Overseeding ?

[birddog]

I have done a search and not found exactly what I'm looking for.

Do to the inability of one of my accounts to water her newly seeded lawn correctly last spring, it came out patchy and thin. I tried to overseed it a month or so after the first mowing, with little result.

My questions are:
1. should I hold of on overseeding it again?

2. I realize that Kentucky Bluegrass takes a while to fill in, but how long ?

3. is dormaint seeding an option ?

4. and if dormaint seeding, should it be down now ?


[Edited by birddog on 02-12-2001 at 11:37 AM]

[Eric ELM]

I would wait until the soil is at least 50 degrees and rent a slit seeder and go over it. If they won't water it, hope for rain.

[birddog]

Should I loosen what soil I can or does using the slit seeder eleviate that ?

[Eric ELM]

This machine will put slits in the ground and drop the seeds in it. Blue grass takes longer to germinate, this is why it is more important to get it in the ground instead of on the ground so the birds don't eat it. You will get a bigger % of germination doing this.

[birddog]

Thanks for the advise !

[lawrence stone]

I suggest you use a 50-50 mix of rye and blue. The rye will be up in a week and will give some cover while the blue takes up to a month to germinate.

[bobbygedd]

I AGREE WITH LAWRENCE, ryegrass takes about 8 days to germinate, while bluegrass takes about 28, myself i use a mixture of rye, bluegrass, and fescue. i usually use a thatcher and set the forks real low get down into the soil. i would definitly tell the client to water twice a day with a light mist for only about 5-10 min each time. and, if they cant do this, the bare spots r not yur problem. hope this helps, BOB

[Ocutter]

You might want to go with a little less than 50% on the ryegrass. Anything more than 20-30% will establish and dominate the site faster than bluegrass. Just a thought.

[SJR Lawncare]

Also, a good idea would be to top coat the seed with Compro, especially this time of year, Will help keep the seed to a more optimum tempature for germination.

SJR

[bobbygedd]

what is compro? how is it applied(spreader?)

[SJR Lawncare]

Compro is an organic top dressing providing warmth & moisture for seed germination. I try to convince all my customers to include this service with seeding. I have far quicker & better results with this than without. I buy a truckload, load it on a wheelbarrow & hand spread it about a 1/4 inch on top of the seed. It takes alot of time, so charge accordingly.

SJR