QuestionQUESTION: I added about 4- 6" of new topsoil. I slightly sloped away from the house and rolled it so that it is flat. I raked in lime and fertilizer in the top 2" and rolled it again. I then added about 1" more top soil to give me a nice bed. I seeded, gently raked the seeds into the soil and then rolled it again in hope of getting better contact with the soil. I had the roller filled halfway to 3/4 full of water(heavy) and the ground was very moist, some spots sloppy. I believe I compacted the soil too much because I get puddles in the first few minutes of watering. I seeded Friday and it is now Monday. Everything I have read on seeding a new lawn stresses keeping the ground wet without puddling and I cannot prevent the puddling. I put deep holes with a broom stick to prevent some of the puddles. Can I kill the seeds with to much water in such a short period of time? I don't want to let the seeds dry but I am going to the opposite extreme.
ANSWER: Compacted Soil is no place for Grass. The worst thing you can do is apply pressure -- foot traffic, heavy equipment, even something like a Lawnmower -- to wet ground.
All that weight squeezes the air out of the Soil. Add water and you melt the particles together just like they were glued. When they dry, you've got hardpan.
No, your problem is not the moisture. Your big problem is the compaction. Turf roots need air and Soil with good tilth. Spots around the yard where you see standing water after a rain indicates places that Soil is way too compacted to drain well. I just wish you'd asked before you rolled and rolled and rolled again.
At this time of year, the only thing you can do is make it worse. Because the ground is going to be wet for months. That is, unless you're somewhere nice and warm, in which case let me know so we can move forward with a better plan for your geography.
But if it's Autumn and the leaves are turning, it is alas time to call it a day. You will need to correct this real estate in the Spring. Poor drainage will leave the ground around your Grass roots soggy, wet and Fungus-friendly. Sticking holes in it with a broomstick just tightens the Soil further.
Installing a Lawn over Soil like this can never grow well, and will never be sufficiently thick and healthy enough to beat Weeds.
Know what I think you ought to do?
Get yourself a nice thick layer of Manure or Humus. RAKE this over your hardpanned yard. Don't do any more rolling, don't use any more heavy equipment, don't drive over it with anything. I'm not kidding. The heaviest thing on that soil should be YOU, and that should be MINIMAL. You have to learn to take it easy with this Soil. There's a reason they call it MOTHER Earth. It's delicate. This is not rocks and hard spaces you're dealing with. It's soft and gentle. You have to treat it like a Lady.
Cover it with one of those products, and you will be adding some desparately needed Organic Matter. If you leave it alone, and you get lucky, you'll have Earthworms under there breaking up your Soil. Tilling will upset the Earthworms -- you don't want to till if you can avoid it.
If you've got any dead leaves next month, put a blanket of those over your Manure/Humus. Broken leaves is better than solid whole leaves, but any leaves is better than none.
In the Spring, sow yourself a plot of Alfalfa. This will break up the Soil without you lifting a finger. Let the Alfalfa do whatever it can for the Summer, then in the Fall, till it in.
I know this sounds like way too much time. I have to give you the information, though. That Old Gardener's saying, You can lead a horse to water... applies here. Your Soil is ruined, and it will take time to fix it. But when you're finished, you will have rich, dark Soil that can support 5 Star Grass. If you want to compromise, it won't kill anyone. You may be happy with 3 Star Grass. Thing is, I'm not sure you can get ANY Grass there with the state of your Soil right now. All that work -- it hurts to say it. You were careful, you were diligent, you just tried a little too much. We Gardeners get that way.
Any questions?
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for the answer. I wish I did ask you before I did this. That last time with the roller after it was wet killed my project. I thought I studied this enough to get it right, my first house and lwan project. Live and learn I guess. It's five days after I planted the seeds. The seed has not germinated yet. Put a layer of manure or humus over it now? And how much would be considered a thick layer.
Answer'tis the season for Cool Season Grass to take FOREVER to germinate. Bluegrass normally takes a month or longer, and that's in Spring with the Soil warming up. Don't expect to wake up tomorrow and see Green. More will probably be germinating next Spring.
Manure and/or humus (in small quantities) would not hurt now but you will have to walk all over the wet soil to apply it, and THAT is a no-no.
I want to make a small point if I may here about your Lawn project.
Gardening and Lawn Care have a bit of an art to them. Although technically this is Science, in reality, there is way more to it than Science can ever deal with. You're dealing not only with a ton of variables, but with the unexpected -- the weather and everything that goes into that; seed vigor and viability; changes in light; latitude and longitude; plant and cultivar perclivities; and personal experience, to name a few. How can things NOT go wrong?
The difference: DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING? THAT is how Thumbs turn Green!
Bottom line is that mistakes are a POSITIVE result. Mistakes are EVERYTHING. You can't learn anything about Lawns or Gardening without them.
Sure, it's great to have things go smoothly. But you won't learn anything if they do. This is a GREAT experience. You have a problem, you solve it. At least half the homeowning country pays someone else to tackle these things. You're part of the half that gets up close and personal with your Lawn. A few mistakes adds up to a PhD. Remember that. It's all about your mistakes that make you a Gardener Extraordinaire.
