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I recently removed old roots, weeds and grass from a small area in front of our house. I had some leftover mushroom compost, so I built up some areas to make the entire area level, but now it seems that dead pine needles from a neighbouring tree are falling onto the area I just seeded. Will the pine needles not allow the seeds to germinate? Is there anything I can do?

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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veclempt
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1 Answers1

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The pine needles shouldn't really impede the growth of the grass unless they wind up covering the ground quite thick. It is common to put straw or other cover on grass seed to protect it from too much sun, animals, erosion, etc.

BUT if those "old roots" you removed were actually from said pine tree, this could cause the pine tree to drop a lot of needles that could, in theory, smother the seed.

Of very low concern - at least in most scenarios - is the pH change that could occur from the pine needles. I would expect the seed to establish before this could become an issue, though.

That Idiot
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  • Thanks. Do you think the immense amount of pine needles could signal an issue with the pine tree? It seems like there is more than past years. The roots I remove were very small, so I don't believe they were from the pine tree. The pine tree is over 100 feet tall and I am concerned about it's health, so I am having it checked out. – veclempt Sep 27 '17 at 20:32
  • Great that you are having your trees checked out by an...arborist. Otherwise, pine needle drop is normal, healthy. I wouldn't use them as a mulch, definitely add them to my compost piles. Pine trees actually have seasons where the needle drop is pronounced...even pollination is every other year. Don't worry about pulling roots out of the ground for a garden or plant bed. The trees won't care unless too many...are destroyed. In fact pulling roots causes MORE roots to grow...more chemistry allotted to the roots to grow more roots. A little stress is good. – stormy Sep 27 '17 at 20:52
  • Did you plant seed directly into mushroom compost? – stormy Sep 27 '17 at 20:53
  • Yes, I did plant it into the mushroom compost and then I skimmed over it with a rake. Is the mushroom compost going to cause an issue? – veclempt Sep 28 '17 at 01:01
  • Today when I walked outside the entire area was blanketed with fallen pine needles. I couldn't see the soil. Knowing that the seeds won't be receiving light, I lightly raked some of the pine needles off with a grass rake. I am starting to think it may be impossible to grow grass in this area. – veclempt Sep 28 '17 at 15:32
  • How long ago did you plant the seeds? What have temperatures been like? How have you been watering? If watering seed for 5-10 min twice a day (which is standard in our area (New York), I would expect germination in 5 days or less and for you to want to do your first mow in about 3 weeks or so. If it is below 55 degrees, you can expect it to take longer. – That Idiot Sep 28 '17 at 15:39
  • I planted on Monday. I have been watering twice a day for about 30 mins each time. The temperature in Ottawa has been hot. 85-95F. – veclempt Sep 28 '17 at 16:50
  • No sign of grass. In fact, I could see the grass seeds when I talked the needles off. – veclempt Sep 28 '17 at 16:54
  • 30 min. twice a day is too much water. This could cause the seed to rot in certain circumstances, but there hasn't been enough time. This doesn't sound like a large area. It should only require a few ounces of seed. You could LIGHTLY rake the surface, cut back the water to 5 min (of good coverage) 2x daily, and re-seed. There wouldn't be any harm in that. If the seed you put down somehow got under too much soil it might not make it to the top. The seed you spread should just sit on the surface but make good contact with the soil - it shouldn't be buried. – That Idiot Sep 29 '17 at 09:39
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    Follow up on Stormy: In East TX I routinely cut Loblolly pine roots up to 2 inch diameter when planting . I don't cut larger roots because it is too much work ; In 20 years the trees have not cared. Annual rye grass comes up through a continuous layer of pine needles., no problem. – blacksmith37 Sep 29 '17 at 16:15