summer grass

[Chuck52]

Cool weather grass....that's all I see. Unfortunately, my house additions took longer than expected to complete. Big surprise, right? Cost more too. Another shocker! Anyhoo, I'm now left with a nice big bare dirt area, or at least it will be bare dirt when I get all the bricklayers detritus cleaned up and get my gutter drains buried. So, any suggestions for getting some kind of grass going when the temperatures will be in the 80's? I'm not particular about grass types. My "lawn" is more-or-less continuous with an extended grassy field all around the house. The "lawn" may be a fescue, because it is pretty fine-bladed, but the "grass" in the field would be fine with me too, and where one starts and the other stops is a matter of opinion and varies each time I mow. And I don't mind clover and dandelions either. To me, it's all something to keep the dirt covered. I was wondering if I should plant some kind of cover grass, like annual rye or something, and wait until fall for the final grass planting. Sure would like to get something in to slow the erosion if we get more heavy rain.

Chuck

[EdKing]

What we usually do it your situation is get a couple of last years hay bales, break them up and spread them out, and mow whatever grows. There is usually enough seed to get decent looking grass. The loose hay from the floor of the barn works as well.

[cowboydoc]

Take a harrow after they are all done and harrow up the ground. Then spread grass seed. A good lawn mixture for your area will be fine. Like was said sprinkle some straw over it. Then just keep it watered daily and you will get good growth. With water you can grow grass at any time no matter the heat.

[Chuck52]

Thanks for the replies. I've about got the place cleaned up....amazing amount of wasted mortar and broken bricks. One of my friends bought the mixture used by the local road crews and got good fast coverage, so I'll probably go that route. As I said, I really don't much care about the variety of grass, and I like some white clover and dandelions in there too! Now I just need to remember to change my shoes before tromping through the garden.

Chuck