Steve Wolfe wrote:

In my opinion, the most important decision to make in getting a
quality
lawn installed is to choose the best type of grass for your area. If
you
leave the decision up to the contracter/landscaper, they may choose an
appropriate variety, or (like so many hydroseeders I know) they may
just
pick whatever will germinate the most quickly, giving you near-instant
gratification.

If it were me, here's what I'd do:

1. Hire someone to bring in the rock hound and clean it up.
2. Either install a sprinkling system yourself, or have one
installed.
3. Figure out which kind of grass you really want to use. There will
be
plenty of people to help you make a good choice.
4. Buy a spreader and some seed, and throw it down yourself. It's
not
hard, and it's not rocket science.
5. Water.

Of course, that's just me.


I'd say that's a pretty good plan, too.

What I'd add to it is it may be desirable to add some screened soil
and/or some compost, depending on just how bad it looks after clearing
the big stone. (Make sure the compost is completely composted.)

Throwing straw on top will help keep some of the seed from disappearing
to birds and wind, and help slow-down the progress of weed seeds in the
wind, too. It can also help keep the soil from drying out. That may be
important if you opt not to put in a sprinkler system on a timer.
Manually keeping the soil wet but not too wet for germination can be
time-consuming. Once germination is done, water less frequently, but
deeper, working gradually to 1" a week all at once.

Get some starter fertilizer, too. A really healthy established lawn will
do fine with mulched clippings, but your new lawn will do better with a
little helping hand to get it's roots established.

Also, when you buy seed, get some extra. There will be bare spots, and
that seed that's loading the shelves now may not be so easy to find in a
month. You may even want to get enough to do a complete over-seeding
when the heat of summer is gone, the fall rains have started, and
overnight freezes are not likely for a month or more. (Have fun timing
that right!)

Don't mow until the grass gets over 3", but hasn't reached 5". Take no
more than 1/2" off. Each grass is a little different, but generally
you'll have a lusher lawn with better resistance to disease and drought
if you err on the long side. Short, closely cropped grass is suitable
only to putting greens at clubs that can afford to put in new sod every
year. And unless it's so long that it's waving in the wind, long grass
doesn't look as shaggy to people passing by as it does to someone
standing in the middle of it.

Keep the dogs and kids off of it this year. If you find yourself taking
shortcuts across the lawn, consider putting in a path.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
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