How to grow grass

[nards444]

Well I know how to grow grass, but since there is a lot of farmers here and outdoors kind of guys figured I could get some advice.

Building a house on 4 acres that was basically overgrown Pasteur, grass some bushes etc. I have brushed hogged over the last two years and most of the bushes havent come back and mainly is just grass with weeds. But there is some areas where some roots are still there from bushes.

I expect roughly an acre to get torn up and regraded and prepped for seed.

My question is on the rest, so I just weed and feed it to get the good grass to come up and kill off the junk. Till everything, rake it and replant?

My overall goal is not to be a golf course but not be an old farm field looking country grass either.

I will access to a tractor, tiller, rake, and box blade.

 

[suburbanfarmer]

My recommendation would be to go in sections or strips rather than taking on all 4 acres if budget is to be considered. Perennial rye will be your friend. Once its established it will spread too

 

[nards444]

My recommendation would be to go in sections or strips rather than taking on all 4 acres if budget is to be considered. Perennial rye will be your friend. Once its established it will spread too

Thanks. Yeah I understand Ill probably fight with it for a few years. Dont mind putting some coin into it, just not thousands.

 

[dusty3030]

What is your goal for it?

Pasture for livestock? Viewing wildlife / hunting? Just want a nice big lawn?

Reason I ask is it is important to think hard about what you really want to enjoy once you are there. 4 acres to keep mowed just for to have a 4 acre lawn can quickly turn into a hassle. There are other ways to be able to enjoy your property you might not have considered.

Neatly mowed pasture and or lawn isn't good wildlife habitat. It provides little to no nutrition and zero cover. Even if you don't hunt or intend to hunt, doing a portion of the 4 acres to benefit wildlife is a cost effective and lower maintenance way to enjoy it without having to plant and mow it. There is a central New York chapter of Pheasants Forever you could research. That organization has good ties with local government agencies for cost share and low cost sources for seeds / plants. Find local information on resources and what to plant that will attract all sorts of wildlife (songbirds, pollinators, etc) to your property. You won't need to worry about fertilizer and as prepared a soil bed for these areas of your property, you would be planting things that are hearty and that you would be controlling with prescribed burning instead of a mower.

Central New York Chapter of Pheasants Forever - About | Facebook

NYPMC | NRCS Plant Materials Program

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/nypmspu11417.pdf

Prescribed Burning | NRCS New York

As far as planting grass, you really won't do that until closer to fall. If an option in your area I would used chemicals to eliminate what is there, have soil samples pulled to find out what fertilizer / lime you might need, and work on preparing the soil bed as time allows before I planted it in the fall.

 

[Diggin It]

I have an area that was overgrown with all sorts of weeds and small trees. I ran over it with my field and brush mower a couple of times, then started mowing it regularly. No weed treatments or fertilizers. For some reason, it's now better 'grass' than my front 'lawn' area. So much better that I've been trying to find a way to cut sod sections from it for replanting out front in weaker sections.

 

[nards444]

What is your goal for it?

Pasture for livestock? Viewing wildlife / hunting? Just want a nice big lawn?

Reason I ask is it is important to think hard about what you really want to enjoy once you are there. 4 acres to keep mowed just for to have a 4 acre lawn can quickly turn into a hassle. There are other ways to be able to enjoy your property you might not have considered.

Neatly mowed pasture and or lawn isn't good wildlife habitat. It provides little to no nutrition and zero cover. Even if you don't hunt or intend to hunt, doing a portion of the 4 acres to benefit wildlife is a cost effective and lower maintenance way to enjoy it without having to plant and mow it. There is a central New York chapter of Pheasants Forever you could research. That organization has good ties with local government agencies for cost share and low cost sources for seeds / plants. Find local information on resources and what to plant that will attract all sorts of wildlife (songbirds, pollinators, etc) to your property. You won't need to worry about fertilizer and as prepared a soil bed for these areas of your property, you would be planting things that are hearty and that you would be controlling with prescribed burning instead of a mower.

Central New York Chapter of Pheasants Forever - About | Facebook

NYPMC | NRCS Plant Materials Program

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/nypmspu11417.pdf

Prescribed Burning | NRCS New York

As far as planting grass, you really won't do that until closer to fall. If an option in your area I would used chemicals to eliminate what is there, have soil samples pulled to find out what fertilizer / lime you might need, and work on preparing the soil bed as time allows before I planted it in the fall.

Really just a nice big lawn. Im in the country per say but hunting and so forth is not applicable here or really is wildlife viewing. Its 4 acres total, my guess after brush around the bounderies and actual house foot print probably much closer to 3 acres of actual grass maybe less. The way the land is set up it really is an option of just letting it grow wild and look like crap or mow it all.

TBH big hunter and fisherman and my old house was almost the same set up, country but not out in the boons. As far as wildlife I prefer to not encourage it, I would not want to do anything detrimental on purpose but I really dont want it here, constantly dealing with varmits, mice, coons etc where I was and dont want to help any of that

 

[nards444]

I have an area that was overgrown with all sorts of weeds and small trees. I ran over it with my field and brush mower a couple of times, then started mowing it regularly. No weed treatments or fertilizers. For some reason, it's now better 'grass' than my front 'lawn' area. So much better that I've been trying to find a way to cut sod sections from it for replanting out front in weaker sections.

Even just brush hogging it 4 times over the last 2 years made tremendous strides. I almost think you are somewhat right of just mowing it and maybe some weed killer over time it might be what I want. Only thing is the land is pretty flat but there are some bumps and divits around, I might just till it rake it and then box blade it off and see where we get with it

 

[dusty3030]

Cool. If you have a sprayer that you think you could reasonable calibrate one jug of the chemical below would do 2 acres (2qt acre of chemical max). Might could use a lesser rate, but your goal would be to kill out what is there.

RM43 Total Vegetation Control, Weed Preventer Concentrate, 43.68% Glyphosate, 1 gal. at Tractor Supply Co.

Caveat is that you won't be able to plant right behind it. The imazapyr will prevent anything from coming up, on the flip side it will smoke any bushes / little hardwoods saplings you have trying to come up. After about 3 months or longer you can plant your grass which you probably barely would have a window where you are to do that and get in a fall planting.

If you don't want to nuke it and start over just keep mowing. I would strongly consider using something to kill the brush though. That is mainly what you are going to be battling going forward. Even spot spraying it would be a good practice. Here is a good chemical for spot application on any trees / brush coming up -

Brushtox Brush Killer with Triclopyr, Concentrate, 64 oz. at Tractor Supply Co.

A fine fescue variety mix would do well in your area. Plant in the early fall. Needs good seed to soil contact, but doesn't have to be extreme. You could plug aerate, sow the seed, then drag it all to get a decent stand. Light disking and dragging would work. If you aerate it will look like a million chia heads springing up, but will fill in over time. A fescue is pretty hearty and tolerant of poorer soils / no irrigation so it is easy to grow.

 

[Thomas]

One thing you don't want to do sweep out barn for seeds,did that I have everything growing you could imagine lower part of my lawn.

 

[Grumpycat]

Best way to get grass to grow is to pour a concrete driveway. Expansion joints will immediately fill with grass.