it. Every day

NIMAN

A sneaky hosing in the middle of the night!

Lemsiper

NIMAN wrote: »

A sneaky hosing in the middle of the night!

Just use your kitchen tap pipe instead.

Jim_Hodge

Lemsiper wrote: »

Just use your kitchen tap pipe instead.

Confused to say the least.

Garlinge

I took a chance and put down some grass seed this morning having taken a look at week's weather. Depends on what sort of summer we get. Even if only some comes up, it will regrow in Autumn. September is best time really and the weeks are flying by now!

mr chips

I'm actually in NI - no hosepipe ban here yet, although there have been some stern warnings. I've a couple of barrels worth of rainwater collected anyway, so no issue with using that if needs be.
I take it there's no point trying to add any kind of fertiliser etc until the grass actually comes up?

NIMAN

mr chips wrote: »

I'm actually in NI - no hosepipe ban here yet, although there have been some stern warnings. I've a couple of barrels worth of rainwater collected anyway, so no issue with using that if needs be.
I take it there's no point trying to add any kind of fertiliser etc until the grass actually comes up?

There's another thread on that too.

My seed is in about 6 weeks now. I asked a garden centre last week and they advised AGAINST feeding the grass now. Said it was too young and I could do more harm than good.

They said I should have added fertilizer at the time of planting, not after the event.

Irish_peppa

What sort of seeds do profesional Irish gardeners use, reason I ask is are the cheapest grass seeds in say Dealz any better different then the seeds from goodwins and woodies I looked at specs and it says there are back lawn seeds and front lawn seeds. I compared the blades from both gardens and they are no different. I assume of course the back garden seeds are more hardy and grow quicker and the front lawn seeds make greener grass for aesthetics and grows slower as its takes less abuse then back garden?

Dealz Grass Seed 200g @ 2.50

https://www.dealz.ie/17045-grass-seed-patch-up-200g/

Goodwins Lawn Grass Seed No. 2 @ 9.95 for 1kg

https://www.goodwins.ie/products/Lawn-Grass-Seed-No.-2-Mixture-1kg.html?filter_set[]=21,132

Woodies Lawn Seed number 3 @ 9.99 per kg
https://www.woodies.ie/gouldings-no-3-lawn-seed-1-5kg-943779

I sowed my front lawn nine days ago and it's flying it. When I rotated it, while the surface was rock hard, we have clay soil and there was plenty of moisture a few inches down. I took a gamble and it paid off as we've had loads of rain but even at that I snuck out at 6am two mornings and gave it a good soaking. The rain over this weekend has seen it shoot up. I wouldn't put anything on it until it's well established and don't cut it until it's 3-4 inches high and at that just clip it on the highest setting.

garv123

I set mine 4 weeks ago,

Growth was slow at the start because of the dry weather and I couldn't water half an acre.

But over the last 3 days its thriving, its really after filling out.
I'll cut it on the highest setting when it gets a chance to dry out.

I think you'll be in a good position now, because the ground will be wet, and there wont be as much evaporation with the cooler weather.

ErinGoBrath

https://www.agridirect.ie/product/evergreen-no-2-lawn-seed

This is the seed I used.

I put it down last week just before the wet weather and it's coming through after just 6 days.

Before I seeded I aerated with fork, added nutrient enriched top soil, some fertilizer.

Added seed and covered in thin layer of compost.

Best of luck