Reason for experiment with grass in the dead of winter: My dog Maximus was dragging in tons of mud from the yard where there is no grass-grrrr! (we have a shady yard, and there are many little places with no grass at all.)
Question:If I just throw out grass seeds on my lawn in Texas in the middle of winter will they grow?
Hypothesis: Absolutely not. Why would grass grow in the winter? Every article I read on grass says to plant in spring or summer, and it just sounds like it wouldn't work. However, my friend Janie has had lots of experience planting grass, and has one of the most beautiful lawns I have ever seen. When I asked her she very calmly said, "Yes, Sarah, if you get the right kind of grass, it does wonderfully in winter". That alone was more than enough to convince me to give it a shot. It was that or spend hours and hours smearing around the layers of gooey, caked mud off the bottom of Max's feet every time it got a little wet during the winter months. (Of course he LOVES to play in the mud as he's a digger.)
Procedure:
1. I bought a hand-held grass spreader and a few bags of Rye grass from Wal-mart mid-January. The lady gave me a really funny look and then almost laughed at me when I asked if they carried grass in the winter. I think she wanted to tell me what I feel like every other person in the store was thinking as I passed by. "Umm sweetheart...you don't plant grass in the winter." At least that's how I felt. It was more likely I felt like that because I was still trying to convince MYSELF that this was a good idea. I called Janie one last time just to make sure I was getting the right thing, and let's just be honest...for moral support. I just held my head high and walked to the back and got the last three bags of Rye grass.
2.The spreading process went like this: I Sprinkle grass seed with spreader generously. I Sprinkle more grass seed with hands because I want more grass around the trees. I Put the grass spreader down and get carried away digging my hands in the bag, and just throwing the seeds around and feeling like Cinderella feeding the mice. Deciding there are probably going to be huge patches with almost no grass and little patches that look like chia pets on steroids, I pick up the spreader and try to evenly make up for my impulse throwing.
3. For the next few days I go outside way too much just to check and see if the grass has started growing. I start feeling like Toad when he tries to plant a garden and sings, play instruments, and reads poems to his plants to try and get them to grow. At one point I actually did yell "Now seeds, START GROWING!" just to see if it would make me feel better. It didn't.
3.The biggest cold-front I can remember sweeps through Texas, we have five school 'snow days' in two weeks, and the weekend retreat is postponed due to dangerous weather. At this point any hope I have of my winter grasses growing has died...just like my poor seeds.
4.I totally forget about my grass seeds after the bad weather.
5. I walk outside today to make sure Maximus hasn't dug any holes big enough that he can escape...and lo and behold this is what I see:
Conclusion: If I throw out seeds on my lawn in the middle of winter, they WILL grow! Apparently this little seed doesn't give up. Even though there were two weeks straight of sleet and snow, my little winter grasses are growing after all. I give 100% of the credit to Janie as I never ever would have tried it had it not been for her wonderful advice. Wanna have beautiful grass in the winter (in Texas anyway)? Go buy a hand-held spreader and a couple of bags of rye grass seeds and go for it!
Tips: This grass does better during the winter, and in really hot climate (Texas Summer), it apparently dies when it gets really hot. I don't care about this because it's the winter that I need the grass to prevent muddy paws from destroying my carpet.I am hoping for a long spring so I can enjoy my minimal effort grasses that could.
