Source
r/lawncare•
PittEngineer

Seeding advice

I live in Pittsburgh, PA. My grinder pump discharge line had a break and leaked all winter. The excavator used in fixing it destroyed a large swath of my lawn. I am having a reception at my home may 21.

Is there any chance I can go roll the damaged areas flat again, plug aerate the lawn, and seed this weekend and at least have some growth covering this area by 5/21 so it doesn’t look like a septic tank exploded?

Needless to say, but the soil is now quite fertile if that helps. Thanks in advance!

Posted Apr 7, 2022, 3:40 PM UTC

28
Steinberg__•

Sod would be most expensive route but also definitely get you the lawn you want by 5/21.

I'm in southeastern PA and will be seeding or overseeding some areas of my lawn in the next few days. Your soil temps look similar to mine (around 50 degrees and rising) so you could probably seed now and get some decent germination over the next 2-3 weeks. Perennial Ryegrass would be quickest to germinate (5-7 days) if you're looking for single grass type.

2
DeltaindiaPapa•

I'm also in the same area. What seed will you be using?

2
PittEngineerOP•

Okay great, I was going to default to the cheapo. Scott’s rapid grass tall fescue until I can get the lawn healthy again. Then I will be dethatching ( it’s very thick and causing dead spots) and starting to overseed in the fall growing season. I was recommended the Jonathan green black beauty seed before but I can’t remember if there was any consideration for the region paired with the recommendation. Thanks for the info!

1
brad1041•

They sell sod in Cranberry near you . I need to go get some myself but it’s about 45 minutes from me.

2
EngineerDave6b•

There's a pretty good chance depending on what you seed with. Or depending on the area you could just use Sod + overseed.

1
PittEngineerOP•

Is there a seed you would recommend? I’m trying not to break the bank which I assume sod would do unless that’s a bad assumption

1
educo_•

Sod where I live is under a dollar a square foot (not including install) direct from the sod farm, so it might not be as expensive as you’d think depending on local costs and how much area you have to cover. That will definitely give you the best chances of both quick coverage and long term establishment. Seed should work too, as long as you’re aware a good bit of it will likely die off in the summer heat and you’ll need to go back in the fall to fix it for good.

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
EngineerDave6b•

It depends on the size of the spot. if the Sqft is low Sod is going to be cheap. You are looking at between 45 - 70 bucks for just a bag of seed so Sod might be your best bet if it's under 200 sqft.

I don't know your turf or the color gradient so a grass suggestion would be a shot in the dark. But if you want grass like... in 4 weeks, Rye is going to be the fastest growing, followed by Fescue and then last bluegrass. Since you are in PA bluegrass and rye mixture is most likely your turf.

2