Planting grass in the dead of winter

[ShenandoahJoe]

Well, all the heavy excavation work is done at my place. Took about three months longer than we'd planned, thanks to the vagaries of rain and local government. So here I am in January, with a quarter acre of 2:1 slope that needs grass planted on it. This is not the time of year I'd have preferred to do that.

Anybody have any suggestions? Should I proceed as I would have in October, or is there a Plan B I ought to switch to?

 

[dave1949]

You could put some grass seed down, cover that with straw/hay mulch and put a staked mulch retaining net over it to prevent spring rains from washing it all down hill as much as possible.

The seed will germinate when it's ready. On a 2:1 slope, have you considered some ground cover plants? I would worry more about wash out than anything else.
Dave.

 

[20 20]

I have thrown grass seed over snow in the spring{was told that was a good time}. It worked very well, I didn't have to tear up the wet ground{after thaw}, plus the snow helped water the grass as it melted.

 

[EddieWalker]

Seed will just remain dormant until the conditions are right.

I would address the errosion concern by installing silt fences, hay bales and spreading straw. You really can't put too much down, but if you don't put enough out, you'll end up with some nasty gullies.

You can buy rolls of burlap with seed in it that is staked to the ground. It's pricey, but very effective. You anchor it down with metal clips so it holds the soil in place during a heavy rain. Then when conditions are right, the seed will sprout. In time, the burlap will rot away and you are left with growing grass. I was told that all the highway projects are required to use it here in Texas. I don't know that for a fact, but I have seen it used quite a bit. I looked into it to protect my dame after my pond was done, but went with just broadcasting seed and then filling in the ruts from the rains until the grass filled in.

Remember, you have to slow the water down, and spread it out. As a general rule of thumb, it always takes twice as many barriers then you think to get the job done. If going with a barrier, like a silt fence or hay bales, run it across the top, then again half way down. Dependingon the size of the slope, you might need another line or two.

Silt fences are pretty cheap at the box stores. Just be sure to get the material all the way down and into the ground. If the water flows under it, then it's not doing anything. I try to get down as far as possible and then add a little dirt to the fence to help create a dam. In the low areas, I try to put something on it to keep it down. Bricks or chunks of concrete. I've even used logs.

Eddie

 

[dex3361]

I have had success with this type of situation by sowing winter wheat and my grass seed together. The wheat will grow off and on through the winter and it will die back in the spring about the time the grass is germinating. Then cut the wheat down and let the grass grow.

 

[Chuckatuck]

"Doah,"

While I'm closer to the ocean in Tidewater than you are up there in the Valley, we have had good success sowing rye in past winters as we've slowly cleared our property. I have not done so this year. I'm guessing the bigger problem will be getting stuck in the mud -- we've had one of the top 5 wetest years ever down here.

Why not check with Whetzel's Seed Company in Harrisonburg (if they're still there) to see what they might recommend? (it's been a while since I was at JMU). Also, I'm betting you have silt fences already up b/c of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. I would second keeping them up until summer.

Good luck.
Chuckatuck

 

[Dargo]

I'm pretty sure that planting a bunch of Kudzu will completely stop any erosion and you needn't bother about any caring for the plants. It will hold almost a 90 degree slope in place. Now, when it gets away and takes over your entire town....you didn't get the idea from me. ;-)

 

[Opti-Mist]

Yeah, that stuff is about as bad as crown vetch, eh? I've run into more kudzu in the south than I'd need in this lifetime.

 

[Dargo]

Yeah, that stuff is about as bad as crown vetch, eh? I've run into more kudzu in the south than I'd need in this lifetime.

LOL! It's the only plant I know of that gasoline, diesel, lacquer thinner etc. won't kill. Pure licensed strength Roundup, mixed like 250:1 strength, only killed everything in about a 10' circle around the kudzu. The Kudzu sprouted back up a week or so later in the middle of the dead ring.

 

[theboman]

Kudzu, bet way to not have it where you live... MOVE! It's very sparse in these parts, but where it's at...it's EVERYWHERE.

It's a great time to get grass seed down, if it's gonna snow...even better!

Straw is amazing. In the early fall I bought a bale of wheat straw for the critters bedding. The remainer I just kicked around towards the bare spots that are still around, or areas grass hadn't did much, this was late September and one rain later boom green grass is poking thru the straw! Wasn't even any seed there in the past 6 months or so!

Come a dry, warm day (we'll have those in KY again I'm told) and I get a few bales of straw and toss about "points of emphasis" in the yard and see what happens! Pretty broke this time of year but $20 gets me 3-4 bale of straw and depending who's loading maybe another 1-2 if'n the owner loads it for me..I brag on his business on the radio A perk.