Straw over grass seed

[Tinhack]

I’ve had problems with a lot of weed seeds being in straw. Maybe on flat ground you can get away without the straw if you keep it watered.

Same here. But I guess it depends on the quality of the straw. I ended up with a yard full of "weeds". It took a while to eliminate the weeds.

 

[WinterDeere]

I’ve never raked up straw. It decomposes eventually. And those other methods might work fine for a small area straw is the only practical option for a large area aside from hydro seeding.

I guess definitions of "large" can vary. I use straw on smaller areas, up to 1/2 acre. If doing anything larger than that, it's too tedious. For larger areas, there are two methods that work better:

1. Sew in annual rye, which will blast off in just 3-4 days if watered daily, no straw needed. Two or three weeks later, aerate and overseed with your permanent seed, usually tall fescue for my clime.

2. Seed with an 80/20 mix containing 20% annual rye. Same effect as above, but a quicker 1-step process. This doesn't always work quite as well, since some of your good seed can wash away in a single big rain event, before the rye germinates.

In both cases, the fast-germinating annual rye grass is serving to stabilize the soil, prevent erosion and loss of your good seed, and provide the same shade and moisture retention as straw would do on a smaller area.

 

[WinterDeere]

Same here. But I guess it depends on the quality of the straw. I ended up with a yard full of "weeds". It took a while to eliminate the weeds.

Depends also on quality of seed. I've had new plantings come up with a lot of weeds from cheaper seed, even without straw.

Weeds are easily eliminated in a single season. Just hit with lawn weed control (Escalade 2 or Surge) after first 5 or 6 mowings, timing for when lawn is well-watered and not stressed, or spot control with a lawn weed control for individual weeds.

 

[jyoutz]

I renovated my lawn this past July. I just seeded heavy and used a roller to pack the seed into the ground. Then went over it by lightly spreading fine soil over top in a a very thin layer with a spreader. This is what it looks like now.

 

[WinterDeere]

Good job. I'm guessing maintaining a lawn in NM is all about irrigation and choosing the right varieties for managing your dry climate.

We are normally pretty wet here in eastern PA, but have a brutal 6 weeks of no rain and 85-95F sun thru all of July and the first half of August. Grasses that favor dry and hot die in our cold winters and wet autumn or spring, but grasses that show high survivability in our winters tend to brown out or even completely die in our July. doh!

Here's mine after the last of the year short mowing, just as it's turning dormant for winter, as you can see from the bit of brown thatch. I mow longer in summer, 4"+ for tall fescue in heat, but take it down near 3" (as shown) for winter to avoid snow mold.



I maintain 3 of our 4 acres like a cheap golf course, with the remaining bit always looking rougher due to all the firewood I move and process. All by chemical management, mostly just an adaptive fertilization and pH balancing schedule, I don't get down on my knees to pull weeds.

 

[WVH1977]

I guess definitions of "large" can vary. I use straw on smaller areas, up to 1/2 acre. If doing anything larger than that, it's too tedious. For larger areas, there are two methods that work better:

1. Sew in annual rye, which will blast off in just 3-4 days if watered daily, no straw needed. Two or three weeks later, aerate and overseed with your permanent seed, usually tall fescue for my clime.

2. Seed with an 80/20 mix containing 20% annual rye. Same effect as above, but a quicker 1-step process. This doesn't always work quite as well, since some of your good seed can wash away in a single big rain event, before the rye germinates.

In both cases, the fast-germinating annual rye grass is serving to stabilize the soil, prevent erosion and loss of your good seed, and provide the same shade and moisture retention as straw would do on a smaller area.

I have winter rye and though about this. I might do this.

 

[4570Man]

I guess definitions of "large" can vary. I use straw on smaller areas, up to 1/2 acre. If doing anything larger than that, it's too tedious. For larger areas, there are two methods that work better:

1. Sew in annual rye, which will blast off in just 3-4 days if watered daily, no straw needed. Two or three weeks later, aerate and overseed with your permanent seed, usually tall fescue for my clime.

2. Seed with an 80/20 mix containing 20% annual rye. Same effect as above, but a quicker 1-step process. This doesn't always work quite as well, since some of your good seed can wash away in a single big rain event, before the rye germinates.

In both cases, the fast-germinating annual rye grass is serving to stabilize the soil, prevent erosion and loss of your good seed, and provide the same shade and moisture retention as straw would do on a smaller area.

I would consider more than 100 sf “large” enough than I’m not raking around Pete moss or something like that. A straw blower will increase the area covered by straw to as much as you want to do.

 

[Cycledude]

Straw works excellent, I’ve also had very good results using lawn clippings but it’s extra work.

 

[jyoutz]

Good job. I'm guessing maintaining a lawn in NM is all about irrigation and choosing the right varieties for managing your dry climate.

We are normally pretty wet here in eastern PA, but have a brutal 6 weeks of no rain and 85-95F sun thru all of July and the first half of August. Grasses that favor dry and hot die in our cold winters and wet autumn or spring, but grasses that show high survivability in our winters tend to brown out or even completely die in our July. doh!

Here's mine after the last of the year short mowing, just as it's turning dormant for winter, as you can see from the bit of brown thatch. I mow longer in summer, 4"+ for tall fescue in heat, but take it down near 3" (as shown) for winter to avoid snow mold.

View attachment 827795

I maintain 3 of our 4 acres like a cheap golf course, with the remaining bit always looking rougher due to all the firewood I move and process. All by chemical management, mostly just an adaptive fertilization and pH balancing schedule, I don't get down on my knees to pull weeds.

Nice job, and a large lawn. Mine is small (50’x100’) and the remainder of the land is just native grass that I mow occasionally. My lawn is a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue, but I’m at 6,800’ elevation so warm season grasses won’t survive the winter. These are more water hungry grass species than the tall fescue and Bermuda grass that they use at lower/warmer elevations. But I have my sprinklers set to water for 20 minutes, every other day, so not too bad for water use. During a normal summer monsoon season (July-September) I either don’t water at all, or only once per week. I fertilize 3 times: early spring, midsummer, and fall. I do use weed killer, but only spot application. I have a tree stump in the lawn as a result of broadcasting weed and feed fertilizer several years ago.

 

[WinterDeere]

I would consider more than 100 sf “large” enough than I’m not raking around Pete moss or something like that. A straw blower will increase the area covered by straw to as much as you want to do.

Straw blower? Have to admit, I'd never seen one. Around here, for lawn usage, everyone I've ever seen just separates and spreads the stuff by hand. Great for 1/4 acre, but hell for 3 or 4 acres. Many also use factory-assembled straw mats, often woven together with monofilament fishing line, which should be banned, IMO.

Agreed on the peat moss. Not only does it sound like work, but I don't think it's necessarily the best thing for a new lawn. It can improve soil structure and drainage, but there are better products for this.

Nice job, and a large lawn. Mine is small (50’x100’) and the remainder of the land is just native grass that I mow occasionally. My lawn is a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue, but I’m at 6,800’ elevation so warm season grasses won’t survive the winter. These are more water hungry grass species than the tall fescue and Bermuda grass that they use at lower/warmer elevations. But I have my sprinklers set to water for 20 minutes, every other day, so not too bad for water use. During a normal summer monsoon season (July-September) I either don’t water at all, or only once per week. I fertilize 3 times: early spring, midsummer, and fall. I do use weed killer, but only spot application. I have a tree stump in the lawn as a result of broadcasting weed and feed fertilizer several years ago.

Very cool. I actually looked at irrigating a few large areas of my lawn, which tend to brown out in our usual summer draught, and have even completely died two or three times in the last 30 years. But the water usage is just enormous when you start looking at providing sufficient water to multiple acres, living off a well. We settle for just irrigating our younger trees and shrubs, and keeping the swimming pool topped up. I think we use ~130 gal/day on tree irrigation + 600 gallons per week on the pool.