# New house, no lawn....what to do?



## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

So hopefully we will be moving into our new house around the end of the year. The builder doesn't do any landscaping. So my lot will be graded but not seeded/sodded/hydroseeded. Right now my lot is basically dirt with some trees. This winter/spring I will develop a landscaping plan so I don't want to do something too permanent now. But I also don't like the mud all over look. Can I mulch it with straw? Should I put a tackifier down? I don't really need/want seed right now because I may change how thing are run plus I don't want to sink a ton of money into something temporary. I would like a stabilized surface so I could remove erosion control measures. 

So any suggestions? Thanks!


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## Steiny (May 30, 2011)

I would seed and mulch.
Should get going decently in this mild weather.


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## JimP (Feb 8, 2002)

A sack or two of contractors rye, a few bales of straw..=...fast growing coverage..,cheap enough.


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## caseyj (Apr 8, 2001)

Doug - I assume you have clay soil so I can understand your dilemma. I would be inclined to broadcast some annual rye and then cover with straw which could than be raked out in the Spring. Only do the problem areas. Rake the soil first, broadcast the seed and than moderate straw cover over the top. It's a stuff call with this unpredictable weather. Good luck!!


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

caseyj said:


> Doug - I assume you have clay soil so I can understand your dilemma. I would be inclined to broadcast some annual rye and then cover with straw which could than be raked out in the Spring. Only do the problem areas. Rake the soil first, broadcast the seed and than moderate straw cover over the top. It's a stuff call with this unpredictable weather. Good luck!!


It's actually a sandy loam with some mixed top layer.


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

I was thinking about doing a perimeter around the house. That way less mud gets splashed on the exterior.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

Up here in the sand bowl, we generally use winter rye(the grain), then seed with regular grass seed in the spring. Works great, looks like regular grass, can mow it, and it's dirt cheap compared to grass seed. You can either mulch it in when seeding time comes, or seed right over it. The regular grass will eventually take over. I've done several areas, like where my septic system went in late in the year one fall.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Leave it the way it is. Thank me later.


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## eyeball (Dec 23, 2011)

Shoot the way this weather is u could plant grass anytime as long as it stays the same!


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

swampbuck said:


> Leave it the way it is. Thank me later.


Care to elaborate? Less roots to deal with? I've heard winter rye actually helps out if you till it under too plus it can act as a stabilizer/shade for other seed, granted I'd have to cut it before it goes to see and becomes a 4' tall monster.


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## jakeo (Sep 14, 2004)

NittanyDoug said:


> Care to elaborate? Less roots to deal with? I've heard winter rye actually helps out if you till it under too plus it can act as a stabilizer/shade for other seed, granted I'd have to cut it before it goes to see and becomes a 4' tall monster.


Level and paint it green,,,,go fishing!!


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

NittanyDoug said:


> Care to elaborate? Less roots to deal with? I've heard winter rye actually helps out if you till it under too plus it can act as a stabilizer/shade for other seed, granted I'd have to cut it before it goes to see and becomes a 4' tall monster.


But a strip of landscape all the way around the house. And plant the rest with wildflower, prairie, and trees. And spent more time doing what you want to do instead of yard work


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

With the warm weather we've had, I would put down a double-application of decent grass seed, and then hit it with 13-13-13 fertilizer. Maybe another fertilizer application at the end of the month. At the very least you will have good grass growing by May. You can always use some Roundup to kill grass in places you decide you don't want it - Roundup kills grass better than just about any other plants. The best time to seed, re-seed, or overseed your lawn is late summer - August through September. That gives the grass a chance to become established before the ground freezes hard. But with El Nino, right now might work just fine.

You can plant grass anytime you want to. But there are certainly better, and worse times to plant it with good hope for success. Planting in June is silly, since July and August tend to be the driest months. Planting in the late summer/early fall gives you the maximum results for your money. Also, I like to buy good seed mixtures in bulk, not the pre-bagged stuff in all the stores. I pay decent money for good seed, as it produces much better results.

Straw won't stop erosion, and it will just mix with the dirt, and become part of the mud, if you don't plant seed. Grass will stabilize your surface if it has a chance to become established before the ground freezes.

I see you are in the metro area. If you fine yourself near the airport (Metro), this place is where I get my seed. They have large bins, and you can buy different types of seed by the pound. Or you could probably get a discount if you bought it in bulk large bags. Also, don't scrimp on your seed if you want a nice lawn. If you apply at double the recommended rate, you will quickly have a nice thick carpet of a lawn. Or you could apply, then overseed next fall. That takes an extra YEAR to have a nice lawn. 

http://dlgarden.com/dlgarden.com/index.html

For what it is worth, I only use 1 product made by Scotts - Crabgrass preventer with HALTS. It needs to be applied in spring, before the Forsythia bushes bloom (look em up, and they typically bloom at the end of March). It coats un-sprouted seeds of all kinds, and prevents them from sprouting. It will prevent grass seed from sprouting, too, so maybe wait a year for your lawn to become well established before using it. It will prevent ALL weed seeds from sprouting, so you have fewer Dandelions, Crabgrass, and all weeds. I just spot-spray weeds in my lawn.

Also, if you intend to have a nice lawn, and maintain it yourself, buy a good spreader. Scotts makes some decent ones for reasonable prices - but don't buy the cheapest you can find. I've had a Scotts (some name) 3000 for a long time. It still works fine for me. I put fertilizer down in March, then Halts toward the end of March. Then I fertilize another 2-3 times. Usually Memorial Day, Labor Day, and a little before Halloween. I use "generic" fertilizers with even mixtures of nutrients, 10-10-10, 13-13-13, 19-19-19. Home Depot carries these every year, although not every one. Those mixtures are less expensive than the name-brand fertilizers, and work just as well, if not better. And, lastly, get a good quality pump sprayer. It will come in handy for spot-spraying weeds, as well as applying fertilizer to the foliage of garden plants. If you use it for weed control, AND for fertilizing, you MUST rinse it very thoroughly after applying stuff that kills plants. Standards are "3 rinses," but I recommend at least 5. You don't want to spray Roundup on flowers in June.

Since your yard is bare, there is one last thing I might recommend that you consider. Some people like to "naturlize" bulbs into their lawn. You could get some bulbs of early-blooming flowers, and plant them in your yard right now. Once you plant a lawn, they will still come up first thing in spring. So you will have a winter-beaten green lawn in early spring, with beautiful little flowers spread throughout it. The flowers will bloom, and die back, before you start mowing your lawn. And the few leaves they will have pretty much look like thick grass blades. They will give you springtime enjoyment for many years. Here is an article about good bulbs for this. I recommend Crocuses, because they are cheap, easy to find, come in several colors (white, yellow, and purple) and are easy to grow. And their foliage doesn't last long after they are done blooming. 
http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/smart_gardener/early_spring_bulbs


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## WALLEYE MIKE (Jan 7, 2001)

Not much if any germination will occur this late. If you absolutely need something try and find a sod farm that has not put away their machines yet. Sod will still root up until the ground freezes.

If just for mud control get some wood chips. You can till them in next spring and plant your seed.


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## stockrex (Apr 29, 2009)

seed it and hay it, once it thaws, you will have lawn


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

We should take possession next week so I guess if the weather stays cooperative I'll have to try something


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

My initial plan will be get some seed down so I get some green in the spring. Provably spread seed, put some straw down and cross my fingers. I did some reading on dormant and winter seedings.


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## WinMag (Dec 19, 2004)

To stabilize your grading, try seed starter mat. This is the large roll of matting with grass seeds embedded within. Road contractors use this and some lawn contractors also use it. It can be expensive to buy in big box stores but find it at a bulk supplier and the price should be lower.


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

WinMag said:


> To stabilize your grading, try seed starter mat. This is the large roll of matting with grass seeds embedded within. Road contractors use this and some lawn contractors also use it. It can be expensive to buy in big box stores but find it at a bulk supplier and the price should be lower.


I'm familiar with that being that I work for a gc. I thought about asking some of my suppliers if they still have any.


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## msfcarp (Jun 6, 2006)

I don't know why you would do anything now really. Just wait and do your work in the spring and seed it then. Anything you do now will not germinate until warm weather anyways, and if you do have runoff or whatever, your seed is going to be washed away anyways.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

The original post for this thread was put up Dec 10th. It inspired me to seed some bare patches in my yard, and I am happy to report that the seed sprouted, and the seedling grass is about 3 inches tall. I am sure the rest will sprout in spring, and I will have nice thick grass next summer. I have done this before, and it works well for me. It does help to put a fairly heavy application of fertilizer down when you apply grass seed. The grass appreciates it, and so will you, next summer. 

On the other hand, it looks like winter has finally arrived, at least for the time being. No warm weather in the 10-day forecast. Un-sprouted seed will sprout the following spring, when the ground thaws - unless you put down some Crabgrass preventer (HALTS is the Scotts product), which will keep all seeds from sprouting.


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

Yeah, the move and other situations didn't go real smooth. We're in the house but it looks like a have a lawn of mud for the winter....


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## Rounder (Nov 11, 2015)

I wish I had a yard where grass didn't grow.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Pretty much in the same exact situation.
It's mostly clay fill with a little loamy soil mixed in. Even the weeds don't seem to have taken to it since its been graded.

My budget is pretty much tapped for landscaping this year though. Wondering if I can't or shouldn't do something stop gap for erosion control on my swale and ditch?

I could probably get some free hay and buy some seed, just not sure how much seed I'll need. I have about 1-1.25 acres to seed. 

Should I just bite the bullet, seed and fertilize now, and spread hay over everything? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## NittanyDoug (May 30, 2006)

I ended up going with hydroseed. My.lot isn't that big and I knew I was going to need irrigation. So I did irrigation and hydroseed in one shot. I've had to over seed some areas a couple times where it washed out. I got some erosion eels from work to slow down the water in a few washout prone areas until the seed took. I have thick areas and thin areas but after one season I'm pretty happy. I do need to do a fall fertilizer soon. 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

NittanyDoug said:


> I ended up going with hydroseed. My.lot isn't that big and I knew I was going to need irrigation. So I did irrigation and hydroseed in one shot. I've had to over seed some areas a couple times where it washed out. I got some erosion eels from work to slow down the water in a few washout prone areas until the seed took. I have thick areas and thin areas but after one season I'm pretty happy. I do need to do a fall fertilizer soon.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


Did you seed in the winter or wait until the spring?


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Not sure what it would take to seed 1.25 acres, but I just bought a 25# bag of really nice seed for about $63.00. It will do a great job of filling in dead spots (we had an extreme drought this summer, and grubs hit some spots in my yard hard), and over-seeding some thin areas. 

If I were you, and your yard is graded nicely - no bumps, or uneven spots that need to be fixed, I would invest in a couple 100 pounds of seed, and spread it as thickly as I could with a broadcast spreader. Then I'd hit it with an application of 13-13-13 fertilizer, and do that one more time 2 weeks after the first application. You are almost guaranteed to have sprouted grass this fall, although it might not develop roots sufficient to stabilize the soil from eroding. A lot of the seed that didn't sprout in fall will sprout in the spring. Then, fertilize your lawn 4 times next spring/summer. In August, overseed with another heavy application of seed, and 2 more apps of fertilizer in Aug, and Sept. By the 2nd year your lawn should be thick, and nice. 

Just remember, that any bumps, or ruts in your yard will "harden" as the lawn develops. A little more prep effort now will pay dividends for years, with a nice even lawn. You can go a lot faster on a riding mower on a nice flat lawn, than you can on a bumpy lawn. Your cuts will look much better, too.


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