Fall 2023 I put a strip of Prairie Moon Nursery eco grass around the house. Watered faithfully, germination was pretty good. It did ok last year although to be honest the super skinny blades never really stood up and it was almost mat like.
I have a couple traffic areas I walk back and forth on and it didn't really hold up and one area it seemed to do fine even though shaded till the matting sort of killed it.
Area 1 by oak, partial shade to shade, traffic area
Area 2 deep shade from garage, matted and rotted
Area 3 traffic area in full sun. This is where I walk back and forth with the hose all the time.
This spring area 1 also got big snow bank from shoveling on one side and gravel and snow bank on the other. This area also competes with an oak tree.
I asked Prairie Moon about anything I could add in but they recommended sedges which aren't lawn like. I have a 3/4 acre lot with the tiniest strip of lawn around the house where I walk around, aren't I allowed a little lawn!?
Any ideas? The areas are so small I'm resigning myself to mowing something. The eco grass is so fine bladed it just lays there and mats. I'll see what the bulk of it does this year it's second year but I don't think it's going to hold up in the 3 areas.
Northern Michigan, sandy, 6b
by marys1001
3 Comments
You have to take the sun exposure into consideration. Few “lawn” grasses can handle deep shade.
If you have high traffic pathways, put pavers in there.
Overseeding with Yarrow might give you a boost.
I don’t know if I’d be so quick to dismiss sedges. This is part of my yard that is Cherokee sedge (which is native to me). This is as much sun as it gets. It hasn’t been fertilized in decades, probably. The only water it receives is the infrequent rain it receives in Texas. It only needs to be mowed maybe 4 times a year. I wish I had this stuff all over my yard.
https://preview.redd.it/j5qxka4obfue1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61e6785127a2b2dccf78201758fba19db0986e37
I mean, this is literally why we use grass. To have a spot that can stand up to mowing and foot traffic and crazy weather changes. Turf grasses are not inherently evil, it’s about how you use it.
My opinion? Keep your lawn path, don’t stress about it and actively add more native diversity around the lawn that will be protected by the fact that the grass is the path.