Kentucky 31?

[hambone13]

The reason I am asking is because I am thinking of seeding my backyard with it this fall.

Some background....my property is about 1/2 acre and full of mature trees; mostly Oak and Tulip Poplar. Mostly of the trees have landscaped/mulched areas around them. The front gets full sun and the back is shady in spots. Normally I seed both front and back with TTTF. It does fine in the front and fine in the back yard Fall through Spring, but by the end of the summer it is always thin in spots. I have irrigation, but the trees out compete the grass for water and I imagine the shade contributes to it thinning out.

I overseed every fall with TTTF, but I am thinking of seeding w/ K31 in the back this year because it is a bit cheaper and maybe more durable. With little kids in the backyard all summer, I am less concerned with appearance. Is the only drawback to K31 the wide blades and light green color? Would it fair any better or worse in partial shade and drought? I have tried red fescue and it didn't handle the foot traffic well. I don't mind overseeding every fall to have grass 10-11 months of the year, but it would be great if I could do it a bit cheaper w/ K31.

Any direction would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[turfcobob]

I live on an acerage in Nebraska ( similiar crappy weather as you) and I did my entire lawn with k31 years ago. It is a tough, drought resistant and very durable grass. My lawn has with stood everything. Kids, go karts, dirt bikes, animals of all kinds, pickups, cars and much more. The broad leaf is the only disadvantage also you sould plan to over seed a couple times to fill in any blank spots from the first seeding. One seed makes one plant. Once my lawn got filled in it looks as good as any and with fert holds it's color. If you plan to USE your lawn not just look at it go with the K31.

[lilmarvin4064]

good points. It is pretty resilient. One thing I noticed is that it grows twice as fast as the turf-type in the spring, so you'll definitely have to keep up with the mowing.

[RigglePLC]

Hambone,
It sounds like a shade problem more than anything else. I do not think you would be happy with K-31. Just because a grass variety is ugly, old fashioned, pasture-suitable and cheap--that does not mean it will look good.
May I suggest one of the new high-scoring lateral-spreading tall fescues.
http://www.mtviewseeds.com/varietiesandmixtures.htm

"Spyder Ls", one of the lateral-spread series, has great color, high disease-resistance, good shade tolerance, and because of the lateral spread often needs no reseeding in the fall.