Phase 5

Monday, May 18th, i spread the seed. the weather called for rain the day before, so i didn't want to chance it all getting washed away by doing it then. instead, while Andrea was at our weekly Community Group meeting (Bible study), Oscar slept and Krusty and I did our thing.

There are no pics of the "post-smoothed" yard, but it's not hard to imagine: barren dirt, but somewhat smooth instead of lumpy. not all that picture worthy. But before seed could be spread, it needed to be roughed up a bit, and that took nearly an hour. i went over the whole yard with a garden rake and took the opportunity to remove more clumps of dead grass and dirt, to facilitate further smoothing of the surface. then, it was go time. 15 pounds of "shady mix" grass seed into the spreader and i was off.

in the beginning, i was trying to be all careful, but after a while, i was just zig-zagging all over trying to ensure no square inch was left unseeded. there was another whole 15 pound bag and the plan was to use some of it, but i ended up using all of it, too. so...30 pounds of grass seed later, it was time to spread some starter fertilizer. this stuff looks like rabbit food and didn't spread as easily as the seed, but is a necessary ingredient.

Monica gave me a partial bale of hay, which didn't cover the whole yard, but was better than nothing (i have since purchased a bale and completed that step).

the soaker hose i bought was completely worthless. i mistakenly thought it was the "sprinkler" style, but as the name implies, it just seeps water out into the ground. it would be perfect for a huge garden, but terrible for a new lawn. as luck would have it, Steph came home right about that time and said she had a sprinkler head they didn't use, so i gave them the soaker hose in trade. it's now in their huge garden, doing what it was meant to do. thanks, Bob and Steph! Witchger's to the rescue, again. or should i say, to the "Fescue"?? huh? huh?

Here's the yard after seed and hay application:







see the caution tape? i decided it was necessary what with all the foot traffic the yard gets. all the mail boxes in our neighborhood are on our porches, so the mail man walks from house to house, cutting through everyone's front yards. i felt like a jerk blocking off his path, so i left him a "Thank you for not screwing up my yard while the seeds sprout" card. oh yeah, and $20. hey, a little palm grease never hurt anybody.

we found a few grass blades yesterday. check 'em out!



not too impressive. but before you judge, check out the picks from a few minutes ago:




by my best and most conservative estimate, i'm thinking tomorrow it should look something like this:



nothing like lush grass to attract the neighborhood cows. i'll deal with them when the time comes. tomorrow.

as per the stipulations of the watering permit i purchased from the city for $50, i am allowed to water between 6 and 10 (am and pm) every day for 45 days. we have year round water restrictions, so without the permit, i would only be allowed to water 3 days a week. there's no way that would sustain a new lawn, so it was a non-negotiable.

you may be thinking "it's too late in the season to plant grass seed, you idiot!". that's fair. but in my defense, i say: nuh-uh. the night i seeded was the beginning of an unseasonably cool streak, thereby simulating optimal seeding conditions. add to that the absence of young-lawn killing thunderstorms, and i'd say the pieces are in place.

more pictures and less talk in the coming days.