I just seeded 8 acres in Central Illinois with a sports turf fescue blend. I just bought the land and I know that it would have been better to wait until fall, but I really want to get the lawn going this year.

This land was previously farm ground and was fertilized last fall in preparation for the corn crop this year. I have now planted grass seed on the entire 8 acres (5/17/07).

My question is...now what should I do to help the grass seed have the best chance of germination? Fertilizer/Lime/Nitrogen? And...if so...when do I apply?

I don’t have the ability to water the entire 8 acres, so I will have to rely on mother nature for that job. I just want to do everything that I can to keep from having to do this all over again in the fall.

Thanks in advance.

Good news, spring is a great time to seed Tall Fescue in your location. Put down some Starter fertilizer (it will say so on the bag) and pray for rain.
Sparty

You might get a soil test kit and do a few spot tests. If it was fertilized in the fall, it may be fine, and more fertilizer might make it too hot, plus needlessly extract money from your wallet.

I agree with kerk. Get a soil test and save your money on the fertilizer. Since it was a crop field I would start on getting the pH in line. The soil test will tell you how much of what you need to apply. Summer is a fine time to adjust pH, also pH amendments take a long time to work so by the time fall rolls around you'll have a better soil composition to reseed on.

Thanks for the advice.
I had the soil tested a couple of weeks ago and I will be receiving the results later today.

My soil tests results have been posted below. The recommendation from the lab is to add 2.5 - 3 ton lime per acre.

If I do add lime, when should it be applied? I planted the grass on 5/17/07.

What about Nitrogen?...if so when?

(These results are averages from 4 samples - 8 acres)
Soil PH - 6.0
Phosphorus - 104 lbs/A
Potassium - 333 lbs/A
Organic Matter - 3.3%

Thanks,

Lime can be applied any time. I would probably wait until you've mowed a time or two so that there is grass there to hold the lime on the soil. It is very slow acting so you won't see immediate results. That is a lot of lime to apply, you might want to break it up into 2 or 4 applications over the next year or two.

The organic matter is very low, which is common for a field. However over time with proper mowing and mulching you should be ok.

I agree with JC, I would break up the applications. If you goof and hit some spots too heavy, It will burn them. It takes along time for lime to take effect, but if you over do it, it takes a long time to recover from the burn. Before you add lime, check and see what PH the turf grass you seeded prefers. Maybe it likes a PH around 6, some grasses and plants do. And yes, that does seem like a lot of lime. I would get a second or third opinion before I added that much.

I would have expected them to have given you a nitrogen reading in your test results

rkerk, most times you will not see a nitrogen reading in a soil test. The reason is that there is no reliable test for nitrogen in soil as it is used up quickly and leeches out very quickly. Any time you see a nitrogen summary on a soil test it is usually what is the recommended amount of nitrogen for your area.