Hay over new grass seed - how long leave on? archived

angelak, you're welcome. My husband is the one who is constantly battling with the bald spots on our lawn. I believe he waters every day until the grass is fully germinated and leaves the hay on until he's ready to mow the new grass. The hay acts as a deterrent to the birds from eating the seed and as a moisture barrier to keep the moisture in but you still have to add moisture every day. This is not an expert opinion by any means and the folks at Millstone will guide you as well.

I leave the hay on until I can mow, and use the mower to suck the hay off.

It is that simple.

Later,
George

wendy and George,

Thanks! These answers were a big help. Just one more quick one: I've only started mowing the lawn just last week. My neighbor was very kindly doing it until I got settled in. I just got a mower last weekend (from Freecycle) and did the lawn then. For cutting the very new grass under the hay, would the timeframe be about in one week, or maybe more like two weeks?

Thanks again --

This time of year grass can grow very quickly--I would say somewhere around 2 weeks.

The seed should be kept moist until the seed germinates and the grass is well established. In this weather once a day watering should do the trick. The salt marsh hay shouldn't be so thick as to prevent all light from reaching the ground. The main purpose of using it is to help keep the seed moist. It will compost pretty quickly on your lawn.

It is going to taken seven to fourteen days for the seed to germinate. Once it germinates it shouldn't be mowed until it is around two and a half inches high. Read the instructions on your seed bag and follow them. All the seed probably isn't going to germinate at once. A lot depends on how good contract it has with the earth and if it is buried slightly in the soil as well as how well you prepared the soil. The soil should be loosened to a depth of three or four inches and adding a little top soil can help as well. Using a starter fertilizer at the manufacturers recommended rate will help with early germination and rapid growth.