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Garden Gate:  Grass  |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 07:02:37 AM
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Okay ladies!
We are living in a new place and the lawn is in horrible shape! I want to rehabilitate it as quickly as possible without using nasty stuff from the store. I bought some grass seed and it is growing pretty good....in patches. So does anyone know how fast fescue/wild rye/kentucky bluegrass mixture will spread? I know it these aren't the types of grass that send out runners. Should I buy more seed? Maybe shoot for one of the types that spreads by runners instead? I am also going to buy a book on what to plant each month in this environment so I can get in as much of a garden as I possibly can this year. I can hardly believe that July is already here and passing us by! Yikes!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2899 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2899 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 8:03:08 PM
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OK Alee, I may or may not be of any help here, cause I live in OH & we have different soil. But I took a Master Gardeners class & the lady that taught the lawn & turf portion was a very intelligent British lady that had a PhD & took care of turfs all over(including the Ohio State University football field) & she said that the best grass for overall durability is tall fescue. It has a very deep root system that can take a drought or a very wet season, as compared to a KY Bluegrass which requires more care. Rye is a good cover grass, but will not produce a good lawn over the long haul.
Also, make sure to cut the grass at 4", no shorter, as this maintains a healthy lawn, & also helps to kill certain weeds that grow horizontally & not vertically. Your grass will literally smother them & they cannot grow. (ie/ dandelions)
I am not a pro by any standards, & my lawn does not look like OSU's football field, but hope this helps some. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 9:32:51 PM
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Thanks Lisa! I am thinking of planting a mixture of Fescue and some of the grass types that spread by runners. We have a lot of weeds and bald spots so I think the runner types would be great to fill that in. Once we leave I am sure they will want it all lawn so the runner types would take over my garden area pretty quickly.
Thanks for the advice about the Fescue. I bought a mix that was heavy on the Fescue for the first seeding (that mostly got washed away in rain) and what popped up looks great so hopefully I can get that result all over! :D
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Jul 11 2008 : 06:51:13 AM
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Alee -
Another thing that we do is mulch our grass. Do not catch the grass and carry away. By mulching you are adding nutrients back into the lawn, plus it will help spread some of your grass seed. We had a terrible lawn when we moved in - but we were reluntant to reseed because we have been doing remodeling and did not want to spend money on grass that might get tore up. So we mulched, seeded bare spots, used organic fertilizer, etc. So far the grass has come back nicely and most weeds are being choked out by healthier lawn. It takes a while - couple of seasons but it is worth the wait. I also tried fertilizing in the fall this last year and it did make a difference in the spring. The lawn was thicker and the weeds less.
Anne in Portland, OR
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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Garden Gate: Grass |
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Grass
