Reclaiming Drainage. Now what? Seed or Sod?

[OkieG]

Neighborhood storm drainage flows past two sides of our lot. Thick brush and hundreds of small to medium trees used to occupy most of the drainage area shown in the photo.

Slowly, over recent years, I've been chipping away at reclaiming this for appearance and ease of maintanence. The photo shows the few trees I've left standing. The brush is all gone. What's left is rough ground and weeds I'd like to prep for yard grass.

OkieG

 

[OkieG]

Here's a shot after preping for grass. This time of year the sun is strong enough to dry out the drainage area so I can work down there. Come Sept./Oct. rain water won't evaporate (grade here is shallow), so now is my time to try and make some progress.

OkieG

 

[OkieG]

This shot is from down in the drainage, looking back toward where the first shots were taken. Lawn grass here is Bermuda. Bermuda creeps, so the bare area might fill in on it's own over time. My concern is Fall rains might erode if there's not some ground cover.

I've never done much in the way of sodding or seeding. Any suggestions on a way to get grass growing?

OkieG

 

[ronjhall]

I did some seeding last Monday using some of the information from this thread. Click Here
Yesterday we had a rain strom. Got over 2" of rain in a couple of hours. Put the mat down that Bob suggest in the thread. Made all the difference. I did not put mat down all over. Some of the unmated areas washed out. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
There is already grass coming over most of the area. Used a starter fertilizer from Home Depot and Virgo grass seed. I have been watering everyday for about 1/2hour around noon time.

 

[RalphVa]

Look up "rain gardens" in google or elsewhere. They're just a vegetative area in places where water goes by and would normally end up in streams and storm drains. Stuff like Joe Pye Weed, Iris and some trees do well. You should be able to find a list of vegetative matter to put into your area.

Ralph

 

[Cowboyjg]

The key here is your mentioning of roughly 30 days or so before the rainy season kicks in. That may not be enough time for seed to take hold. Sod may be the only real option. Make sure you use malorganite. It's wonderful for promoting root growth and could be very helpful in getting the sod established.

Good luck with your project.

 

[Jim57]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( This shot is from down in the drainage, looking back toward where the first shots were taken. Lawn grass here is Bermuda. Bermuda creeps, so the bare area might fill in on it's own over time. My concern is Fall rains might erode if there's not some ground cover.

I've never done much in the way of sodding or seeding. Any suggestions on a way to get grass growing?

OkieG )</font>

Ever heard of a Hydro Seeder? This machine is a machine you can mix water, mulch, fertilizer and grass seed in and spray it on the area. Really works well and the grass comes up in a week or so maybe less. I have seen it start growing green in two to three days. You could probably rent a Hydro Seeder at a rental place nearby. Works wonders where you need it to start growing fast. I have planted hills and drainage areas with a Hydro Seeder many times with excellent results and the mulch prevents most washing.

Jim