how long does it usually take for annual rye grass to start sprouting ??

Question

our backyard is patchy and we are trying to sell the house soon. we planted some rye grass and covered it with top soil. how soon does it grow and how often do i need to water it ? how many times a day and what time of day is best ??

Answer 1

Daisy2,

The only thing that I could add to the above answerers is to get a water meter(s) at Wal-Mart (around $4-$5) to be able to watch how moist the grass/soil stays... If it starts getting chilly, you may want to cover the soil with clear plastic trash bags so that you can maintain the moisture and heat up the ground to speed germination...

Good luck...!
1EM

Answer 2

I hope you don't live in one of the colder areas because if you planted annual rye it's might just up and die on you.. Always plant a mixture call by several names Quick green fast grass anything that says QUICK on the package. It usually sprouts it 3 to 4 days. You also should have spread a layer of straw (not hay) over it to protect it from the birds and help hold in the moisture. Keep it wet and until it starts growing then keep it good and moist. How often to water depends on where you live and the climate. If it's really dry you might have to do it several time a day especially if you didn't spread straw.

Answer 3

If it's been kept moist it will usually germinate between 7-10 days. If it has been in dry conditions, it will take much longer. However, for best results, it needs to be growing for at least 60 days before the first killing frost for best results and to establish itself to withstand the winter. Hopefully you didn't cover it too deeply with the topsoil you added over top. If you did, it might not be able to reach the surface for the deep covering of topsoil. It only needs to be covered with 1/4" to 3/8" of soil. Peat moss would have been a little better and would have made for an easier germination. It also holds in moisture better. If and when it germinates, you need to keep it moist until it gets established. This could be from 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the amount of rainfall you have in that time frame. If it is dry, you will need to water it in the morning as well as in the late afternoon, but well before darkness comes. You want to give the grass a chance to dry off before night time comes. This will prevent diseases from infecting your young turf, which it is highly susceptible to in its early growth stage. Once it gets taller and thicker, you will only need to water once a day, in the morning. Annual rye grass is one of the fastest growing of the turf grasses. It is used as a quick growing cover on roadside rightofways, hillsides for erosion control, parks, pastures, etc. etc. Hope this answers your question. Good Luck!

Answer 4

always when i submit a question, even if its the simplest one, they cannot offer me a proper informed answer . what happened to people that really make the effort to answer?