Driving mower over new sprouts.

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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flyin-lowe
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Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by flyin-lowe » May 9th, 2021, 10:14 am

I'm back after some time away from the forum. Last summer I tilled and leveled an acre of my yard with the plans of seeding it last fall. It was too dry to seed last year and after being sick of looking at bare dirt for a year I decided to seed it this spring. I know that's not ideal but when dealing with such a large area and having to depend on Mother Nature for water I did it. I seeded with a TTF blend and at about the 14 day mark if really started shooting up. Not as quick as I would have liked but that is due to the cool temps we've had. As I expected the weeds are growing faster than the grass. My plan was to weight until the grass was at mowing height before mowiing it but have thought about hitting it anyway just to keep the weeds at a manage height. Some areas the grass is already a couple inches tall, other areas it's still just sprouting. Curious how many of you (if any) would run a mower over it or if that is a horrible idea? Here's to hoping for a lot cooler and wetter summer than last summer. For those that remember my old threads about the renovations this is the fianl acre of my 5 acre yard that I leveled and re seeded.

JeffreyLebowski
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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by JeffreyLebowski » May 9th, 2021, 6:19 pm

I always wait as long as I can stand it before mowing new grass. I have heard that it isn't a big deal to cut it a little early but I always restrain myself.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by MorpheusPA » May 9th, 2021, 8:32 pm

I tend to agree. If you can avoid it great, but if you can't, it's not a big deal and you can mow whenever you like. TTTF will be one of the fastest-developing,

Set the mower at normal mowing height. What doesn't get cut simply doesn't get cut yet. But realize also that the weeds, even if they develop really fast, aren't going to survive the cutting anyway. And you could also spot-spray those if you had to. It may damage the immediately-local grass, but..

Jackson
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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by Jackson » May 10th, 2021, 1:31 pm

Don't even worry about the weeds; no sense in compromising your new grass to hit some weeds. They are easy to control once the lawn establishes...

Consider fertilizing instead.

flyin-lowe
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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by flyin-lowe » May 10th, 2021, 3:45 pm

Thanks for the thoughts. Everything was going really well and then we have had frost the last couple nights and maybe again tomorrow. Some of the areas it is a couple inches tall already, but as you know there are some seeds that are just now sprouting. The frost has been pretty light but it's been there. Time will tell.


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MorpheusPA
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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by MorpheusPA » May 10th, 2021, 8:47 pm

Grass seed and new sprouts won't even notice frost, light freeze, or a moderate freeze. It literally doesn't care.

Growth and germination ceases until temperatures rebound, but other than that, no harm done. That's why late-winter and early-spring seedings work. And in May, temperatures tend to rebound by noon, even if they fall back again the next evening for a few days.

Harts
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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by Harts » May 12th, 2021, 1:47 pm

Most people wait until the grass is a few inches tall before cutting it. The general rule is to do the first cut when the first of the new grass reaches 2" and cut it back to 1.5". Do this 3-4 times and then you can adjust to your normal HOC.

New grass is more resilient then we give it credit for.

Cutting early and often will promote quicker growth and fill in.

flyin-lowe
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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by flyin-lowe » May 13th, 2021, 9:09 am

Thanks, due to the temps and the fact I am relying on mother nature for water, I have some areas that are pretty thick and already a couple inches tall and other areas where the grass is just now breaking the surface. It is supposed to start warming up today and we should be having more normal temps for this time of year. I expect it to continue to shoot up, hoping our summer is not too brutal....

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Re: Driving mower over new sprouts.

Post by Harts » May 13th, 2021, 1:25 pm

flyin-lowe wrote:
May 13th, 2021, 9:09 am
Thanks, due to the temps and the fact I am relying on mother nature for water, I have some areas that are pretty thick and already a couple inches tall and other areas where the grass is just now breaking the surface. It is supposed to start warming up today and we should be having more normal temps for this time of year. I expect it to continue to shoot up, hoping our summer is not too brutal....
It has been an inconsistent Spring. Don't wait for more grass to germinate. If you have spots that are inches tall, cut it back. Just back off on the watering the day before so the ground can firm up a bit. And keep mowing as frequently as your time allows until you go to your normal HOC.

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