Soil preparation and equipment for seeding a new lawn

jomobco · Aug 5, 2012

So I had to scrape and regrade 10,000 sq' of my yard. It's now all dirt. I've got clay soil which is common in Douglas County Colorado. It's irrigated. I'm going to reseed in blue grass due to the hassle and expense of getting buffalo grass started. This means that I have to prepare the soil since bluegrass doesn't love the clay like buffalo grass. I've got a 36 horse Cub Cadet.

I'm thinking about getting a 60" tiller and then throwing down a 1-2" layer of compost/manure and tilling it in to prep. I'd then regrade, seed, harrow and compact, then irrigate.

i'm open to all ideas on this subject so please throw them out there on what equipment I should use, materials, etc. I'm all ears. Thanks! :thumbsup:

bcjmmac · Aug 6, 2012

Sounds reasonable but might be slightly early to start a lawn - late summer/early fall is usually best as the temperature is a bit cooler, which gives better grass seed germination + weeds generally don't germinate that time of year so you get a cleaner lawn.
I'd try & remove rocks, etc, & get the rough grading done before adding the manure/compost - you will want something which you are fairly confident is weed seed free. I would also only till 3-4 inches deep after the compost is added to avoid having to do much other than pick a few rocks & smooth out the soil (most grass roots won't go deeper than that unless you are growing some very drought resistant varieties). You should also add lime, or any other soil amendments you might need, when you add the compost. If you want to loosen up your clay soil, you could add a bunch of sphagnum moss, but you would need a lot & I'd probably do it before adding the manure/compost & mix it in deeper to help with drainage, etc.
I realize that Blue Grass is a very common choice but don't use it myself - needs too much water, fertilizer & isn't overly disease or bug resistant. I would look into using fescues, perennial ryegrass or a mix of those 2 types with Blue Grass to avoid a mono-culture lawn - you should be able to find varieties that have resistance to the common diseases & bugs prevalent in your area. I always use clover in the lawn, but that is a personal preference, live in the country & am not worried about selling!

Good luck - hope it turns out well.

MarkV · Aug 6, 2012

The first thing I would do is get in touch with the county extension agent and have a soil test done. They are the go to source for what works in your immediate area plus a soil test is free in some states or like mine cheap at 7 bucks. Without the proper fertilizer and soil PH it is a real carp shoot as to whether that expensive seed will do well.

MarkV

flusher · Aug 6, 2012

I installed a lawn around my new house a few years ago when my tractor was a 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD). Since the ground was hard, I used a potato plow, then a 48" Yanmar RS1200 rototiller, then used a drag (2x4 frame, carpet remnant, some extra weight) to smooth it out, seeded with tall fescue, and rolled it with a 30" wide water-filled roller. I towed the drag and the roller with my riding mower since the Kubota had ag tires and would mess up the seedbed.

Good luck.

jenkinsph · Aug 6, 2012

I put in lawns in my business in New Mexico and would recommend tall fescue. This is the perfect time to rework your lawn in your locale. I will be reworking a new lawn area this week for one of my new customers. Planting after August 1st is good timing here in the southwest, not likely to have weeds show up and plenty of time to get the grass up and grow your roots all winter long.

I would first till the property about 4 to 6 inches deep, plane it as smooth as you can then add amendments needed and retill to mix in, Broadcast about 300 lbs of Tall Fescue seed/acre harrow to cover seed them roll with a water filled roller. Keep damp for about 10 to 14 days on the surface to germinate seed. You should get a nice stand of grass. I use Scotts starter fertilizer for all my new lawns and apply it when seeding.

Heres a picture of my lawn using this method.

oldballs · Aug 6, 2012

Am checking into this thread....thank you. I'm planning on doing the same thing but have a lot of dead/dormant grasses and knotweed that I've been killing with 2-4-D. How does one get all that surface crap off? The ground is very hard right now. And then what? Do I need to buy a tiller for my B2620 or would renting an aerator machine be good enough to get the new seed started? Thanks..........Mike

jomobco · Aug 6, 2012

Thanks everyone for your replies! I had the rough grading done by a pro due to a 50 year rain we had in June which flooded into the basement due to poor grading.

@BCJMMAC - Thanks for the info on the timing. With my schedule September will be when this happens so I should be right on time. I'm leaning towards a blue mix and then I might over seed in buffalo the next few years and see if it takes. I'm at 6400' which means winter kill might be an issue and sod for buffalo is crazy expensive. My wife is hesitant with Fescue due to the fact that we'll have horses graze on the lawn over the summer and she has some issues with fescue. I love the clover idea since it will graze well and I've seen it in some pasture mixes I've been reading about. I'm more into the horses being happy than a perfect suburban lawn.

@markv - Great point about soil testing. Any thoughts of soil testing vs soil tester? From what I've read it's about the PH. These seem interesting: Soil Testing Kit - Growers Supply

@flusher - do you think a big roller like 900 lbs is too much for a small JD lawn tractor (100 series) ? I've got a couple of slopes. How big was your roller? I've got the ag tires on my Cadet.

@jenkinsph - Great lawn! How important is the double till? Till then amend then till again. Any luck growing buffalo grass at your altitude? For me it would be great grazing as the wife is hesitant on fescue and as mentioned the blue mixes suck water.

Thanks all!

jenkinsph · Aug 7, 2012

I till first because it makes grading smooth much easier and faster. I would get all the grading done then retill to have a uniform depth of till which I think settles more evenly. Some people have Buffalo grass here but it isn't my preference. With a mild winter such as last year my lawn stayed green somewhat all winter long.

Lots of people with horses have Fescue, what is your wife hesitant about?

LHS Inc · Aug 7, 2012

jenkinsph said:
I till first because it makes grading smooth much easier and faster. I would get all the grading done then retill to have a uniform depth of till which I think settles more evenly. Some people have Buffalo grass here but it isn't my preference. With a mild winter such as last year my lawn stayed green somewhat all winter long.

Lots of people with horses have Fescue, what is your wife hesitant about?

Lawn type Fescues have a living fungus called Endophytes that protect the plant from drought and heat stress. The Endophytes can cause birth defects and other problems in horses and cattle.

They are also low on nutritional value when planting alone.

They make Endophyte free types of fescues for grazing. I don't know how well they perform as a lawn grass.