I'm in a bit of a disappointed state with vegetation growth on my new dam. I had decided to plant native grasses and wildflowers on the backside of the dam which included mostly little bluestem, switch grass, Virginia wild rye, and various flowers. I had a cover of winter rye that didn't do well and now some oats coming in. I don't think the grasses are coming up well but its hard to tell the difference between them and oat seedlings. I thought I had a lot of the wildflowers coming in but I'm noticing the true leaves coming in and they are mostly red maple seedlings!

I'm known to panic and rush to change things that maybe I shouldn't. I'm trying to decide if I should just leave things alone through the summer and see what happens. I may have an opportunity in a few weeks to get this redone with regular grass when a utility finishes their clean up next to my dam and reseed all that area. They have machines I don't have access to. Any thoughts or opinions? With all the knowledge in this group I figure I can't be alone. Either way, what is the best way to deal with these red maples? Will mowing take care of things as grass of some sort comes in and crowds them out?

I have a picture of the dam to show what I'm working with. The top was planted with a regular grass mix and it's doing ok.

Mowing will kill the seedlings.

If you have a crew with proper equipment to see by all means do reseed the current cover is helpful but sparse. You need to make sure now that you are putting out a warm weather grass or it will not make it in the summer heat and lack of water.

I'm not sure what part of the state you are in, but your dirt looks like most dirt in my area (Winchester area).

I'm assuming that the builder did not put the topsoil aside when starting the excavation so they could put it on top of the dam when finished.

I'd suggest starting with a load of topsoil or compost spread on top of it. Southern States sells "contactor's mix" which includes a wide variety of fast germinating and fast growth grasses that could be overseeded in the fall with better grasses. In the meantime, you will get reasonable looking, but somewhat temporary grass.

Places like Tractor Supply and Harbor Freight have inexpensive Chinese-made 2" semi-trash pump kits with hoses. They are actually pretty good. They are great for running two or three 50' directional sprinklers on tripods.

That is basically what I've done several times. Our red clay isn't great for growing great grass.

These days I use the pump and sprinklers in my garden and my wildlife food plots.

Ken

I'm in central Virginia. The grass is hit or miss where it's done good. I'm on the fence about the little bluestem and other grasses coming in on the back side. I have a lot of seedlings that look like they are probably the bluestem. I guess I'll just let it go for now and reseed in fall with topsoil worst case. Hopefully we'll be building by the fall so I should be able to spread topsoil. The backside was topped with the soil from the creek bed so I think it should be pretty fertile. The top is straight clay. The clay is so thick here there was really no topsoil to speak of. Great for the dam though! If I can't see good enough bluestem growth in a few weeks I'll probably try and get it reseeded if I can talk them into it.

Did you get a gas powered trash pump?

I se second putting down at least an inch of topsoil over the area and reseed it. Otherwise you will be fighting willows and brush since there will be little grass to out compete them. I may need to do the same since a rework on my dam left a strip of no topsoil and it looks bad.

If you haven't already I would fertilize it. Then spray a broadleaf spray to knock out anything competing with the grass. And if you can, water the heck out of it everyday.

The state of Indiana used to give away wild flower seeds that I planted pretty thickly and still didn't do very good growing.

Yes. It has a Chinese engine, but I've been very pleased with it. It usually starts on the first pull every time. Mine came from Tractor Supply.

If you get one, I'd suggest also getting a foot valve for the suction hose. Without it, it takes a lot of effort to get it primed. I found a cast iron and brass one at Northern Tool for about $15.

Ken

Has anybody tried the 2 inch 115V ones? I have been condsidering one of those so I can get extended run time without refueling.

Your native grasses (little bluestem, switchgrass) are warm season grasses, and won't begin to grow until soil temperatures reach approximately 70 degrees. They also require a freeze/thaw cycle so if you planted this spring they probably won't begin growing until next year. It typically takes around 3-4 years for native grasses to become well established. It is difficult waiting to see if you have a good stand or not, but there is really no way to know in the first year. Native wildflowers can also be tough to get started. If you spray a broadleaf any wildflowers that have sprouted will die.

I can run my gas one for 14-16+ hrs at WOT.

Empty gas tank.

Unhook gas line.

Get a 5-6 gallon gas tank that has a bottom outlet. I took an old outboard tank (steel) and welded on a fitting at the bottom with a small ball valve.

Place the tank on a 5 gallon bucket next to the pump.

Connect the external tank to the pump, fill with gas and fire it up.

The regular outboard tanks with the fitting on the top will work - for a while. The pumps sip gas, and eventually a bit of air will work into the line causing the pump to starve for fuel. I fought it for over a month trying different things before I swapped external tanks and the problem was solved.

I frost seeded the native grass and wildflower seed. I think there is a good mix of grass coming up. I'm trying to compare against the oats. I'll have to do any top soil spreading this fall.

I don't have electric at this land yet so I need a gas powered pump or one I can run off my generator. I have a 8" pipe through the bottom that I put a screened filter by drilling a ton of holes in a section of pipe and turned it up 45 degrees off the pond bottom. I can hook up to that and have 10 to 12 ft of head for a pump. Has anyone used a battery of electric utility pump on something like this?

I see a 2" gas pump at HarborFreight on sale. Do you think this can run a spike sprinkler or 2?

I used to run a 2 or 3 inch gas pump, I forget now, to put extra water into my pond when we had excess flooding. It pumped a high amount of water (seems like 3400 gal. per hour) and you would have to throttle it down someway for a spray so you wouldn't wash your ground away.

Here is just an off the head idea. You could take a 55 gal. barrel with a fitting at the bottom to hold a soaker hose of some sort and fill the barrel everyday by hand. About 10 minutes work. Move the barrel to a different location each day.

Could those 2 inch pumps run a couple spike sprinklers?

t.harborfreight.com/65-hp-212cc-2-in-gas-engine-clear-water-pump-9540-gph-69774-9231.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiODU0NzQ3ODIiLCJza3UiOiI2OTc3NCIsImlzIjoiMTY5Ljk5IiwicHJvZHVjdF9p%0D%0AZCI6IjkyMzEifQ%3D%3D%0D%0A

interplexr I looked at the three clear water pumps on Harbor Freight. How can they make a 6.5 hp for that price? But it looks like the 37 gpm would run a sprinkler. When you get into high gph pumps you have to buy a special suction hose that is wire reinforced so it won't collapse. If I was you I would call Harbor Freight and ask them these questions.

6.5 HP 212cc 2 In. Gas Engine Clear Water Pump 9540 GPH $189

1.5 79cc 1 In. Gas Engine Clear Water Pump 37 GPM $159

I was thinking about getting the 2 inch pump and trying 2 impulse spike sprinklers. I'm sure they won't get the 89 ish feet coverage but 2 would help me water since we don't live on the land yet and I can't get out there as much as I'd like or for as long as I'd like.

I've got a collection of impulse sprinklers. Two are spike mounted, two are on platforms that fold out for stability on the ground, and I've got two on tripods.

One thing I've had to do with all of them is to remove the gasket/screen where it hooks to the hose. Water from the pond has enough small debris to clog the screens. Now and then the head will get clogged, but sticking a small twig down the hole will usually clear it. The gasket/screens have been replaced with regular hose gaskets.

The two on tripods will pretty well cover a 50' x 100' area.