overseeding?

[Christian Brothers]

:usflag:today i decided to put down scotts kentucky blugrass seed in my front yard. theres only one tree (pin oak) thats fully grown and its in the side yard so theres about 95% sun throughout the day so i know it will be a great spot for the grass to grow. my front yard has never been properly cared for before. the usual mowing once a week is about it. it is moslty broadleaf and crabgrass with a few spots of bermuda here and there. what i did was take a hare (however you spell it) and pull it behind the mower to till some of the soil. i didnt kill all the weeds first and till/cultivate the whole yard then spread the seed. i just used the hare and then scotts spreader to spread the seed. after that i watered it lightly. its supposed to rain tonight and i'm hoping the it will come a good shower. if not i'll water it again tomorrow morning. now that i've done that should i immediatly spread scotts seed starter fertilizer or does it make that much of a difference. i've read that after 4-6 weeks i can fertilize. am i taking the right approach to this? i know that it will take a while to have the entire front yard KBG but i dont mind. i just want it done right. any tips from any of you professionals? i havnt been doing this long. i'm still learning, fun, fun.

Christian Brothers Land and Lawn
At CB Land and Lawn our essential mission is to surpass customer satisfaction through our commendable foundation, continual honesty, admirable work and our passion towards what we do. We want to make you happier and healthier with a beautiful and environment-friendly lawn. We do not use any harmful chemicals with our weed spraying. It is all organic. Healthy for you and good for the environment. We can make a difference by doing our part. It starts in our own backyard. Give us a call so we can take care of all your lawn care needs the right way. FREE ESTIMATES so it is no cost to you to see what you can do to help this world move in the right direction.

Basic Services: Basic services include; mowing, trimming and edging.

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what do yall think about that?

[Christian Brothers]

could anyone give me some advice

[Smallaxe]

Seed does best with some kind of cover. That can be straw [on steep slopes], fabric if you like, compost or topsoil, even a rapid growing annual rye for shade and moisture for later in the season.

For adequate germination and growth - get soil contact and an adequate cover to preserve the moisure and shade. Compost is my favorite for performance on reasonably level ground.

[Christian Brothers]

i thought about putting pine straw down...what do you think? i'm fixing to start my own compost pile. we run our business out of a well established landscape and nursery shop and he jsut got some manure there so we have access to some great manure. should i just put that down?

[Smallaxe]

Pine straw just doesn't seem to get along with grass... At least here in the North. We use Oat Straw and that doesn't do well either, except on slopes...
Having a compost pile of your own is a good idea, but to use it commercially you need to be sure that it is weed-free and properly cured.

I am still buying mine. :)

[Christian Brothers]

lawnnut101 said, "Well compost or manure are more of a soil amendment per say. If your soil is in good condition to grow grass, then those probably aren't needed." so i said they were good for retaining water and shade so they wouldnt be bad right?
i really want to get a compost pile going. it will take me years to perfect it but i would eventually like to have where i can sell my own

[Smallaxe]

lawnnut101 said, "Well compost or manure are more of a soil amendment per say. If your soil is in good condition to grow grass, then those probably aren't needed." so i said they were good for retaining water and shade so they wouldnt be bad right?
i really want to get a compost pile going. it will take me years to perfect it but i would eventually like to have where i can sell my own

Cool!! :) Meanwhile - get cover on your seed. Compost is the best for that.

Lawnnut is correct to a limitted extent IMHO. :)

[Christian Brothers]

i agree...seed starter fertilizer and cover. thanks

[EagleLandscape]

CB, how the heck do you "spray the weeds" with organic materials?

FYI, chemicals are not harmful if used properly.

[Christian Brothers]

chemicals are harmful because not only do they kill the weeds but they kill microbes, organisms and such that nature uses naturally to fertilize and maintain an eco-system. also think about this, if i am hired to spray and fertilize a yard and i use chemicals, those chemicals are harmful to pets and kids. maybe the customer dont have pets or kids which would be great but it is also in the air and i breathe it in or neighbors, etc. now say the customer has pets and kids. now you have to worry about keeping them off the lawn until its safe and then after that the chemicals are still trafficed in the house, vehicles etc. it may not seem like that big of a deal to some people but every man has his own thing. ours is keeping nature and our customers healthy. by using materials such as compost or mulch for example you can supress the weeds and add the microbes to the soil that naturally kill the weeds. there are also organic sprays you can purchase that have the same effect.

[Christian Brothers]

also, go to the organic lawncare forum and check out "how to start and what to use" FAQ. its under, lawncare, fertilization, weed control, organic, aeration, seeding, etc." then you may want to check out the 2 part "how they are used." and "how the organic materials work" also, a good site to study up on compost, what materials to use, what they do, and troubleshoot is www.compostguide.com. i hope this helps. organic lawncare is growing but we have to inform each other and learn about it. in the long run its actually better than chemicals because nothing beats nature. the natural way. lawns, gardens, vegetables, etc look and actually are better when we use nature. thats just my opinion anyway :)

[Smallaxe]

chemicals are harmful because not only do they kill the weeds but they kill microbes, organisms and such that nature uses naturally to fertilize and maintain an eco-system. also think about this, if i am hired to spray and fertilize a yard and i use chemicals, those chemicals are harmful to pets and kids. maybe the customer dont have pets or kids which would be great but it is also in the air and i breathe it in or neighbors, etc. now say the customer has pets and kids. now you have to worry about keeping them off the lawn until its safe and then after that the chemicals are still trafficed in the house, vehicles etc. it may not seem like that big of a deal to some people but every man has his own thing. ours is keeping nature and our customers healthy. by using materials such as compost or mulch for example you can supress the weeds and add the microbes to the soil that naturally kill the weeds. there are also organic sprays you can purchase that have the same effect.

It's that kind of hyperbole that makes the sale, of an organic program, easy.

:laugh: Last time I heard of a "Good way" to prevent or kill dandy lions - was with calcuim. :laugh:

[Christian Brothers]

you can use corn gluten. there is a product call premerge that is natural. it will prevent the weed seeds from germinating. use it in the fall to prevent the seeds from germinating and then again in the spring. check out this web site for all natural and organic products..... www.backto-nature.com. they have soil amendments, weed control, fertilize, pest control and compost

[Christian Brothers]

ps. thanks for the compliment haha :d

[Smallaxe]

Corn Gluten needs a couple of years or so to build up the chemical to stifle germination!!

So tell me -- When will you reseed?? Overseed??? Renovate, etc.???

[integrityman]

CB- did you mean "harrow"?

n.e. how - I agree that your KBG see should have some modicum of covering.

Peat moss does a nice job of covering seed and can be spread thin too. Plus it holds the moisture.

Be patient w/ the KBG... it'l take some time to germinate.

[Christian Brothers]

CB- did you mean "harrow"?

n.e. how - I agree that your KBG see should have some modicum of covering.

Peat moss does a nice job of covering seed and can be spread thin too. Plus it holds the moisture.

Be patient w/ the KBG... it'l take some time to germinate.


thanks for the advice :)

[Christian Brothers]

Corn Gluten needs a couple of years or so to build up the chemical to stifle germination!!

So tell me -- When will you reseed?? Overseed??? Renovate, etc.???




i've already started. i used the harrow monday evening and put down the seed. i've watered at least twice a day since then. yesterday evening when i got home i put down cottonseed meal and watered for 20 mins. in each section then it came a hard rain for about an hour. when i looked at it this morning the seed was down in the soil really good.

For natural weed control you can also use Burn Out ll. It is made with vinegar and natural plant oils. so no synthetics are used. it can be purchased at wholesale prices for lawn professionals that need bulk. after that is applied you can use the premerge to prevent further weed sprouts.

"Corn gluten meal is a high protein that makes it about 10 percent nitrogen. Apply it as you would a fertilizer, about 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet, to the top of the soil. You may scratch it in lightly and water enough for the seeds to sprout. Then hope it doesn't rain because the meal needs to stay dry. The seeds will sprout, but the roots will not develop.

If your timing is too early for the weed seeds and there was continuous moisture, such as rainy spell, the microbes will eat the meal before it can do its thing to the weed roots. Then you will have healthy weeds. The trick is knowing when the native weed seeds are about to sprout. Once a root is established, the meal has no effect. This is an excellent fertilizer for perennials such as strawberries, blackberries, and lawns."

For fertilizers you can purchase Bio-Enhanced Liquid fertilizers supplemented with a natural nutrient package derived from Seaweed, Humic Acids, and Molasses. it also contains B-1, B-12, gibberellins, indoles, auxins as well as trace elements of boron, iron, zinc, cobalt, copper, manganese, molybdenum and sulfur. So again. its all natural with no synthetics. it can also be purchased in bulk at wholesale prices. so far i've found a 16-4-8, 10-8-8 and 6-14-6. there are also natural products for soil amendment like AerifyPlus!, Bio-Dethatch and soil activators.

[ussoldierforhire]

I just overseeded and covered with a topsoil/compost mix, really bare area's covered with straw

[Smallaxe]

... Then hope it doesn't rain because the meal needs to stay dry. The seeds will sprout, but the roots will not develop.

If your timing is too early for the weed seeds and there was continuous moisture, such as rainy spell, the microbes will eat the meal before it can do its thing to the weed roots. Then you will have healthy weeds. The trick is knowing when the native weed seeds are about to sprout. Once a root is established, the meal has no effect. ...

Stop and think a moment... when will your grass seed sprout? the same time as your weeds will sprout.

First year of gluten's effectiveness is virtually non-existant. 2nd claimed to be 80%.
Cumulative effect. Over 2 years. :laugh:

Wait for the production of the pre-m extracted fron the gluten.

[Christian Brothers]

Stop and think a moment... when will your grass seed sprout? the same time as your weeds will sprout.

First year of gluten's effectiveness is virtually non-existant. 2nd claimed to be 80%.
Cumulative effect. Over 2 years. :laugh:

Wait for the production of the pre-m extracted fron the gluten.


i'm not going to use the premerge. i would use that on a customers property if they asked to, over time, reduce the amount of spraying. hence, would save them money in a couple years. i would just use that for return/long term clients. eventually when i have the kgb throughout the yard i will apply premerge once in the fall for the next years weeds. that will be a few years from now though. natural and organic is more for a long term effect. you will see a continual reduction every year. that is if used effectively.