Too late to grow grass in Mid-Atlantic?

[amma_mama]

We just moved into a new house (yay!) that has been untended for quite some time, so our "lawn" currently consists of moss and weeds. It is a big property so we will have to tackle it in bits and pieces, but grass on at least a nice size patch would be our first priority.

We are finding that it is pretty easy to shovel off the top layer of soil to remove the moss and weeds, so we are thinking that maybe we can still have a lawn this summer, since it is still early (though it is already getting hot here in the Washington DC area). We cannot afford to do sod this year, so we would have to plant from seed. We are novices at gardening, so are clueless on even the basics, but we are looking to forward to having our own garden. Is it too late to get started with grass? How long will it take before the grass grows enough to have, well, a "grassy feel" (i.e. more grass than dirt underfoot)?

Any advice on how best to get started?

[ThisCat]

I think it's too hot now. I looked into doing seed this past spring, and everything I found said the best time to do grass seed around here (I'm a bit south of you) is mid-August to mid-September. Early spring was the second best.

I'm a novice gardner too with a lawn that sounds a lot like yours, so I have no advice otherwise. Good luck though!

[cschick]

Originally Posted by amma_mama

We are finding that it is pretty easy to shovel off the top layer of soil to remove the moss and weeds, so we are thinking that maybe we can still have a lawn this summer, since it is still early (though it is already getting hot here in the Washington DC area). We cannot afford to do sod this year, so we would have to plant from seed. We are novices at gardening, so are clueless on even the basics, but we are looking to forward to having our own garden. Is it too late to get started with grass? How long will it take before the grass grows enough to have, well, a "grassy feel" (i.e. more grass than dirt underfoot)?

Any advice on how best to get started?

When we built our house, we had a choice between sod and seed for our backyard. About half the people in our subdivision did seed, half sod. Most of the people who did seed had kind of a scanty lawn after one year and needed to seed again to really get to a full lawn (five-seven years on, those lawns are all beautiful).

I know you can put down mats to try and keep the seed in place, which nobody in our subdivision did so some of the scantiness may have been from seed washing away.

[amma_mama]

Originally Posted by ThisCat

I think it's too hot now. I looked into doing seed this past spring, and everything I found said the best time to do grass seed around here (I'm a bit south of you) is mid-August to mid-September. Early spring was the second best.

I'm a novice gardner too with a lawn that sounds a lot like yours, so I have no advice otherwise. Good luck though!

Yeah, if we missed the window then we will have to shoot for winter season grass in September, after the heat subsides...or wait until we can afford sod...