A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 My Lawn & All It's... "Quirks"

So my husband and I just moved into our new house and the previous owners were into that "Low Maintenance" Landscaping. Anyway, long story short, they had rocks for a front and back yard- absolutely no grass what so ever. Anyway, we decided to get a new front lawn down before the fall started up (we didn't care for the rocks at all) and so we've rolled out all the sod and it's coming along well... I think?!

In between each piece of sod (around the edges), the grass is starting to turn brown slightly. Now we've been watering it at least twice a day for about half an hour at least. If we continue this watering routine, will the brown start to go away?

One other question, we decided to seed our back lawn instead of buying the sod up front. Can anyone give me suggestions as to what to do? What soil to put down, what is a good time of year to seed...etc. And particularly, how long does seeding take to fully grow?

Thank you in advance!

the brown edges means that you did not make good contact with the soil and the roots are dying. It is a good idea to roll new sod to avoid this. Or make very sure that all edges are down to the soil.

For the back, you want it to grow bwfore winter or wait until spring. Loosen the existing soil, spread seed, cover with topsoil. Water every 8 hours at for about 3-4 weeks. Once the sprouting starts water the same until it is strong enough to mow. Do not fertilize until after 3 mowings.

Rugby:

Thank you very much for the info. I'll be going outside right after this to ensure the edges are in contact with the soil.

As for the seeding in the back yard- Very specific; and EXACTLY what I needed. Again, thank you very much! You were a huge help!

The best time for seeding a lawn in the northern climates is in the late summer or early fall. That way the new grass plants will not have to contend with the summer heat and droughts. Also a benefit of doing in the fall is the fact that you will not have to worry about crab grass. Any good top soil will work, just make sure it is smoothed out, and the seed is lightly covered with soil. Up here in the cooler north you can get away with using a starter fertilizer, something in the range of 18-24-12 would be good. That can go down at the time of seeding, or on top of it, that would be up to you.
Like Rugby, says it will take lots of water. Once the seeds start to germinate, you will not want the area to dry out. Another good reason for doing in the later part of the summer as rains are usually a bit more frequent.

Mike:

Thank you very much. The good news is that my front lawn is fully contacted and is VERY green.

We will be starting the seeding for the back yard at the end of this month- I've printed off your post! THANK YOU!

How's it going? Have any results? Please share them with us, some pictures would be nice.