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.

 

[duffer]

I've had to "convert" wooded acreage to yard acreage over the past couple of years.

One of the best things you can do is get a soil test. Take small samples from several locations around your "other" area. Mix it together and take it to your county extension, college, or lawn supply retailer to have the test done. Usually less than $10. Then you'll get a report that tells you what nutrients you need to put on the soil to get it balanced. Could save you a ton of money if you're putting the wrong stuff on it. You might only need to apply a couple of applications of 10-10-10, or maybe you need lime, or maybe you need ?????? Soil test will be a big help to get you on track right away.

Live with the weeds this year, and til after you get the grass growing next season. Then you can go over the acreage with a weed only killer (not glyphosphate). TSC has a pretty good weed killer called Trimec that worked great for me, if you have access to someone with a boom sprayer.

Keep it mowed on the short side to allow the sun to get to the resident grass. If you're going to over-seed, cutting it short will assist in the germination of your new seed. If you're going to over-seed see if you can find something to score the top of the dirt just a little, like a spike tooth harrow/drag. I wouldn't disk it up, as you would lose a lot of your current grass.

Talk with your local yard supply store, and see what grass they recommend you use, if you only want to mow/bush hog every 3-4 weeks.

 

[JakeLS]

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.

My experience has been the same. When I bought my place about 3.5 acres was what I called "field". High grass, weeds and briar bushes. Only a small piece had been mowed regularly but the piece visible from the road had been let go. I had a friend brush hog it for me and then started mowing every week. Within a year it looked like a lawn for the most part. Now, 4 years later there is no trace of the weeds and briars left, only grass. In some ways I regret reclaiming it. It is a nightmare to mow every week(too steep for a Zturn) but it looks way nicer and had a huge impact on the overall appearance of the house.

 

[TXCOMT]

I've had to "convert" wooded acreage to yard acreage over the past couple of years.

One of the best things you can do is get a soil test. Take small samples from several locations around your "other" area. Mix it together and take it to your county extension, college, or lawn supply retailer to have the test done. Usually less than $10. Then you'll get a report that tells you what nutrients you need to put on the soil to get it balanced. Could save you a ton of money if you're putting the wrong stuff on it. You might only need to apply a couple of applications of 10-10-10, or maybe you need lime, or maybe you need ?????? Soil test will be a big help to get you on track right away.

Live with the weeds this year, and til after you get the grass growing next season. Then you can go over the acreage with a weed only killer (not glyphosphate). TSC has a pretty good weed killer called Trimec that worked great for me, if you have access to someone with a boom sprayer.

Keep it mowed on the short side to allow the sun to get to the resident grass. If you're going to over-seed, cutting it short will assist in the germination of your new seed. If you're going to over-seed see if you can find something to score the top of the dirt just a little, like a spike tooth harrow/drag. I wouldn't disk it up, as you would lose a lot of your current grass.

Talk with your local yard supply store, and see what grass they recommend you use, if you only want to mow/bush hog every 3-4 weeks.

Now that is brilliant advice...I'm in the same boat as the OP, so this will help tremendously. Thanks!

TXCOMT

 

[Industrial Toys]

Watering if it doesn't rain, is EVERYTHING! It can be exhausting. Close to a house, at least you should have your water supply for hoses and sprinklers. Once the seed gets wet, you are pretty much commited to keeping the area from drying out.