There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Why can't you use a different ground cover? You say the area's too steep to
mow. If you *did* get grass to grow, are you OK with it determining its own
height?

On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 15:31:16 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Phisherman" wrote in message
.. .
There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Why can't you use a different ground cover? You say the area's too steep to
mow. If you *did* get grass to grow, are you OK with it determining its own
height?


I am the gardener, not the owner and I could not convince the owner to
plant another ground cover (he says he already spent over $2000 on
that hill). I can still cut it using a string trimmer.

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 15:31:16 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Phisherman" wrote in message
. ..
There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Why can't you use a different ground cover? You say the area's too steep
to
mow. If you *did* get grass to grow, are you OK with it determining its
own
height?


I am the gardener, not the owner and I could not convince the owner to
plant another ground cover (he says he already spent over $2000 on
that hill). I can still cut it using a string trimmer.

Jeez...sounds like the guy's never seen a nice planting of pachysandra,
which requires no care except to look at it and smile every so often.

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Try aerating extensively, then watering, then seeding. The holes from
aerating should give you a place where the seeds can avoid being washed
away. So they clump. Give extra water (a real must on a slope) so the
clumps are induced to spread.

Jim

Phisherman said:

There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Years ago I had to seed a sloping area of sandy soil. I laid cheese cloth
down over the area that I had seeded. The new grass easily sprouted
through the cheese cloth and the cheese cloth eventually rotted away.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...
Phisherman said:

There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Years ago I had to seed a sloping area of sandy soil. I laid cheese cloth
down over the area that I had seeded. The new grass easily sprouted
through the cheese cloth and the cheese cloth eventually rotted away.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Burlap works, too, which is why garden centers sell so much of it.

On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 16:56:20 -0500, "Jim Voege"
wrote:

"Phisherman" wrote in message
.. .
There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Try aerating extensively, then watering, then seeding. The holes from
aerating should give you a place where the seeds can avoid being washed
away. So they clump. Give extra water (a real must on a slope) so the
clumps are induced to spread.

Jim


Any chance you could re-negotiate with the *U^Y%$)_+ who would not
accept advice on sturdy ground cover?

(Unless you have already done the following: g) Print out in
polite, modified form the excellent comments in this thread.
Possibly show him "evidence" from a good gardening book.
Somehow get him to accept that a sturdy ground cover is
both aesthetically pleasing and in his long-range interest.

Good luck!

Persephone

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:48:30 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...
Phisherman said:

There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Years ago I had to seed a sloping area of sandy soil. I laid cheese cloth
down over the area that I had seeded. The new grass easily sprouted
through the cheese cloth and the cheese cloth eventually rotted away.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Burlap works, too, which is why garden centers sell so much of it.


Burlap is a good idea. And to all the other posts about suggesting
another ground cover--it makes sense but that's a no-go because the
customer is the boss.

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:48:30 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...
Phisherman said:

There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

Years ago I had to seed a sloping area of sandy soil. I laid cheese
cloth
down over the area that I had seeded. The new grass easily sprouted
through the cheese cloth and the cheese cloth eventually rotted away.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Burlap works, too, which is why garden centers sell so much of it.


Burlap is a good idea. And to all the other posts about suggesting
another ground cover--it makes sense but that's a no-go because the
customer is the boss.

He's an idiot, and you can tell him I said so.

Hi!, it is difficult to give any meaningful advice not knowing what
kind of grass you are talking about, and where you are located, but
here is an opinion, you might consider.

First the burlap or the seeding mats, will probably create problems
down the road(my opinion). I have noticed the highway department,
when seeding very steep inclines simply seeds and then puts thin layer
of straw over the area. They use a shredder to cut the straw into
small clippings and then blow it over the area.

Another method is called Plugging or Sprigging. In the spring you
can buy mats of grass(much like carpet) at your local garden center.
You can cut these into squares and set them out on the slope, much as
you would ground cover. Or you can create your own sprigs by starting
the grass elsewhere and after it is established, transplant it to the
slope.

Hope this helps- -The Oldtimer

On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 13:52:07 GMT, Phisherman wrote:

There is an area on a steep slope where I need grass to grow. I
planted seed two years ago and it is now established but there is a
very steep area (too steep to operate a lawn mower easily) about 60 x
5 feet that needs seeding. How should this be re-seeded without rain
washing it down the hill? I don't have a choice of another ground
cover, and I need to use the same seed as the rest of the lawn. Do
those seeding mats work well to control washing out?

"Oldtimer" wrote in message
...

First the burlap or the seeding mats, will probably create problems
down the road(my opinion).

Why? I've used for years to keep birds away from seed, and to keep heavy
rains from splattering the seed into clumps. Once the grass starts growing,
the burlap always lifts off easily without disturbing anything.

Great, I never realized that burlap was that manageable. My thoughts
were that you would leave it there to decay.

On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 13:16:44 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

"Oldtimer" wrote in message
.. .

First the burlap or the seeding mats, will probably create problems
down the road(my opinion).

Why? I've used for years to keep birds away from seed, and to keep heavy
rains from splattering the seed into clumps. Once the grass starts growing,
the burlap always lifts off easily without disturbing anything.