How To Grow Grass 101

(Uh, no... this is not about that kind of grass!!)

We had the great pleasure this year of planting a lawn for the first time. The guest house/garage was finished last year and we wanted to wait until this year to put the lawn in. We delayed for a handful of reasons but one of the main things was that we wanted the land to 'settle' after one winter and spring. With all the work that was involved with building the garages, a lot of heavy equipment was brought in and it really tore up the property with some deep ruts and oddball piles of dirt here and there.

Heavy trucks full of cement wrecked havoc on the ground. This was summer 2010.

This photo shows the odd piles of dirt and the rough land. 

Winter freeze, snow and the spring thaw did a bit of natural leveling -- and we took it from there.

There are a few options for starting a lawn such as sod (expensive!) and seed (frustrating!). We choose the seed route. 

Honestly, I never thought I'd do a blog post about growing grass! But we spent so much time looking online for information, so I thought it might be a nice idea to post our little adventure. Maybe it will help out someone searching for the same info we were.

With all the factors to take into consideration, I've learned two of them are absolutely essential in growing grass: Lots of luck and a lot of prayers!

Starting in late April and early May, the first item was to get rid of weeds on the soon-to-be lawn.

Two weeks later, we then brought in a few truckloads of top soil and leveled and grated the entire property. This was done with a skid-loader. 

Grass seed was then spread over the entire area.

Once the land was leveled and the good soil laid down, the seeding began. We used a combination of three types of grass seed: Rye, Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass. This is a great combination for northern states that will grow into a nice, dense lawn.

Now that the seed was laid, this is when the praying and the luck start. The forecast for the next week was supposed to be perfect for growing our new lawn. The ground temperature was good and the next 7 days were a combination of rain and sunshine. We had luck on our side! We prayed for Mother Nature to do her part.

However, luck soon left us. We did receive some rain but not enough to saturate the ground well. Then we were hit with very high winds that dried it out quickly. Finally some more rain came, but then we had an unusual cold spell. 

So far, the seeds had not begun to germinate... about 5 days later, the weather turned perfect again. Good rains, sunny warm days and not much wind. The grass started to take off! 

Then along came two days where the temperature rose to 100 degrees! Sheesh -- from one extreme to the next. We prayed the grass wouldn't burn up and die... 

Everything is finished -- now we wait for the grass to grow!

Prayers worked! Our newly sprouted grass held its ground. About 3 weeks into our grass-growing venture, we began to see it take off and it's doing very well now 6 weeks later. Hubby has even mowed it a couple of times with the mower set high. 

Six weeks later after planting grass seed.

Looking great -- especially from a distance.

Up close, there are some spots that are still bare.

I also planted perennials along the side of the garage.

We are still putting grass seed down in the bare areas.

Here is a "before" shot...

And the "after" photo -- six weeks later.

Thanks for visiting!



I will be linking up with:
Saturday Spotlight at Green Door Designs
Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Show off Your Cottage Monday at The House in the Roses
Anything Goes Party at Type A
Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer