Guys, I have a problem: Grass doesn't want to grow on the back of my dam. We put down straw with four kinds of seeds & watered, but after some grass quickly shot up...nada.

What makes it frustrating is the identical stuff went on the much smaller dam for my 1/4 acre forage pond, and it is green & growing without being watered at all!

After some observations, I've concluded that the key problem is a lack of sunlight. The big dam, about 30 feet high in the middle, is facing north/south. It is fairly steep, at a 3 to 1 ratio. So when I took a look, it became apparent that it really doesn't get much sun on the back side, especially in winter. The small dam, on the other hand, doesn't block much sunlight.

Anybody else faced a similar issue? Should I try a different kind of cover that can deal with being shaded a lot?

Thanks in advance...

Frank, I suspect the area you speak of may need to be limed. There may be a possibility of clay on the surface and as you know, here in E Texas we have acidic soils. Liming made all the difference in an area around my pond and the one place I was not able to lime, I have had slow growth of ground cover. Depending on the area size, it might take just 5 to 10 (50lb sks) spread over a small area. Dusting the surface should help out. I would also add some seed with the lime.

Tracy

I have hardly any experience in establishing grass in the shade but will relay what I read on a package.

I had a few small patches in my yard under big trees that had added some dirt to make it drain better. Of course needed to seed some grass. This was last spring.

In the big box store, they had a display with some grass seed that was mostly some sort of potting soil with a little of numerous kinds of seed mixed in. The point is in the description of the different seeds, it called some of them suitable for shady areas and some for sunny areas.

We were also at a nursery and they had small bags of fescue. One pile said for sunny areas and the other pile of small bags said for shaded. Two different types/varieties.

What I am trying to get at in a long winded explanation for something simple, is that there obviously are different varieties needed that do well in shade.

What varieties I don't know.

Why was it again I was typing??????

Hope this in some twisted way helps.

I limed and fertilized my dam on our main pond. Seeded it twice (but did not irrigate nor put down straw) and twice failed. Finally weeds and some wild grass started growing. I actually like the wild crabgrass better than the fescue. But eventually a little of the fescue did live and seeded out. Now I have grass.

I don't know why, but on newly torn up soil or clay that has not seen the light of day before, seems to take a year of weathering before I can get much to grow on it.

Spend enough money on it and I'm sure there are guys out there that can get it done. But my luck has been that the second year stuff will finally start to grow. For me, it just takes some time. Not what you wanted to hear.

Muck dug out of the bottom of an old pond and spread out is the same way. Seems like about a year later after it has weathered it will finally grow something.

snrub, no argument here, just may take awhile to get the native stuff growing, but liming easy and this can be our rainy season some years, so I would reseed that area, might not work but at least I try

Tracy

snrub, forgot to mention, I am one of those guys that I am going to "Do Something" even if it wrong

Tracy

Rainy season is the time to do it.

All the big box stores have grass seed out for sale in the spring but unless it is going to get watered is the poorest time to plant it. If we plant pasture with fescue in the spring nine times out of ten it will get like a stand of fresh green hair then the summer heat/drought will kill it. Planted in late summer/fall when the rains start coming back is usually successful. Hardly ever see the big box stores or garden stores pushing grass seed in the fall, but without irrigation it is the best time to plant it for our area.

You may not have much in the way of nutrients in the soil either if it is subsoil. Try putting down a coat of decent topsoil as a test plot in a portion and see how that takes. The shade is unlikely as our best grass grows in the shade of our house.

X2 I fully agree with the above. Even land that the soil sample comes back high in calcium needs lime to activate it. A change in PH opens up a very different group of elements that are available at the micro nutrient level.

The quickest thickest grass I have ever planted and still will mix up a batch for spots is to mix up some 10-52-10 from plant products water soluble formula. With a cement mixer fill it up with grass seed. Hand spray the 10-52-10 until all the grass is coated then throw in hand fulls of calcium carbonate until the seed is no longer clumping. If watered that seed with grow in the back of your truck thicker than the hair on a dog.

Cheers Don.

Thanks, everybody!

The grass problem has really puzzled me, but I think I have a better idea of what's going on now. Maybe sunlight really isn't the problem I thought it was.

I'll try some more grass seed when the forecast is for moderate rain. Maybe a little lime won't hurt, either. And patience, which is my least favorite virtue.

Try some feed wheat. Its really cheap and will grow right away.

A,
What kind of grass seed did you plant and when did you plant it? I completed my pond in Late July of '14. I immediately tried to plant fescue, but the hot Texas summer had different ideas about that stuff coming up. When it got cooler, I planted some winter rye. The rye came in thick. The following early spring, the rye was waist high in some areas. I cut it with the shredder and broadcast some Bermuda seed in with the cut stuff....the Bermuda turned out pretty thick as well. There might be a small spot or two that did not take, but I'll hit it again this year. This particular soil came from the pond when we expanded it. I thought it might've needed fertilizer as well at first, but it was not necessary. Good luck!
Charlie