Last Chance for Grass - Day 1

I mentioned yesterday that we have started another project (yes I know, ANOTHER one). But this project is special. This is J's LAST CHANCE FOR GRASS!!

For those of you who weren't reading last year, we have tried getting grass in our backyard already, and spent quite a bit of money doing so.

#1 - we tried seeding it.

And you know what? When I look back at some other pictures, the seed wasn't SO bad in that it grew in better than I remembered.

But it was a) splotchy, and b) the fence installers pretty much ruined it while they put up our new fence. I guess the grass just wasn't strong enough to handle all those feet.

Good from a-far:

But far from good:

And post-fencing guys and their big boots:

#2 - And then came sod.

So after the grass died (sniff sniff), we saw our neighbour sodding her backyard. Sod. Hmm. Maybe we should try that?

So pretty right?

Um yeah. This is when we welcomed a new pet into our lives. THE RACCOON!!





That is what we woke up to every morning. Sad, I know.

So we tried something else.

#3 - Bird netting. We covered the entire 'lawn' with plastic bird netting and used a billion sod pins to pin it down. But those raccoons...they are somethin' else.

So we had to get a little more industrial.

#4 Chicken Wire:

Nothing says 'lush grass' like chicken wire:

You could say we went a bit overboard, but MAN we wanted this grass to live.

Alas, it didn't.

It died a sad, metal covered death.

Depressing, right?

SO. That is the 'bringing you up to speed' update. And now, onwards!!

As you might recall, I told hubs that this was his last chance at grass. We have spent enough money, time and effort on this grass. So this is it. Last chance for (real) grass.

Luckily, this blogging world is super cool and we received an email from the fine folks at Scotts Canada giving me some information about a new product they have released called Scotts Turf Builder Coated Grass Seed.

It is a special grass seed that has a coating on it that helps keep the seed moist (which is supposedly one of the main problems people have in growing grass). The WaterSmart™ Formula absorbs two times more water than uncoated seeds, helping the seeds stay moist and germinate faster.  

Anyways - to be honest, I kind of skimmed over that part. My desire to grow grass had waned and I wasn't so keen to try again.

However, at the bottom of the email was a little tiny add on sentence. It went something like this:

"Let me know if you have questions, or if you would like to speak with someone at Scotts about getting lawns and gardens growing this spring."

Um, hello?! We could talk to a grass expert about getting our grass growing? OKAY!!

So after some email correspondence, Hubs and I ended up on the phone with Scott from Scott's (haha crazy right?!) discussing our issues. 

After giving us some great advice (thanks, Scott!), he suggested that we use the Scotts Turf Builder Coated Grass Seed in Dense Shade, and offered to send a bag our way. 

So that is what we did!!

DAY 1:

J used some crazy rake to dig up the top 5 or so inches of soil (thanks to the dead sod, we had more than enough soil in most spots).

We leveled out the soil and added some extra in the low spots:

And then we got seeding!! 

Sure, I may have overdid it a bit, but it was kind of fun!

We followed the instructions and lightly raked over the soil to get the seeds more integrated in the soil, and followed up with Scotts Starter Fertilizer - which is specially formulated for this type of project (seeding from scratch). 

And then, we watered :-)

Now, could he look any happier at the prospect of grass!?


So there you have it - Day 1 in our last attempt to grow grass in our backyard before we resort to astro-turf or pavement. 


Wish us luck!!