Overseeding prairie grass with fescue?

[erervin]

Last September I graded, tilled, added potash, phosphorous, and nitrogen to prepare the soil around our house for new seed. I then seeded turf-type tall fescue (Hound Dog) at 10-lbs/1000 sq ft. It exceeded my expectations and turned out quite nice. The yard is about 3 acres. I did notice crabgrass here and there toward the end of the season poking through. Due to the size of the yard, what pre-emergent herbicide would you use this coming spring to eliminate crabgrass? I’m located in Eastern Kansas BTW.

Another question, currently on each side of our 800’ driveway there is prairie grass, which we have just mowed in the past. This is probably totals about 2 acres. This grass is a mixture of prairie, fescue, foxtail, crabgrass, and clover. I have fertilized this in the fall with 18-46-0 in the past. The fescue is slowly creeping outward and thickening. If I wanted to thicken the fescue by overseeding, what should I do to prepare? If I’m not going to be able to water it, should I consider overseeding this spring rather than next fall? Would an application of 2-4-D help? I figured I’d core-aerate, fertilize, and sow 5-lbs/1000 sq ft. What can I do to eliminate the crabgrass, foxtail, and clover without starting over by killing everything tilling?

The first picture is my stand of fescue and the second is the grass mix that’s along the driveway. Thanks!

[erervin]

Anyone have any suggestions? I can rent Blue Bird seeder from my local lumber yard for the day to seed. What should I use to eliminate the faxtail and crabgrass without killing everything and starting over? Thanks!

[Marcos]

Last September I graded, tilled, added potash, phosphorous, and nitrogen to prepare the soil around our house for new seed. I then seeded turf-type tall fescue (Hound Dog) at 10-lbs/1000 sq ft. It exceeded my expectations and turned out quite nice. The yard is about 3 acres. I did notice crabgrass here and there toward the end of the season poking through. Due to the size of the yard, what pre-emergent herbicide would you use this coming spring to eliminate crabgrass? I’m located in Eastern Kansas BTW.

Very nice!
At 10 # / 1000 sq ft rate of fescue you SHOULD have gotten a nice grow-in. And you did.
Any specific reason why you used just ONE variety of fescue-"Hound Dog", and not a blend of three or four ???
For your 3 acre lawn...what type of application equipment do you have?
Do you have some type of tractor with a spreader, and a liquid boom apparatus?

Another question, currently on each side of our 800’ driveway there is prairie grass, which we have just mowed in the past. This is probably totals about 2 acres. This grass is a mixture of prairie, fescue, foxtail, crabgrass, and clover. I have fertilized this in the fall with 18-46-0 in the past. The fescue is slowly creeping outward and thickening. If I wanted to thicken the fescue by overseeding, what should I do to prepare? If I’m not going to be able to water it, should I consider overseeding this spring rather than next fall? Would an application of 2-4-D help? I figured I’d core-aerate, fertilize, and sow 5-lbs/1000 sq ft. What can I do to eliminate the crabgrass, foxtail, and clover without starting over by killing everything tilling?

I think a better term for this area would be a 'hay field'.
And although it may appear that it's doing so...fescue doesn't have rhizomes so therefore it can't spread, or CREEP as you call it. It's probably just that you've "raised the bar" of expectations in that area of the lawn with your fertilization and mowing practices, and thus the fescue that was once in the hay field now LOOKS more like turf!
As far as the TIMING of the fescue seeding is concerned, I'll let someone more local address that...
But you'll certainly want to eliminate competition from the 'smothering' type weeds before seeding, particularly clover.
There are no animals GRAZING at any time in this "prairie" area you're talking about, are there ??

(please say no)


..........

[erervin]

There was no specific reason why I chose to use HoundDog solely. In my area it seems people either use HoundDog or K31. What would a blend consist of? What are the benefits? I followed Kansas State's literature for growing fescue turf.

You hit it. It was formally a hay meadow that's been mowed like a lawn. I have a 32hp tractor with a box blade, brush mower, spreader, and 3-section harrow. I also have a 35 gal sprayer with 10' boom.

There is no grazing.

[fertguy2008]

Do you want to use Dimension as a pre-emergent for crabgrass?
2-4d for broadleaves? Drive 75 to get rid of any crabgrass that might come up through this season?

[fertguy2008]

Looks Great by the way!!:clapping::clapping::clapping:

[Marcos]

There was no specific reason why I chose to use HoundDog solely. In my area it seems people either use HoundDog or K31. What would a blend consist of? What are the benefits? I followed Kansas State's literature for growing fescue turf.

You hit it. It was formally a hay meadow that's been mowed like a lawn. I have a 32hp tractor with a box blade, brush mower, spreader, and 3-section harrow. I also have a 35 gal sprayer with 10' boom.

There is no grazing.

Varieties like 'KY 31' and 'Fawn' are forage fescues, originally selected for horsemen and cattlemen for use in pastures because of the relatively low levels of naturally-occuring endophytes contained within the grasses; which have been known to cause digestive, and even some reproductive issues. " Hound Dog" was among the first class of turf-type tall fescues to be introduced in 1979, but it ended up being a dud (in relationship to the "Falcon" and "Rebel" (fescue) of that time frame.

It never exhibited the 'finer' leaf blade of the other two varieties, thus, in essence, it can be treated the same way as KY 31 today.

But that was decades ago...
Because forage fescues like KY 31, Fawn, (and for the sake of argument, Hound Dog) stayed MUCH more cheaply produced than the then up-and-coming, and much more attractive-in-the-lawn turf type tall fescues, they stayed popular among farmers, those doing temporary seeding, AND

.... the 'low-bid' crowd using sub-par seed to beat a competitor!:cry:

That's why they're still largely found in places like feed mills, Tractor Supply Co, etc today !


The danger of not using multiple varieties in a blend, whether it's 'forage' or not, is that you've created a 'monoculture' in your stand of grass.
A monoculture in turf typically cannot put up with insect, disease, and travel damage as well as having a blend of fescues, or even fescues with a very small % of ky. bluegrass, depending upon the climate.

But if you're smart in the way you mow your grass-you don't scalp it in the summer, and you aerate it once every other year at least...you should be just fine.
It's all relative to how high you want to raise the bar.

I think your lot size might qualify you to at least think about talking to these guys:

go to http://www.lesco.com/ and type in your zip code.
It'll tell you how far away from you the nearest store is.

As far as pre-emergents are concerned, I'm a "Dimension" man myself, but I think it's wise to let the local guys make that call for you.