New grass retention...right direction?

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chaffee
Posts: 2
Joined: July 2nd, 2018, 4:11 am
Location: northeast US
Grass Type: I don't know
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

New grass retention...right direction?

Post by chaffee » July 3rd, 2018, 4:06 am

Newbie here from New Hampshire, hello,

I have a 1700 sq.ft. section of my yard that I spent last summer preparing to make it a more usable extension of my yard. Formerly an atv trail, heavy compacted clay. I tilled it all up and added 4 yards of loam. Applied gypsum last fall to try and break up the clay over winter. Put down 50 lbs/sq. ft of lime, seed and starter fertilizer on May 31. Watering every day 45 min. and plan to continue that regimen at least through July.
Just mowed first time yesterday.
I'm reading now that I should NOT reapply the starter fertilizer but move to a standard feed???
Also want to overseed to beef it up but I'm thinking I'll wait until September or so for better results.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks
Tim

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: New grass retention...right direction?

Post by andy10917 » July 3rd, 2018, 9:02 am

Several considerations:

(1) Applying Gypsum to clay-based soils does not work if the soil is not a Sodium-based soil. Most Sodic (Sodium-based) clays are in the Southwest and very few (if any) are in NH.
(2) There is no way to know what to do re: Lime. Without a soil test, the need for, the amount and the type of Lime (calcitic or dolomitic) are unknown. We can help if you want to get a soil test from Logan Labs (the only one we currently interpret) - the Standard Test is fine. The wrong Lime can be counterproductive is your soil is high in Magnesium (many NH soils are).
(3) The Memorial Day time is the absolute toughest time of the year to start a seeding project - the Summer heat, diseases, etc make success rates terrible. The best time in during the second half of August, which gives you at least ten weeks of moderate grass-friendly time for it to mature before cold weather approaches. Watering of the grass should start at 3X -5X a day for ungerminated seed and move slowly to more time less frequently until you are putting 1" of water down once a week for mature grass. Then see how many days the 1" of water lasts before the grass shows signs of stress.
(4) There is no magic about Starter fertilizer - it is regular fertilizer with Phosphorus. What are your Phosphorus levels (or we're back to the soil test discussion).

chaffee
Posts: 2
Joined: July 2nd, 2018, 4:11 am
Location: northeast US
Grass Type: I don't know
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: New grass retention...right direction?

Post by chaffee » July 3rd, 2018, 6:03 pm

Thanks Andy. I did get a quick soil test at Agway and applied lime at their recommendation but I do have access to a much more in-depth test at UNH, which I've used for my veggie garden. I'll look into the Logan Labs and get back. Appreciate the info and advice! Lots to learn.

Tim

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