New lawn advice

[redfin]

I was hoping some with experience could help me out. We are just about done with construction of our house. We will probably move in within the next month. All excavating has been done except putting back the top soil I had pushed into piles before we started.

I will still have lots to do after we move in so the lawn at best could be started in the fall. We live in central Pa. What I'm wondering is how well a new lawn does when planted in the fall? Spring would definitely be better time wise for me but then I have to contend with mud. If doing it this fall is not a great option I was pondering moving the soil back and rock hounding it while the ground is still frozen. Then in spring, seeding and straw.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Storm56]

I have put lawns in both spring and fall. There are advantages to both. My experience has been if you can get it in no later than the second week of Sept and if you get some reasonable moisture then they do pretty well and you should have enough growth to keep you out of the mud over the winter and spring as long as you do not host weekly football games on it!

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Look into winter rye. 10-12day germination period. It's an annual, makes a great cover crop, then overseed in the spring.

 

[sawinredneck]

I agree with the rye, takes roots, breaks the soil and clumps down as well as minimizing erosion. Then if it stays cool and wet, over seed and do it again with the grass of your choice. If not, hit it in the fall and cover it with straw to insulate and keep erosion down.

 

[redfin]

I definately planned on some type of quck growth like oats, I didn't know about rye. Thanks for your replies. Would anyone have good recommendations for seed for my climate? For now the lawn will be full sun.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Bluegrass is the Cadillac of lawns, and should do well there. Establishing a bluegrass lawn from seed can be challenging due to its long germination period. How many square feet are we talking about?

 

[Storm56]

You can buy a mix that will have rye, bluegrass and fescue grass seeds already in the mix. Fertilize with 10-10-10 @ 200 lb per acre and lime @ 1 ton per acre before you seed. Seed at a rate 30% higher than called for. Lightly cover seed and put down straw. Hit it with the 10-10-10 @ 100 lb per acre at the end of October.

 

[redfin]

How many square feet are we talking about?

Roughly 100k is pushed off right now. The final grass area will be left to wifey. She the one that cuts grass and trims.

 

[ArtB]

100k is pushed off right now. The final grass area will be left to wifey. She the one that cuts grass and trims

whoa, 2.5 acre lawn!

only looked at this thread as just last month helped son put in just 5K sq ft of lawn, just material costs were over 23 cents sq ft, not including 4 man days including 14 hours of bobcat operating time!

makes me wonder if "wifey... cuts grass" means she is the one that arranges for the lawn care pros (98% Mexican here) to come and cut?

Our neighbor has a 2 acre lawn, but he has a big $30K toro mower with 4 cyl continental engine.

 

[redfin]

makes me wonder if "wifey... cuts grass" means she is the one that arranges for the lawn care pros (98% Mexican here) to come and cut?

Nope, its her tractor and she maintains the lawn. The only thing I do is push mow around where she can't get. Hopefully we will have time to get it in this fall.

Iif we don't, does anyone have thoughts about me moving the material while the ground is frozen?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Yup. You'll end up with a lumpy mess.

 

[redfin]

I have 5 very large piles of topsoil waiting. I suppose the outer layers would be froze.