Seeding

I worked on the seeding job off and on all day on Saturday and finally got it done. It always seems to take longer than you expect.

I used a lot more of the yard of dirt than I expected. I filled in a couple of low spots and then spread a thin layer out over the whole area.

My first dilemma was getting the seed mixture that I wanted. I consulted this article from the NDSU Extension service that recommends a mixture of Bluegrass (55-65%), Fescue (30-35%) and perennial Ryegrass (10-15%) for our climate. But I couldn't find a mix anywhere close to this after checking home improvement stores and a big box retailer. Now I didn't look far and wide, so I may have been able to find it with more looking, but I was getting a bit desparate on a Saturday afternoon to get the seed down. My solution was to mix a bag I found with about a 33-33-33 mixture with seed from a bag of pure Kentucky Bluegrass. I didn't do the math, but I figured that I got closer to the proper mixture that way.

So after leveling out the soil, I spread some starter fertilizer and followed that up with the seed. I used a hand spreader rather than throwing it out by hand in order to get an even distribution. I added some grass clipping to act as a mulch. Now I have to water it a couple of times a day for a few weeks. Since it's not pure Bluegrass (which has a slower germination), I should see some of the ryegrass and fescue coming up fairly quickly. I'll post some pictures soon.