Preparing soil for grass seed


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Old 02-12-17, 06:45 AM
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Preparing soil for grass seed

I am in the process of replacing my existing St. Augustine / Bermuda lawn with Argentine Bahia seed in Central Florida.

To date, I have killed the existing lawn with 2 applications of Round-up, mowed the dead grass as short as possible and raked up and disposed of the clippings.

Everything I have read or been told indicates that I should also remove any remaining dead vegetation by tilling or power raking to prepare a good soil bed for the new seed.

I would like to know if I can sow the seed without tilling or power raking if I manually loosen the soil first by raking. Re-grading is not necessary and my reasoning is that the little bit of remaining dead vegetation may serve to protect the seed from birds to say nothing about the time and labor saved. After seeding, I would roll the seeded bed and cover it with hay.

Comments please......
 
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Old 02-12-17, 08:04 AM
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In a different climate (Massachusetts) on a small ¼ acre lawn, I once did it exactly as you're doing; but I then seeded and gently fertilized and then had 2 or 3 truckloads (about 15 cubic yards) of well rotted horse manure delivered to spread over the seed about 1 inch deep, and that kept the birds away long enough to let the grass get a foothold.
 
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Old 02-12-17, 10:18 AM
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IMO it would be best to remove the old dead grass and till the soil but over seeding what is there will work. btw - I used to live in central fla
 
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Old 02-13-17, 05:50 AM
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Straw vs. Hay

I would roll the seeded bed and cover it with hay.
Hay will contain numerous seeds of unwanted plants. Wheat straw works best.
 
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Old 02-15-17, 06:16 AM
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I can't seem to find any wheat straw to purchase.....is pine straw a good replacement? If so, approximately how many sq. ft. can I cover per bale?
 
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Old 02-15-17, 06:46 AM
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I think you mean Pine Needle Mulch (?) and it might serve you well as protection for the young grass plants, but it carries a low pH, which should be taken into account when being applied, just in case you're already battling an acidic soil.
 
 

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