Sowing a new lawn in UK - concern = LEAVES?
 

All,
Have just perfected 2000 sq m of soil ready for sowing quality lawn seed. My concern is exactly when to sow, as there are still leaves on the trees, and if was to sow now in perfect conditions, when the leaves fall I'm worries they might stifle the new lawn, esp. as I'd not be able to rake them away. Do I wait until all the leaves have fallen, after which sowing time might not be best?
br/Bosseye

(BTW - these leaves come from surrounding trees - blown by the wind).

Sowing a new lawn in UK - concern = LEAVES?
 

Bosseye wrote:

All,
Have just perfected 2000 sq m of soil ready for sowing quality lawn
seed. My concern is exactly when to sow, as there are still leaves on
the trees, and if was to sow now in perfect conditions, when the leaves
fall I'm worries they might stifle the new lawn, esp. as I'd not be able
to rake them away. Do I wait until all the leaves have fallen, after
which sowing time might not be best?
br/Bosseye

(BTW - these leaves come from surrounding trees - blown by the wind).

--
Bosseye

the Stihl BR400 backpack blower gets the leaves off the new grass
without the typical disturbance associated with tooth rakes. then
the Stihl HS85 vacuums and shreds with a 14:1 reduction ratio.
tools are a wonderful commodity. no tools, then no fun...

oh and as for the best time to seed. what's your average soil
temperature these days? different turf type seeds prefer certain
soil temperature for a high percentage germination.

best,
Jim

Sowing a new lawn in UK - concern = LEAVES?
 

Bosseye wrote:
All,
Have just perfected 2000 sq m of soil ready for sowing quality lawn
seed. My concern is exactly when to sow, as there are still leaves on
the trees, and if was to sow now in perfect conditions, when the leaves
fall I'm worries they might stifle the new lawn, esp. as I'd not be able
to rake them away. Do I wait until all the leaves have fallen, after
which sowing time might not be best?
br/Bosseye

(BTW - these leaves come from surrounding trees - blown by the wind).




I'm curious, what varieties of grass do people in general seed with in
the U.K. what seed type do you intend to sow?

Sowing a new lawn in UK - concern = LEAVES?
 

On Sep 15, 6:55 pm, Leopold Stotch wrote:
Bosseye wrote:
All,
Have just perfected 2000 sq m of soil ready for sowing quality lawn
seed. My concern is exactly when to sow, as there are still leaves on
the trees, and if was to sow now in perfect conditions, when the leaves
fall I'm worries they might stifle the new lawn, esp. as I'd not be able
to rake them away. Do I wait until all the leaves have fallen, after
which sowing time might not be best?
br/Bosseye

(BTW - these leaves come from surrounding trees - blown by the wind).

I'm curious, what varieties of grass do people in general seed with in
the U.K. what seed type do you intend to sow?


I,m in the NYC area and only have some travel experience in the UK,
but for what it's worth, I would get seeding now. By the time leaves
are down, here it's too late and would think it highly likely the same
would be true in UK. Here, its optimum time to seed right now.
Leaves won't be coming down for about another 6 weeks and won't be
finished for weeks after that.

As Jim suggested, a blower is one good way to keep the leaves off.

On another note, depending on how many trees/shade you have, now may
not be the best time to seed. In the heaviest shade area of my yard,
Spring is by far the best time. Then you have no leaves on the trees
for the first part of the grass establishment so you get much more
sun, days with increasing light, and no leaves falling to deal with.
If it's a part sun area with some leaves, then now is perfectly fine.

Hi,
My need to sow this year is simply the age of my children - they'll need somewhere to play! And also, there's no time like the present...

As for seed mix, I'm expecting to go for the following mix:

20% SAUVIGNON perennial ryegrass
35% MARGARITA perennial ryegrass
20% HERALD strong creeping red fescue
10% DARWIN chewings fescue
10% REGGAE slender creeping red fescue
5% HIGHLAND browntop bent

As for the leaf blower, I actually have a Stihl one which has proved excellent around the yard, and can recommend the brand as I have their chainsaws, brush cutters, hedge-trimmers etc already.

My concern is walking upon the new seedlings - but I guess over 2000 sq metres needs must.

br/David

Sowing a new lawn in UK - concern = LEAVES?
 

On 9/18/2007 3:14 PM, Bosseye wrote:
Hi,
My need to sow this year is simply the age of my children - they'll
need somewhere to play! And also, there's no time like the present...

As for seed mix, I'm expecting to go for the following mix:

20% SAUVIGNON perennial ryegrass
35% MARGARITA perennial ryegrass
20% HERALD strong creeping red fescue
10% DARWIN chewings fescue
10% REGGAE slender creeping red fescue
5% HIGHLAND browntop bent

As for the leaf blower, I actually have a Stihl one which has proved
excellent around the yard, and can recommend the brand as I have their
chainsaws, brush cutters, hedge-trimmers etc already.

My concern is walking upon the new seedlings - but I guess over 2000 sq
metres needs must.

br/David



Ah ha. I was wonderin'. I thought from your original post:

Have just perfected 2000 sq m of soil ready for sowing quality lawn
seed.

that you were talkin' square miles. Figured you were re-seedin' a front
yard down here in Texas. Now I notice the UK in your header. You gotta
mix that many grasses to get it to grow over there? That's what they
mean when they talk about co-dependency? Only one of those grasses we
might have down here is that margarita, but here it's not made with rye.

Good luck with your sowin' and let us know how it turns out.

God Bless
--
Ted
I wasn't born in Texas but
I got back here as soon as I could


When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most
trivial of things can become deadly projectiles.