OaklandCityFarmer
Deeply Rooted
Well, originally I posted for ideas in starting plugs but now I will let you know about what happened and what I did.
So I started plugs in flats with 4 inch walls. Lining the bottom with newspaper then lining the first 2 inches with quality top soil. I then put a thin (about 1/8 inch) of very finished compost. Spread the seed out by hand and then covered the seed using a mixture of sieved compost, topsoil and peat moss. Watered. I then used plastic wrap and tightly wrapped the flats.
Germination happened in about 9 days and I then removed the plastic wrap and moved them into full sun and kept watering.
Just like you would a regular lawn, we started cutting (using garden shears) the grass after 3 weeks of growth and have been cutting the grass ever since, usually twice weekly. The grass is starting to grow a dense root system and should be ready to cut and plant this fall. We fertilized them after the first cutting and fertilizer now every 3-4 weeks. If we don't fertilizer that often the grass starts to yellow very quickly since it's a heavy nitrogen feeder. I think that we have to fertilize a lot more because of increase drainage in the flats and I think I may have over seeded. We moved them into some partial shade since this summer has been really warm.
A few issues: the edges of the flats dry out quickly. Keep them well watered and evenly watered the centers were starting to grow faster and quicker. Also, we tried using a thinner flat and that isn't doing too well. Don't over seed. Fertilize often because of increase drainage.
So I started plugs in flats with 4 inch walls. Lining the bottom with newspaper then lining the first 2 inches with quality top soil. I then put a thin (about 1/8 inch) of very finished compost. Spread the seed out by hand and then covered the seed using a mixture of sieved compost, topsoil and peat moss. Watered. I then used plastic wrap and tightly wrapped the flats.
Germination happened in about 9 days and I then removed the plastic wrap and moved them into full sun and kept watering.
Just like you would a regular lawn, we started cutting (using garden shears) the grass after 3 weeks of growth and have been cutting the grass ever since, usually twice weekly. The grass is starting to grow a dense root system and should be ready to cut and plant this fall. We fertilized them after the first cutting and fertilizer now every 3-4 weeks. If we don't fertilizer that often the grass starts to yellow very quickly since it's a heavy nitrogen feeder. I think that we have to fertilize a lot more because of increase drainage in the flats and I think I may have over seeded. We moved them into some partial shade since this summer has been really warm.
A few issues: the edges of the flats dry out quickly. Keep them well watered and evenly watered the centers were starting to grow faster and quicker. Also, we tried using a thinner flat and that isn't doing too well. Don't over seed. Fertilize often because of increase drainage.
