Over seeding on compacted soil

10 years ago

Hi all:)

So my wife and i have been trying to bring our outdoors back to life on our home we just purchased. We've done a lot and are trying to tackle the lawn now.

We tried to over seed in the spring but didn't have much success. I think it could have been due to thatch (i raked it thoroughly with a metal rake but it hadn't been touched for years and I don't think I did it well enough... it's about 5000 Sq ft.). I think it was more likely due to compaction (it's been parked on, plow trucks driven on, cords of wood stored on, etc.).

With fertilizing, watering and mowing what was there came back decently but it was basically pasture and we want to get it looking better.

So I recently raked it again and then spread some topsoil. I know our soil is super dense so I spread some peat hoping that if I got it aerated the peat would blend with the existing soil and balance it out.

I'm wondering if we don't get it aerated will the seed that germinates survive? The peat I spread isn't too thick. Maybe a half an inch in the really bare spots and a quarter to an eighth of an inch everywhere else. I'm worried it will root into the peat but not into the existing soil and not survive the winter.

Thanks

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Comments (4)

dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago
Spring is a poor time of year no matter what kind of soil you have. Now is normally the best seeding time as the summer ends and the evening temps cool down.

You can soften your soil by spraying it with 3 ounces of shampoo per 1,000 square feet. (Total of 15 ounces for you). Spray that and water it in with 1/2 to 1 inch of water or rain if you can conjure that up. Give it 3 weeks and reevaluate. I sprayed my lawn back in 2012 and it's still spongy when wet. This works a lot better than aeration. In fact I'd go as far as to assert that aeration will do nothing to uncompact the soil.

The shampoo method was popularized on another forum. It really does work.
workmanmarc
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Hi dchall,

Thanks for the response... sorry it took me so long to get back, life got really crazy!

So I tried the shampoo method and it seemed to help. Just waiting for that 3 week mark to see if it needs to be done again.

Also I decided to go ahead and spread the seed. I'm wondering if it's too cold in my area for it to take sufficiently before winter hits. Moisture wise I'm feeling really optimistic- it's been regularly drizzling and should stay that way for another week or so. I'm concerned though because I live in zone 4 according to the usda and zone 3 according to our local nursery. Based on temperature numbers I've seen for each zone I would say we're definitely closer to zone 3.

We're a little over 2 miles above sea level. Our lows are already dropping to between 35 and 40 (even have a 29 low in the forecast). Our day temps are still in the mid to upper 60s. Do you think it's too cold?

I know own a lot of people do dormant seeding with success but I'm worried it might be just warm enough for the seeds to start germinating but not warm enough for the seedlings to establish enough to survive our winters (usually the snow doesn't turn into rain till the end of may/ beginning of June).

I should mention the seed is a 50/50 perennial rye/ kbg. Do you think I will have to try again next year or am I just over thinking it:) ?

Thanks!
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User
10 years ago
Our day temps are still in the mid to upper 60s

I did a second round of seeding last fall in those kinds of temps to fix some patches and the fescue took 18 days to germinate instead of 4 days. KBG normally takes 2 weeks with temps in the 70s-80s, so it may not germinate at all this year.
workmanmarc
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi J4c11,

That's what I'm hoping for:) at least that way I can hope for germination in the spring. Got my fingers crossed!