Anyone notice the new grass AKDOT seeded at Muldoon? (Anchorage: contractor, eat)

[mizzile]

I just drove through Anchorage and headed north. At the new Glenn/Muldoon interchange, the contractor had sprayed a bunch of grass seed and fertilizer....over the snow. No wonder we're broke and our infrastructure doesn't last!

[Music_Man]

All the snow melted today! At 10:00pm it is still 40*.

[mizzile]

Nope, I just drove back through and the snow is still there...happily protected by the layer of grass seed, haha.

[akpls]

Once the snow melts out from underneath that will grow next spring when soil temps are suitable.

[Sweden]

I haven't looked in the past few weeks, but there's plenty of snow still around other areas of Anchorage/Eagle River area. Wouldn't there be a huge risk of birds eating the seeds throughout the winter?

(I agree - got to love the really "thought-through" spending in this state ...

[akpls]

Originally Posted by Sweden

.....Wouldn't there be a huge risk of birds eating the seeds throughout the winter?

No. The seed is contained in a mixture of mulch and fertilizer that the birds don't much care for. There is absolutely no problem putting hydroseed down on top of snow. The seed just lies dormant until the snow melts and conditions are right for it to germinate.

[mizzile]

Originally Posted by akpls

No. The seed is contained in a mixture of mulch and fertilizer that the birds don't much care for. There is absolutely no problem putting hydroseed down on top of snow. The seed just lies dormant until the snow melts and conditions are right for it to germinate.

yeah...I'm pretty doubtful about that. There will be nothing left of that seed after breakup (assuming we have a winter this year...). Putting it down just BEFORE it snows might be OK, but OVER snow is just silly.

It's pretty clear it was just part of the scope of work they were contracted to do so they just did it to say they did so they could invoice for it.

[akpls]

Whatever.....I guess we'll just see next spring.

[Metlakatla]

Mizzile, in nature, grass doesn't reseed itself in spring -- it does so in the fall. In northern regions, it often happens over snow. The seeds are dormant until conditions are just right for germination in the spring (light levels, soil temps, etc.). Some seeds even require a period of cold (called stratification) in order to be viable in the spring ( I was a botany major). These seeds aren't going to disintegrate just because they're on top of the snow. This has been done with success many times in many places.

ETA I pretty much posted the same thing as akpls but didn't realize it until now.

[mizzile]

ha. In nature, grass doesn't reseed itself over snow, nor does it reseed itself with a pressure hose with a mix of seed and fertilizer, Met.

I'm pretty doubtful that a nice even layer of seed and fertilizer over snow on a steep slope will be in any position to germinate once the snow melts and carries it all down to the ditch and out to Ship Creek. But then again we're not having much snow anyway so it might just settle in.

In any case I think it's pretty poor to spend public money on such a gamble. Goes a long way in telling us why our roads always suck despite the fact they are always working on them. Just wait until melt, then come back out and spray the seed.