Is it too soon to rake?
Question:About 2 weeks ago I had my yard seeded with fescue grass seeds. The landscapers put hay and some green stuff over the hay. The grass is growing through the hay but I noticed some bare patches. should I rake the hay up or is it too soon?
Answers:
You actually will never have to rake up the straw if you fertilize properly. Nitrogen breaks down the straw. If you fertilize once every 4-6 weeks (or what your landscaper recommends) the straw will naturally break down and you won't risk pulling up the delicate grass by raking.
they probably placed to much hay thus the bare spots. take up some of it but not all and watch it, you may have to place allot more seed down for a good thick lawn.
FYI the purpose of the straw/hay was to act like a thin barrier so the grass seeds would not wash away. It's very common... I would NOT recommend you removing the straw/hay now unless it irritates your eyes. In the bare spots where seed did not take, if you are planning to spread more grass seed, besides scratching the top surface layer, after you toss/scatter the new seed on top I would recommend you covering seeds with layer of peat moss and keeping soil/peat moss...in fact all newly seeded patches should be watered with hose frequently to germinate the seedlings in the soil/peat moss.
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