Good day all,

I've prepared an area of garden for sowing grass seed. Last time I did
this, I was surprised at how many weeds appeared along with the grass. Is
it a good idea to sprinkle some weedkiller onto the soil prior to sowing
the grass seed? If so, what type is best?

Many thanks
Al

In article ,
says...

Good day all,

I've prepared an area of garden for sowing grass seed. Last time I did
this, I was surprised at how many weeds appeared along with the grass. Is
it a good idea to sprinkle some weedkiller onto the soil prior to sowing
the grass seed?

No, because any domestic weedkiller that works on bare soil will also
kill grass seed.

Next season when you start mowing, that will kill off any annual
weeds that germinated. Don't apply any weedkiller until after the new
lawn grass has been mown several times and is well established ( next
year), and if/when you do, read the instructions before purchase and
make sure you choose one intended for use on lawns.

Janet.

Jake wrote in
:

On 27 Sep 2013 13:17:52 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

Good day all,

I've prepared an area of garden for sowing grass seed. Last time I did
this, I was surprised at how many weeds appeared along with the grass.
Is it a good idea to sprinkle some weedkiller onto the soil prior to
sowing the grass seed? If so, what type is best?

Many thanks
Al

You're really only a few days away from the end of the grass seeding
season (unless you're in the south when you may have a week more).

Janet & Jake,
Many thanks for the replies. Yes, I am in the 'Deep South' (on the coast,
even), so yes, I am about ready to sow. I'll take your concurring advice
and refrain from using weedkiller. I'll just sow and deal with any weeds as
and when.

Thanks again!
Al

On 27/09/2013 19:41, AL_n wrote:
Jake wrote in
:

On 27 Sep 2013 13:17:52 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

Good day all,

I've prepared an area of garden for sowing grass seed. Last time I did
this, I was surprised at how many weeds appeared along with the grass.
Is it a good idea to sprinkle some weedkiller onto the soil prior to
sowing the grass seed? If so, what type is best?

Many thanks
Al

You're really only a few days away from the end of the grass seeding
season (unless you're in the south when you may have a week more).

Janet & Jake,
Many thanks for the replies. Yes, I am in the 'Deep South' (on the coast,
even), so yes, I am about ready to sow. I'll take your concurring advice
and refrain from using weedkiller. I'll just sow and deal with any weeds as
and when.

Thanks again!
Al

A good few years ago here in South Wales I sowed grass seed on Boxing
day and had a good green cover before the end of Jan.
Grass is a lot tougher than people give it credit for, and as long as
the ground is still warm then it will grow.

On 27/09/2013 14:17, AL_n wrote:
Good day all,

I've prepared an area of garden for sowing grass seed. Last time I did
this, I was surprised at how many weeds appeared along with the grass. Is
it a good idea to sprinkle some weedkiller onto the soil prior to sowing
the grass seed? If so, what type is best?

Many thanks
Al


I should have said I'd give the weeds a couple of weeks to germinate
then knock them on the head with weedlo and sow the grass , (Stale seed
bed).
at least that way it will have a little less competition.

On 2013-09-27 19:41:23 +0100, AL_n said:

Jake wrote in
:

On 27 Sep 2013 13:17:52 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

Good day all,

I've prepared an area of garden for sowing grass seed. Last time I did
this, I was surprised at how many weeds appeared along with the grass.
Is it a good idea to sprinkle some weedkiller onto the soil prior to
sowing the grass seed? If so, what type is best?

Many thanks
Al

You're really only a few days away from the end of the grass seeding
season (unless you're in the south when you may have a week more).

Janet & Jake,
Many thanks for the replies. Yes, I am in the 'Deep South' (on the coast,
even), so yes, I am about ready to sow. I'll take your concurring advice
and refrain from using weedkiller. I'll just sow and deal with any weeds as
and when.

Thanks again!
Al

Alan, it may help your grass to get a headstart if you try my husband's
favourite method. He mixes compost and grass seed in a wheelbarrow,
puts the lot back into a compost sack and leaves it to start
germinating, then he sows it. Not only can you then see more easily
where you have sown, birds are less inclined to eat newly scattered
seed. This is easiest to do on comparatively small areas, of course
but if yours isn't huge, it might help you to try it.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

David Hill wrote in news:bam69tF4i42U1
@mid.individual.net:


A good few years ago here in South Wales I sowed grass seed on Boxing
day and had a good green cover before the end of Jan.
Grass is a lot tougher than people give it credit for, and as long as
the ground is still warm then it will grow.


That's interesting, and useful to know! Probably wise to minimise the risk
(say, of being hit by a freak freeze) by doing it in mid autumn though.

Al

Sacha wrote in news:bamdfuF62a5U1
@mid.individual.net:

Alan, it may help your grass to get a headstart if you try my husband's
favourite method. He mixes compost and grass seed in a wheelbarrow,
puts the lot back into a compost sack and leaves it to start
germinating, then he sows it. Not only can you then see more easily
where you have sown, birds are less inclined to eat newly scattered
seed. This is easiest to do on comparatively small areas, of course
but if yours isn't huge, it might help you to try it.

That's an interesting technique!

What I did (this morning (while there was a lull in the strong winds!) was
to sow it dry, dippong my empty aerosol cap (which holds exactly 36g of
seed) and sprinkled in on, (sq mtr by sq mtr). Then I seived 2-year-old
home-made compost over the entire area, just enough to hide the seed. Just
as I finished, it started t rain! Perfect timing!! :-)

Al

David Hill wrote in news:bam6hqF4jvuU1
@mid.individual.net:


I should have said I'd give the weeds a couple of weeks to germinate
then knock them on the head with weedlo and sow the grass , (Stale seed
bed).
at least that way it will have a little less competition.

Thanks for the tips. I decided I didn;t want to wait any longer and sowed
the entire area this morning. I'll have to deal with the weeds when they
appear.

As you (and others here) seem to know a bit about lawn sowing, can I ask
another question?

The last area I sowed (using the same 'Eco Lawn' seed mix), a couple of
years ago, I think I sowed a tad too generously. The grass is a little more
dense that I'd like, making it harder to mow. Is there an easy way to thin
in out now?

If it was human hair, I'd use thinning scissors! ;-)

TIA

Al