Too much seed?

[Dazza Jones]

Hi all,

today i purchased a large bag of grass seed and a spreader to enable me to sort the grass out on my back 'mud pit'.
The area has been dug over and all prepared, next stage is sowing the seeds.

My question is this; the bag of seed gives a specified sowing rate for metres squared but i have no idea what setting the spreader has, and it doesnt seem adjustable.
If i simply put the seeds in the spreader, go up and down the garden, then across the garden, am i in danger of 'overseeding' and causing harm to the new seeds when they grow? Do they become to overcrowded or will they just sort themselves out?

Any advice would be greatly apprciated!

 

[pitbull]

Don't worry about overseeding the bird's will take care of that . Honestly you can't really overseed but the birds will have a fielday with the seed,you need to tie thread /string across the plot with bit's of paper tied to it to try and scare them off,I've also heard about tying old c.d.'s up as well or the free one's advertising broadband from the supermarket.

 

[JohnD]

It's quite useful to go up and down the lawn several times, spreading thinly with each pass. then any patches which are heavily or thinly seeded in one pass 9e.g. from wind) will probably average out later.

If you cover the seed (thinly) with peat, sand or crumbled dry soil, the birds will not take it. they take seed lying on the surface but don't dig it up by even the thinnest layer..

 

[Dazza Jones]

Many thanks for the replys.

So i need to cover the seeds as much as possible. If i were to do my seed runs then rake over as much as possible then put some medium sharp sand that i have in my shed into the spreader and go over the whole area, would that prevent the birds from eating the seeds? Id really prefer coming up with another solution to tieing string/cds etc.

Would this work? It would help with drainage as well wouldnt it?

Many thanks again in advance.

 

[JohnD]

The trouble with raking gras seed is that it undoes all your careful spreading, and pulls the seed into thick and thin patches. Rake the soil well before you spread, so the seed can embed itself in the rough surface. as you trample about in it after you will embed the seed firmly in the surface, which is good, then any light dressing over the top will keep the birds off. You won't be putting enough sand or peat on top to affect the drainage, though if you top-dress in subsequent years this can improve the texture.

 

[sandwell]

I tried a spreader once, and did not get on too well with it. I think it is just as easy to scatter it by hand. I mixed the seed with sharp sand before scattering.

 

[Pensdown]

Some time ago I watched a TV program about the groundsman who look after central park in the states. They had to repair grass areas that had become worn during the year. They seeded the worn areas in the normal way and then covered the area with a layer of hay about 50mm thick.

I've copied this and its fantastic. The hay keeps the water in as it stays damp, the birds don't touch it and the new grass grows very quickly up through the hay. When its long enough to mow most of the hay has either rotted down or blown away so its easy and the mower picks up the rest. A bail of hay costs around £ 3.00 so its also a very cheap solution

 

[Dazza Jones]

yea good idea, just got to find somewhere that sells Hay!
BTW, maybe a dumb question but is straw and hay the same thing?

 

[JohnD]

No. Hay is a mixture of dried grasses and "wildflowers" (weeds) that are intended to be harvested while they are in flower and before they go to seed. It is used as feed for grass-eating animals including horses. It is fairly soft and you could comfortably lie down naked on it with the farmers daughter (or son). It may contain weed seeds.

Hay is the waste stalks from grains bearing plants (e.g. wheat, barley) after it has gone to seed and the seed has been threshed off it. It is generally coarse and hard and of little food value although starving animals will eat it. It is used for animal bedding. It is likely to contain residues of agricultural sprays. It is slow to rot. It is hard and scratchy.

 

[Pensdown]

Any equestrian centre/shop will sell you a bail of hay for around £ 3.00.

Don't be tempted to buy it from a pet shop as they sell it by the bag as feed for domestic bunnies etc. You would get 100 + pet shop bags from a bail and they charge about £ 1-2/bag!