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Patchy Germination #811671

Asked September 21, 2022, 12:49 PM EDT

Hello, I'm having very patchy germination. I planted the grass seed about 7 days ago. Prior to planting I tilled in a thin layer of compost and manure into the top 2" of soil. It almost looks like I didn't till it in well enough based on the light/dark patches. After putting the grass seed down I put a very thin layer of peat moss on top. Some questions: 1) What is the range of germination times I should expect for Tall Fescue (for the same cultivar)? Should I expect some grass seeds to take longer to germinate than others? Or if they don't germinate within X days of when I see other seeds germinate, should I assume the patchy areas aren't going to germinate, and hence I should re-seed them now? Do you think the patchiness is caused by any of the following: 1) Not tilling in the maneuver/compost into the soil thoroughly enough, so the seeds only germinated in the dark areas (where there was more compost/manure). I'm guessing maybe the compost/manure holds moisture in better so it helps keep the seeds more wet than the clayish soil areas. 2) Varying amounts of moisture in the soil. The very green area gets the most water as it overlaps two sprinklers 3) I thought maybe varying degrees of shade would cause it but I'm getting pretty good germination in both the sun and shade behind the fence Thanks!!! Eddie

St. Mary's County Maryland

Expert Response

The range of grass seed germination time can vary depending on conditions such as moisture, soil etc.
It can take up to four weeks to know if your seeding is successful, so you need to wait another 2-3 weeks to know your results.
We agree that your tilling did not mix the soil in a uniform way. Perhaps the lighter areas are sandy? Clay is not a bad thing as it holds water well and can be enriched with compost additions.
Since the soil didn't mix uniformly, it can lead to some areas having a more moist and rich soil bed, which will cause the seed to germinate faster. 

That doesn't mean that the other areas won't sprout, as long as the seed is kept moist for the entire germination period. Once seed is moistened, it needs to stay that way or it will die. 
Germination doesn't rely on sunlight so that is not a factor.
In the future, we wouldn't recommend top- dressing with peat moss. Peat moss comes out of the package very dry and is (or can become over dry periods) hydrophobic where it repels water and is difficult to re-wet again.


Christine

Ok thanks! So just to be clear, the same cultivar of seed can take 1-4 weeks to germinate, depending on various conditions?


Also, I was wondering, because I was only tilling the first 2" of soil and adding only about a 1/4" of compost/manure, would it have been better to not till in the compost/manure so it could be distributed evenly? Maybe even just use it as a top dressing after putting the seeds down if peat moss peat moss is not recommended?


Thanks!

Eddie

The Question Asker Replied September 27, 2022, 8:09 PM EDT
Yes, that is correct. If soil and moisture are varied, the germination rate can vary.
No, the tilling was a good thing to mix in the amendments. We are not sure why it didn't mix it evenly, unless the peat addition later affected things.


Christine

Thanks Christine! I had another area of grass I was renovating and didn't want to make the same mistakes twice. This time I tilled it in better and raked in the seeds better since I didn't use Peat Moss. Fingers crossed it goes better!


Thanks again for all the advice!

Eddie

The Question Asker Replied September 29, 2022, 3:33 PM EDT

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