How much straw over grass seed

Newly-planted grass seed typically needs moisture, heat, and seed-to-soil contact that will encourage germination. Straw over grass seed also helps keep the seeds in place until germination occurs. Germination includes the establishment of the root system, which anchor the growing seedlings and prevent them from being exposed to the elements.

While not entirely necessary, straw can improve the germination rate of your grass. Here are the benefits of using straw to cover grass seed:. Prior to germination, however, newly-planted grass seeds are highly vulnerable to being blown away or washed away by wind and rainwater.

This leaves you with a patchy turf that has unsightly bare spots in the sections where the seeds were blown away. Another reason to cover your newly-seeded lawn with straw mulching is to prevent the grass seeds from damage due to excessive exposure to sunlight. Straw also acts as a visual screen to discourage birds and other small animals from digging holes feeding on the newly-planted grass seeds.

Finally, as the straw decomposes over time, it adds nutrients into the soil, which is beneficial for the growth of the newly-planted grass seeds. Applying an excessively thick layer of straw over your newly-seeded lawn will inhibit seed growth by preventing much-needed sunlight from reaching the soil.

A thick layer of straw — with its excessive moisture retention properties — makes for a perfect habitat for growth of fungal organisms like mushrooms. These fungi further choke out your growing grass seeds, thus inhibiting seedling development. Hope this helps. That seed blend should produce a nice turf, but most people seed at a rate of lbs per square feet for new lawns, 1 per is an overseed rate into existing turf stands.

Not sure I really understand this question. What are you overseeding? From your pic it looks like you have no real grass to speak of. Probably, but it isn't an ideal solution. Where are you putting this shredded straw? Your yard should be dirt when you seed. If there are weeds in your seedbed then you should spray the area with Round-up.

KBG seeds are very small, and it is doubtful that birds will eat much, if any, of your seed. If you think it's a problem, then topdress your seeds with a very light layer of compost or good topsoil weed seed free. Do not seed over the recommended seeding rate. It can lead to damping off and overcrowding of seedlings. Stick to the seeding rate given on the bag. To ensure even coverage, measure your square footage. Then weigh out the appropriate amount of seeds. I highly recommend you obtain a broadcast spreader, not a drop spreader.

With a broadcast spreader set on a very low setting a little less than half the recommended setting on the bag of seed , lay down seed in one direction north-south. Then lay seed in the other direction east-west.

Continue to do this until all the seed you weighed out is gone. If you do it right, you should have a nice even coverage of seed. In answer to your other questions. Yes, use a hose end sprayer or tank sprayer to apply the glyphosate to everything you want to die. You can seed anytime after you apply the glyphosate, but I would wait till it's dry, so at least a few hours. Yup, three times a day is about right, making sure to keep it all moist. Once your yard is covered in a green fuzz, and you are pretty sure most of the seed has germinated you can start to reduce the watering frequency, but you will want to water a bit longer each time.

So once you see all the green fuzz, cut back to twice a day for a week, then once a day for a week, then once every other day for a week, etc. Of course this is all veriable if you get rain, and if you have some cloudy days when watering won't be as important. I am not very familiar with subsurface watering systems, but you don't want to rely on that until you are sure your grasses roots are in the watering zone.

If the subsurface system makes the ground above and below it saturated, then you should be ok, but if the water only moves downward this might be an issue. Indem Sie weiterhin auf der Website surfen bzw. Mehr erfahren.

Ultimate Lighting Sale. Bathroom Vanity Sale. Bestselling Chandeliers and Pendants. Sign In. Join as a Pro. Houzz TV. Houzz Research. Shop Featured Holiday Categories. Home Decor. Holiday Decor. Christmas Trees. Holiday Lighting. Gift Cards. Lawn Care. Problem: minimal grass. Email Save Comment 8. Sort by: Oldest. If you go beyond the recommended single bay of hay, you may end up putting too much weight on your grass seeds.

This will do more harm than good. It can take anywhere from 7 to 14 days for grass seeds to germinate. During this period, give the seeds the best chance for survival by shielding them with a thin blanket of hay or straw.

If you use the right amount of mulch as a layer of protection, you will soon have gorgeously lush lawns. Author: Matt Hagens. I love to be outside working on my lawn, planning my next project. I created this website to help people like you find the best products for yard care and great advice.

After wheat is harvested, the grain is separated from the stalk, and the stalk is baled up for bedding. Hay is the whole plant except the roots, and includes the stalk, flower, and even seeds.

Hay is usually grown from grass species like timothy or a herbaceous species like alfalfa and harvested to feed to livestock. Alfalfa usually has purple flowers. Straw is a stalk, the leftover bit from growing wheat where all the wheat seeds or grains are already carefully removed.

Yes, you can put too much hay, straw, or other mulches over grass seed. Unlike vegetables and most flowers, grass seed needs light to germinate. Newly germinated plants are also very delicate, and the weight of mulch may end up crushing them before they even get established.