Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Watching Grass Grow

I've recently laid down grass seed around my 1+ acre pond. The light conditions are sun to part sun. The slope angle of the land around the pond ranges from 30 to 45 degrees. I haven't been able to get the seeds buried under the dirt at all. I emptied the seeds into a bucket and began tossing them onto the ground. There hasn't been a hard rain yet, which is good. Logically, a heavy rain would wash the seeds down into the pond.

My questions are how long should I expect to wait before I see new growth from these seeds? And, should I do anything to make the seeds more stable under a thin layer of dirt? I have a 4 wheeler, a DR Brush Mower, the contractor's dozer and a neighbors tractor at my disposal to do any work.

Seed mixture: Sideoats Grama(6 lbs.), Buffalograss(2 lbs.), Englemann Daisy(1 lb.), and Illionis Bundleflower(1 lb.). The daisy and bundleflower are for the wildlife(deer and turkey).

Sometimes you need as much patience with grass as fish...maybe more. I have reseeded my dam 3 times and still only have 1/3 covered, it depends a lot on your soil conditions & water. I have to rely on Mother Nature to sprout my seeds and grow my grass...I've seen a lot die already. Clay is great for holding water, but poor at growing grass. Keep trying different kinds of seed mixtures. The funny thing in my case, is that clover works the best, and the deer keep it mowed for me.

St. Augustine or centipede grass plugs, available at Home Depot, might be the wiser choice on slopes.

If at all possible, MULCH!

See if your local soil and water district will rent out a power mulcher cheap. Mine did - you put straw (or hay - what I used because I had it) in and it blows the particles out a 6" or so flex hose. This lets you cover a large area quickly. My wife and I mulched all around a 1 acre pond and a 2 acre outdoor riding arena in 1 long day.

The areas we mulched grew 5 to 10 times as much grass as the unmulched area (interior of the arena). It will help prevent the loss of your seed in the event of heavy rain.