Calling all lawn care pros...

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

After 4 years of drought, my yard is a dumpster fire. I have whole sections that are essentially bare dirt with weed husks. I need to till and plant seed in some fairly large areas (50'x50') and would appreciate your advice on the following:

• Drought resistant grass seed for Midwest (Iowa) with full sun exposure
• Best cover strategy to protect seed and keep dogs out of the mud. I can fence some of it, but other areas just not practical. I tried straw last year and it got everywhere...

Thank you in advance!

EDIT: total impacted area combined is around 1 acre, so please keep that in mind re: cost...

 

[doc holiday13]

You're gonna wanna boost the carbon and organic matter content of your dirt if you want something to take root. Exposed bare dirt looses nutrients due to solar heating and air movement drying it out.. right now would be the time to lay out some seed and cover it with thick straw. In the fall you'll wanna layout leaft mulch thinly over your entire yard. Pelleted lime in Feb/March..

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

What about using burlap strips instead of straw and keep the seed watered?

 

[longspeak74]

Erosion matting is your friend, not blown straw.

 

[LostArra]

Buy good seed

I had an area smaller than yours where the electric company had done some work. I worked the soil and spread some of the Scott's/Home Depot/Lowes junk with all sorts of coatings and barely anything grew. The next year I worked the soil again and went to a feed and seed store that does ag and high school, college and pro ball fields. Their seed was a little pricier but wow what a difference. This was bermuda grass. It needs soil temps pretty warm (May-June in Okla)

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Thanks for the nod on the erosion control mats. I found some 8'x112' rolls that should work great.

 

[longspeak74]

If you can get your hands on some Miloganite, grab it. Slow release fertilizer, that won't burn. Add it once grass has established itself. Keep the soil moist after seeding and don't let it dry out completely between waterings.

 

[Snowhunter11]

1st- turn area over
2nd level
3rd- add starter feet as specified on bag 10-10-10 up to 14-25-10 or whatever your store sells affordable with slow release.
4th-seed buy from local seed company and ask their advice for your area and soil type.
5th erosion blankets stapled down.
6th- always keep damp to wet. Big areas are a full time job moving sprinklers depending on water sources. Tripod mounted impacts. Multiple tractor types can work. This goes on for 4-6 weeks until all desired grasses germinate. Once you have a full stand you can start killing weeds!

As for dogs anything kept that wet will get wrecked by dogs. Walk them on a leash or fence off a small area and sod.

My 2c
I am a bit further north however the principals are the same.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

1st- turn area over
2nd level
3rd- add starter feet as specified on bag 10-10-10 up to 14-25-10 or whatever your store sells affordable with slow release.
4th-seed buy from local seed company and ask their advice for your area and soil type.
5th erosion blankets stapled down.
6th- always keep damp to wet. Big areas are a full time job moving sprinklers depending on water sources. Tripod mounted impacts. Multiple tractor types can work. This goes on for 4-6 weeks until all desired grasses germinate. Once you have a full stand you can start killing weeds!

As for dogs anything kept that wet will get wrecked by dogs. Walk them on a leash or fence off a small area and sod.

My 2c
I am a bit further north however the principals are the same.

Thank you for the checklist and that makes sense. Fortunately, the main areas are right in front of the house and within easy reach of the hose/sprinkler. I measured the large area and not quite 50x50, but 33x35. 2 of the 112' rolls should cover it and part of the other really bad section. I'm planning to go with the biodegradeable stakes instead of the staples. Don't want a bunch of rusty "nails" sticking up in the yard for the dogs or humans to step on in the future.

We have a great local seed company too, and I gotta get some cereal rye for food plots anyways. Thx again!

 

[TSAMP]

Pics! I'm in a similar boat as you right now. I hired Tru green a couple years back and saw virtually no difference. It has steadily declined though.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Pics! I'm in a similar boat as you right now. I hired Tru green a couple years back and saw virtually no difference. It has steadily declined though.

I hear you man and this drought has been a killer.

 

[TSAMP]

I hear you man and this drought has been a killer.

I've impraced the weeds, whatever covered the bare dirt so I don't need to wipe paws 12x a day.

I look at old pics and see how lush it was 5 years ago and it makes me sad.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I've impraced the weeds, whatever covered the bare dirt so I don't need to wipe paws 12x a day.

I look at old pics and see how lush it was 5 years ago and it makes me sad.

We have about 2 acres total to mow around the acreage, and I'm going to try to make it look decent around the house. However, the rest of the place will continue to be a mixed bag of junk. We're also going to mow less this year to try and salvage what grass is left.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Does anybody have a recommendation for a push type spreader? I'm thinking 10-20000 sq. feet capacity with never-flat tires. It will get double duty as lawn and food plot tool. My old over the shoulder bag seeder is a neck killer for large projects. Please advise...

 

[Snowhunter11]

Last you the rest of your life..

https://a.co/d/eIP7AKY

For a homeowner that washes once a year might last 20 years https://a.co/d/iiZ669v

 

[Tjdeerslayer37]

as others said, good seed is important. each bag of seed has a seed make up chart on the back of it. on that chart will be a section that says "weed seed", find the bags with the lowest percentage you can. also straw contains a ton of weed seeds and will often screw you over when you use it as seed cover, peat moss is a better option but would be tough to spread over an area that large.

i did my tiny yard a few years ago, round up the whole yard, wait 30 days, till it and level it, seed/starter fertilizer/peat, water water water. this is jonathan green black beauty ultra seed. its fuller now, the final pic here is just after the first mow.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Be ready for a little sticker shock when you buy your grass seed. I had to reseed an area of my yard (~1 acre) last fall with turf fescue, and the seed rate was 5#/1000 sq ft, which works out to 4.3 bags per acre, and the bags I bought were around $200 each.

The last two times I've planted grass, I have waited until fall. Tilled, fertilized, leveled, broadcasted grass, blew straw over the top, and prayed that nature would do its thing.

It came in pretty well for the most part, but I wish I had a good way to thicken it up a little more without hiring someone with an overseeder ($$$).

 

[Haggin]

SE Nebraska location for me, same drought conditions

I'd follow Snowhunter's advice but wait til the fall. Weed pressure should be less, temps should be cooler for less watering, and you don't have to deal with it over summer trying to keep it alive. Get a seed that had one grass that grows up quick and another that spreads from a local supplier. I use Miller Seed in Lincoln, NE. Early May is a NE/IA brand, so I'd check there too. You should get some good growth right away that will cover some of the other seed to help it along. Prep the bed, seed, rake lightly to get some soil over it, then roll it with a lawn roller if you have one (I use my ATV), then put out the straw blankets.

The erosion control blankets (net type with straw somehow attached under) are great. Though, I'd caution against assuming they covering the full 8' by 112'. We added a lean to on our barn last year with a lot of new dirt and grading all around the building, and used them to help the grass get established. I'd bet I got 70% coverage versus the measurements, even if I stretched them tight, but I'm definitely not a pro. You can install it by yourself, but having help is a plus. I bought the 16' wide ones and definitely needed help. One can stake while the other unrolls and keeps it tight. Buy way more stakes than you think you need.

For water, I bought some cheap sprinklers at Walmart that I could daisy chain three or four together on the same hose and put them out for best coverage. I used every hose I had around the place, and bought a few shorter ones, but it was better than moving sprinklers around every time. I watered 3X every day, because it was August and hot. Just enough to keep it wet with no runoff.

 

[WCB]

We have about 2 acres total to mow around the acreage, and I'm going to try to make it look decent around the house. However, the rest of the place will continue to be a mixed bag of junk. We're also going to mow less this year to try and salvage what grass is left.

We don't have 2 acres at the house but about 3/4. We do not have a sprinkler system. We took about 9,000 square feet and planted a native prairie. Front yard, side yards, and fenced area right behind the house we can keep up with and keep it looking good (not golf course but can walk bare foot and it is full and green). Anything else that we mow sometimes gets watered and sometimes doesn't .

Mowing less is never a bad idea IMO. I don't get people that mow acres for a yard. If your areas are suited for it plant native grasses and flowers looks better than just random crap grass and takes zero input from you except for original planting and burning every other year or so.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

We don't have 2 acres at the house but about 3/4. We do not have a sprinkler system. We took about 9,000 square feet and planted a native prairie. Front yard, side yards, and fenced area right behind the house we can keep up with and keep it looking good (not golf course but can walk bare foot and it is full and green). Anything else that we mow sometimes gets watered and sometimes doesn't .

Mowing less is never a bad idea IMO. I don't get people that mow acres for a yard. If your areas are suited for it plant native grasses and flowers looks better than just random crap grass and takes zero input from you except for original planting and burning every other year or so.

I agree and I've nudged my wife in that direction in the past, but she isn't on board just yet. One issue we have is that having more tall native cover near the house encourages mice and other critters to feel comfortable cruising closer to the house. The 80 surrounding our place is all naitve grass and my 10 to the west and north (L-shape) is now planted to natives. Having a perceived buffer zone between the tall native plantings and the acreage gives us a (likely false) sense of security and control over the vermin. LOL!

We commonly have coyotes cruise through the yard and have concerts just out the back door, and it can get a little unnerving when letting the dogs out at night. However, I appreciate that idea and like the concept.