Question
I live in Bemidji, Minnesota. That's in the NW section of the state. Recently we put a house on some land by a lake. It has potential but I am stumped on what grass seed will grow in my yard. I have pure sand and the land has never been developed before. What specific grass seed works great with sand???

Answer
First things first: Your official bookmark the U of Minn Cooperative Extension page for Beltrami County (http://www.extension.umn.edu/county/template/index.aspx?countyID=4).  You should keep on file their Soil Testing instructions (http://soiltest.coafes.umn.edu/) for future reference.  Note please that - to much dismay - this organization seems to treat very lightly some very basic organic concepts and therefore I must consider them uninformed for purposes of matters like weed and pest control; for example, they mention very casually that for their trial gardens, Monsanto Roundup was applied to wipe out all existing vegetation - completely unnecessary and frankly irresponsible for a group like this.  They also recommend raking leaves off your lawn - which really stuns me.  But for very basic news like the Zone you live in, etc., they are hopefully at least basically educated.  They provide lots of details for sowing a low-maintenance lawn that is worth considering if that sounds attractive to you; much of this depends on the architecture of your house and the lay of the land.

Given that you are on a lake and building on pristine real estate, it is a moral imperative that you use cutting edge garden science to grow anything there.  You don't want any chemicals leaching down into that nice clean lake you live on. Pleased to meet you, Nikki.

Now, you say you have "pure sand" - is that to be taken literally, as in PURE sand?  Not only is that very hard to build on, but it sounds like you may want to consider one of those artsy natural landscapings you see when Architectural Digest or House and Garden do shoots in the Hamptons or California.

As I said earlier, it depends on the architecture of your house and the land.

You should seriously consider that if you are working with sand - SiO2.  Building up this material is going to take time and lots of work - there is no way around that.  And you must build it up because the Cantion Exchange Capacity of Sand guarantees that it will hold ZERO fertilizer you put in, which means it will all leach right out into the water feature in your back yard.

I will have to think about the grass.  There are several choices, all with different considerations.  Seedland's  cool season grass department (www.seedland.com) recommends Bluegrass, Fescue and Rye for your USDA Zone.  Now, if you simply looked at the Seedland chart, you would think Canada Bluegrass - Poa compressa - might be what you are looking for.  Many grasses will grow in USDA Zone 4A.  This one will not only grow in poor soil, it will THRIVE in poor soil.  It is almost perfect.

Unfortunately there is one more thing that is serious enough to get this seed off the charts and out of business:  It is so harmfully invasive, the State of Wisconsin among others prohibits planting it without permission.

Do we scratch Canada Bluegrass?  Perhaps it's just what the doctor ordered - Do you want one of those poetically rustic barren landscape effects around your driftwood-and-glass modern indoor spaces? or are you looking for a split level/ranch with a traditional lawn?  If you're thinking Traditional, tough Tall Fescue would be better a better choice.

But those traditional looks are going to take a lot of work.  Sandy soil has a lethal level of drainage for most plants, including grass, because it does not contain Clay particles or Organic Matter.  And you need those to retain water and nutrients.  You have to bring in truckloads of Compost, Humus and Topsoil, along with bags of Cottonseed meal, Horticultural Molasses, Corn Meal, Alfalfa meal and pellets, worm castings.  The goal of Organic matter is to create LIFE in your well-draining sandy soil.  Population of beneficial microbes will be low or nonexistent when you begin.  But add Organics to the soil, and they will multiply like a house on fire.  Sow a cover crop for the summer and you'll have rich soil by fall, when it's time to seed.

This is all very do-able.  But these are very different projects.  Different materials, different schedules.  What are YOUR thoughts on this?