Grass seed, what's good what's not so good?

I know this is kind of random but thought I would ask for a friend. We live in the forest in the black hills of SD. And she is looking for a nice grass seed to put down for a playground in her yard. Does any one have any suggestions that would be suitable for the location?

That is such a tough one to answer. She should look around locally for what grows well, and what she likes. What grows well here doesn't mean it grows well there.

Does she want it green year round? If it goes brown when dormant, does that bother her? Does she want an annual or a perennial? (Perennials seeds cost more.)

Does she want it standing tall? or lush, soft and carpet-like? Is your area prone to anything that would effect a lawn?

Will it be trampled by large animals? Are there small ones to consider? Is she trying to match the neighbors' lawns?

Is the time to seed September or April? How much water will it need?

I've put in lawns in both CA and in KY. Very different specs for both.

Ava

you'll also need to do a bit of research on the types of seed used in the seed mix . There are around a few thousand grass seeds good enough for making lawns and like AVA says check carefully what you need it for .. if there are kids & they are teenagers you might sow a softer wearing seed or if you have a dog / dogs & yard apes a very hard one ( Astro turf grade ).

Most seedsmen make a big point of telling you if it is hard wearing or a soft lush green seed for a picture postcard lawn with stripes up & down from cutting it with a cylinder lawn mower. You might check what they are going to cut it with .

You'll also need to take into account the sunlight available , if there is any all day tree shade .

From years of experience some of which in the early years was rather bitter , allow at least 50 % more seed than the recommended rate given on the packet and sow in a zig zag , half of it North to south per square yard and the other in a zig zag east to west this ensures a really good sowing and will result in a good sward .

I got two old aerosol can caps of different coulurs and a set of scales that weight fractions of an ounce , weighed the seed as per the instructed rate of use on the packet then put it in the cap & marked the inside of the cap then cut the cap down to the line . did the same with the second cap and got Munchkin to level fill both caops for me to sow in each yard square.

Your local university extension agent will probably be your best resource on this. I was just researching grasses on our university extension website, and they have a list of what grows, how well it grew in their test locations, and what the ups and downs of each variety were.

Givvmistamps, stupid question but how do I find my local university extention?

cheyannarach wrote: Givvmistamps, stupid question but how do I find my local university extention?

Try this...

http://www.sdstate.edu/sdces/districts/west/1/custercounty/

Also, if you want to speak to a human being, look in your phone book for the county extension agency. Every county usually has their own office, which helps when there are multiple growing zones in a state.

You'll get to speak to a human being but only after pushing several different numbers on your phone.

Bah! Just act like you have an old rotary phone (remember those?) and don't dial anything. Most systems will take you straight to an operator who can send your call to the right person faster.

Thank you too tall tomatoes!