Growing Grass Indoors: Germination

It's day 3 of my growing grass indoors project and I'm already seeing germination!

Every night since I planted the Jonathan Green Dense Shade Grass Seed I've been peeling back the coffee filters I use to retain moisture. This is the first time I've seen signs of germination and I was surprised to see it so soon.

I was a bit concerned that the grass wouldn't grow because this batch of seed was left over from a few years ago. It also grew in my yard where I needed to fill in some patches.

After initially preparing my planter I've been making sure I keep the soil moist. The seed has been lightly watered 2 or three times each day with a spray bottle. I keep the spray bottle filled so that the water is at room temperature.

How important the water temperature is, I'm not sure. But I know that grass seed won't germinate if it's too cold. Since this planter doesn't have the benefit of being warmed by direct sunlight, I decided to use warmer water than that which comes directly from the cold water tap.

Even though I have Dense Shade growing in very shady parts of my landscape, the grass does get a little bit of late afternoon sun. To help my indoor grass get established quicker I'm going to try and give it at least a little bit of sun each day and will continue to water on the same schedule until it comes in thick.

Here's a close up view of the Dense Shade as it first germinates.

You Don't Need Plastic Edging

I don't know what came over me but a few years ago I got it stuck in my head that I had to have plastic lawn edging. For some reason that little tube of black separating the green lawn from the mulch just looked right to me. It made sense, it would keep the grass from growing in the beds and it would keep the mulch from spilling over into the lawn. Sounds good right? Wrong!

The problem with almost any type of landscape edging in areas that experience cold winters is that it can pull up if not properly installed. While that little black strip looked good to me, seeing a big black, grey, brown, torn strip of plastic sticking out from the lawn after the frost heaved it up doesn't quite have the same appeal.

I'm a bit compulsive when it comes to buying and installing things that are meant to be in place for years so I read everything I could about landscape edging, went out to look at different brands and models and learned how to properly install it.

Growing Grass Indoors

I always wanted a little planter of grass on my desk so I decided to try a little indoor grass growing experiment to see how well it turns out.

I'm hoping it can survive year after year with proper care. Instead of growing it in soil I'm using an organic potting mix and I'm using a grass seed I've had good results with in shade. I'm hoping it does equally well indoors.

If you'd like to follow along with the progress of my indoor lawn I'll be posting it in the into the Grass Indoors section of my site.

Organic RoundUP Alternatives

Glyphosate based herbicides like Roundup are commonly used to kill all grass and weeds when doing a full lawn renovation or to kill unwanted weeds and plants in garden beds. Glyphosate has generally been considered safe. When it comes in contact with soil it becomes inert but there have been concerns over it's use including this most recent one. It's definitely not a product that is allowed in use for organic gardening or organic lawn care.

If you are opposed to using Roundup in your lawn or garden there are some alternatives to Roundup that are approved for use in organic farming. If used correctly they can kill your lawn and weeds in preparation for reseeding.

Suncast Hose Reel STA125B Review

I've owned my Suncast Sidetracker 125-Foot Garden Hose Reel for just over 3 years now and wanted to update my review. There have been a couple of hiccups but overall I'm extremely happy with the hose reel and especially pleased with Suncast's customer service.

Even though the hose reel is very affordable (it costs less than $30 at the time of this writing,) I just hate wasting money on products that don't work or break. It makes me feel like I was scammed. Reading the reviews for the various affordable hose reels I kept seeing the same negative reviews over and over. Not just for the Suncast STA125B but for all hose reels. They leak, their flimsy, they break, etc.

I really needed a hose reel and was anxious for the delivery but I also felt very anxious fearing that I made a bad purchase decision. I was so close to spending over $100 on a metal hose reel, like they use at my local garden center. I have friends and family that have had plastic hose reels for years and haven't had problems so I decided to take a shot on the Suncast Sidetracker. I'm very glad I did.

Choosing The Best Cordless Trimmer

Whenever possible I like to use electric lawn power tools because maintaining multiple small engines and having to deal with storing extra gas is a pain but dealing with power cords can be a hassle too. Thankfully cordless outdoor power tools have gotten better over the years.

After using a cordless grass trimmer I feel comfortable recommending them to others. In this article you'll find my thoughts regarding their use and benefits.

Cordless Trimmers Are Underpowered

Battery powered trimmers are not as powerful as either good corded trimmers or good gas powered trimmers. All tools have pros and cons and as long as you understand the limitations of cordless trimmers you'll enjoy using them.

I own a Black & Decker NST2018 Grass Hog 12-Inch 18-Volt Cordless String Trimmer which I really love. On a freshly charged battery it has enough power to touch up the edges of my lawn, trim up against walls, around posts and remove weeds from cracks in concrete. Black & Decker has updated the model and the new version is the Black & Decker NST2118