winter rye grass

[ed2hess]

We are trying something for the first time regarding overseeding with rye. We can only water once a week so we waited until this week to plant the rye. We are going to use Hydretain the moisture manager to see what happens. In years past we had excellant rye when we could water at will and had mowing almost year round. Last year was first year for once a week watering and it took until late February for the yards to cover completely but it did come up nicely. We don't use any anual rye it grows way way tooo fast in the spring

[quiet]

Originally Posted by ed2hess

We are trying something for the first time regarding overseeding with rye. We can only water once a week so we waited until this week to plant the rye. We are going to use Hydretain the moisture manager to see what happens. In years past we had excellant rye when we could water at will and had mowing almost year round. Last year was first year for once a week watering and it took until late February for the yards to cover completely but it did come up nicely. We don't use any anual rye it grows way way tooo fast in the spring

I'm shaking my head as I write this, Ed. Our water situation here in the Austin area has been extremely critical for the past year, and it's getting even worse as we move into the typically very dry winter months. Lake Travis is at it's 3rd lowest level in history. And there's no TS Hermine in sight.

I think that winter overseeding and weekly irrigation in the winter is totally irresponsible.

TAMU advises people to water once per month in the winter - if no rainfall has occured. That's what I advise my customers every year, and I've never had a problem with dessication. Our clay soils hold water really well, particularly in winter when ET rates are so low.

And besides, it looks plain stupid to have a deep green lawn when everything else is brown.

Wonder why we have such strict watering rules? It's because of practices like these.

[Turf Dawg]

Originally Posted by quiet

I'm shaking my head as I write this, Ed. Our water situation here in the Austin area has been extremely critical for the past year, and it's getting even worse as we move into the typically very dry winter months. Lake Travis is at it's 3rd lowest level in history. And there's no TS Hermine in sight.

I think that winter overseeding and weekly irrigation in the winter is totally irresponsible.

TAMU advises people to water once per month in the winter - if no rainfall has occured. That's what I advise my customers every year, and I've never had a problem with dessication. Our clay soils hold water really well, particularly in winter when ET rates are so low.

And besides, it looks plain stupid to have a deep green lawn when everything else is brown.

Wonder why we have such strict watering rules? It's because of practices like these.

I know you and Mr Hess are farther south than me and have warmer temps, but in my area after I get the Rye to germ I sometimes cut the water off to the turf areas and just leave some of the annual color areas on. If we do not get any moisture I may run them once a month but generally I leave them off. Most of them stay pretty nice through this time without much maintenance so I do not feel the Rye is wasteing too much water. The only thing I am thinking I might quite overseeding is the Celebration Bermuda. The newer ones that have this type Bermuba do not seem to overseed worth a darn. I think it is because the way this stuff grows it is so dense that the seed does not have a chance, kind of like St Augustine.

[ed2hess]

Originally Posted by quiet

I'm shaking my head as I write this, Ed. Our water situation here in the Austin area has been extremely critical for the past year, and it's getting even worse as we move into the typically very dry winter months. Lake Travis is at it's 3rd lowest level in history. And there's no TS Hermine in sight.

I think that winter overseeding and weekly irrigation in the winter is totally irresponsible.

TAMU advises people to water once per month in the winter - if no rainfall has occured. That's what I advise my customers every year, and I've never had a problem with dessication. Our clay soils hold water really well, particularly in winter when ET rates are so low.

And besides, it looks plain stupid to have a deep green lawn when everything else is brown.

Wonder why we have such strict watering rules? It's because of practices like these.

We know the water rules and we are NOT going to water more than the one time allowed a week. One of the owners in our business is a full time irrigator and he has worked on getting all of our systems fixed to the point that there is little water run off. I doubt that there is another irrigator in this city that has done more to reduce water use over the last two years.
Now the lecture comes....I am so pissed off that our city officials and state officials are not doing anything to get us more water. Instead they want us to conserve our way out of the problem. Left to these fools they would let our nice green city go completely brown. TeeBone Pickens could build us a 8ft pipe line over to the Mississippi river and be done with all this dome and gloom about us running out of water. I hope that lake continues to drop and drop and drop maybe somethign will get done.

And if the rule changes so that we can't water at all them we STOP. You might want to take a look at your soil as to whether you stoppign of water now will not harm the bushes and trees. They were under heavy stress and with no rain they could die in the winter. And with no rain all winter the sod probably will die if we get heavy freezes. By the way welcome to lawn site didn't know you was in our area. We didn't plant but four hotel site and only because they insisted.....already lost one last week don't want to lose others.

[quiet]

Originally Posted by ed2hess

We know the water rules and we are NOT going to water more than the one time allowed a week. One of the owners in our business is a full time irrigator and he has worked on getting all of our systems fixed to the point that there is little water run off. I doubt that there is another irrigator in this city that has done more to reduce water use over the last two years.
Now the lecture comes....I am so pissed off that our city officials and state officials are not doing anything to get us more water. Instead they want us to conserve our way out of the problem. Left to these fools they would let our nice green city go completely brown. TeeBone Pickens could build us a 8ft pipe line over to the Mississippi river and be done with all this dome and gloom about us running out of water. I hope that lake continues to drop and drop and drop maybe somethign will get done.

And if the rule changes so that we can't water at all them we STOP. You might want to take a look at your soil as to whether you stoppign of water now will not harm the bushes and trees. They were under heavy stress and with no rain they could die in the winter. And with no rain all winter the sod probably will die if we get heavy freezes. By the way welcome to lawn site didn't know you was in our area. We didn't plant but four hotel site and only because they insisted.....already lost one last week don't want to lose others.

(sigh) Embarrassing. Just embarrassing.

Just keep wasting water, and blame the city officials because we're running low. And then cop an attitude like that.

Embarrassing.

Good luck, my friend.

[corey4671]

Know this is an old thread, but here is the lawn that I said I thought I would get splotchy results from. This was the first cut of the 2012 season on February 16