Now have 24 yards of organic screened loam-now what?

[cdaigle430]

Bought some sprinklers, organic loam, pemium grass seeds and fertilizer to plant grass on a sloped area. I need to do this in order to keep the rain from washing the soil away. How thick should the loam be? Should it be loose or compact? After planting should i cover the area with straw? Any tips or tricks would be gratefull please.

 

[tractorshopper]

Haul it to my house in SC. I need to do the same.

On the hillside, I'd use strawmat after seeding to help prevent the erosion. Around here, you can get the rolls of it for mid $30 range. Each roll is like 7' wide by 100' long. It's like a thin plastic weave with shredded straw blown into it. You lay it over, then use sod staples to hold it in place. I'd go with a couple inches of loam deep, sew the seed, drag or roll to put seed in touch with soil, then lay the mat. I'd leave it loose enough that it can be raked before seeding. Don't overfertilize or you can burn the seed up. Starter fertilizer per directions, heavier fertilizer when it's come up good and roots are in, but still don't overfertilize. May want to have a soil sample done to make sure you don't need lime or other ammendments first. Around here, lime is almost always a necessity.

 

[jeff9366]

With small seed such as turf and clover is is crucial to roll the seed into the soil.
A cultipacker implement is designed especially for this task. By rolling across the slope, the ridges the cultipacker impresses will also alleviate "washing".

Ideally, you would roll than lay down straw or a straw mat. Soil is generally pretty acid in Maine. I second the soil test for lime. Turf grass prefers "sweeter" soil than the average crop. If the soil is not "right" for your seed germination will be poor.