I was planning to overseed in a few weeks when temps calm down, but will still be in mowing season, and blowing as well. How do you all find new grass fares when faced with mow/blow traffic?
Fall Overseeding
Yard Dude
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Fescue is pretty tough. I don't stop mowing and other than being careful on turns, just mow as usual. Comes in strong, no damage or ill effects. I don't blow until it's at least a few inches tall so can't comment on that. What type of grass do you plan to seed?
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I just started doing over seedings today in N NJ. Soil is extreamly wet from receiving over 17" of rain since mid July and soil will stay wet/damp even if no more rain falls for some time.
I spike aerate to overseed with devices I made to fit on the Permagreen Triumphs. 36" wide at 5 mph seedings go quickly.
I know I have talked about this spike aeration device a few times in past.
I only applied 1.66 lbs of seed per 1,000 with the lesco push spreader. I could of applied grass seed with the triumph but I like getting exercise when applying grass seed.
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I spike aerate to overseed with devices I made to fit on the Permagreen Triumphs. 36" wide at 5 mph seedings go quickly.
I know I have talked about this spike aeration device a few times in past.
I only applied 1.66 lbs of seed per 1,000 with the lesco push spreader. I could of applied grass seed with the triumph but I like getting exercise when applying grass seed.
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How high is that grass your seeding into?
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Yard Dude,
I think it is best not to wait any longer. The best date to seed is about 8 weeks before frost. Seed now when the soil temperature is warm--so germination is quick. And then--if you are lucky--the grass will be 3 or more inches tall by the time frost reduces further growth. Kentucky bluegrass is slow to germinate. Then it is slow to establish. A late start means bluegrass will still be very short by the time of frost. Ryegrass and fescue establish more rapidly. Still, it may be cold by the time of the first mowing.
I think it is best not to wait any longer. The best date to seed is about 8 weeks before frost. Seed now when the soil temperature is warm--so germination is quick. And then--if you are lucky--the grass will be 3 or more inches tall by the time frost reduces further growth. Kentucky bluegrass is slow to germinate. Then it is slow to establish. A late start means bluegrass will still be very short by the time of frost. Ryegrass and fescue establish more rapidly. Still, it may be cold by the time of the first mowing.
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5 1/2 to 6", needed to be mowed and wad mowed after I spiked and over seeded it. Cut at 4" and I will be lowering the height over the next two weeks to alow some sunlight down so seed can survive after germination.
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Thx for the advice. I keep hearing good things about tall fescue (black beauty) for my area, or the typical fescue/rye/kbg blend...still deciding
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Yeah, will have to be extra gentle turning
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Grass is OK if it gets stepped on. In a natural setting, cattle, sheep and goats graze on grass every day. Grass can cope with traffic. And grazing.
Good grass lasts for many years--don't buy cheap. Try to buy only seed that is in the top 30 percent of the varieties in the national or your state's NTEP test trial. Look for seed that is suited to your climate, shade, and irrigation situation. Be sure it claims to be disease resistant (to the main diseases in your town). Try to avoid any seed that has much in the way of weed seeds, less than a half-percent. Noxious weeds are a bad sign. Avoid Poa annua, quackgrass, orchard grass. Check the date to be sure it is not over 9 months old. In most states 85 percent is the minimum germination percentage allowed, (but that was 9 months ago, and the seed loses percent germination every month).
Avoid the low-scoring varieties. Avoid Linn, and Brightstar perennial rye for instance. Avoid Gulf and any other annual rye. Avoid VNS(Variety Not Stated--meaning cheap stuff).
I have a test on my cooperating neighbor's vacant lot. Will compare small plots raked once, twice or three times, Milorganite added, double seed rate, and top dressing. I am using turf-type tall fescue. Hopefully it will be visible--but not objectionable.
I did not want to use K-31 tall fescue. The test results would be more obvious--but squares of wide tall fescue might be objectionable.
http://ntep.org/data/pr16/pr16_18-1/pr16_18-1.pdf
Good grass lasts for many years--don't buy cheap. Try to buy only seed that is in the top 30 percent of the varieties in the national or your state's NTEP test trial. Look for seed that is suited to your climate, shade, and irrigation situation. Be sure it claims to be disease resistant (to the main diseases in your town). Try to avoid any seed that has much in the way of weed seeds, less than a half-percent. Noxious weeds are a bad sign. Avoid Poa annua, quackgrass, orchard grass. Check the date to be sure it is not over 9 months old. In most states 85 percent is the minimum germination percentage allowed, (but that was 9 months ago, and the seed loses percent germination every month).
Avoid the low-scoring varieties. Avoid Linn, and Brightstar perennial rye for instance. Avoid Gulf and any other annual rye. Avoid VNS(Variety Not Stated--meaning cheap stuff).
I have a test on my cooperating neighbor's vacant lot. Will compare small plots raked once, twice or three times, Milorganite added, double seed rate, and top dressing. I am using turf-type tall fescue. Hopefully it will be visible--but not objectionable.
I did not want to use K-31 tall fescue. The test results would be more obvious--but squares of wide tall fescue might be objectionable.
http://ntep.org/data/pr16/pr16_18-1/pr16_18-1.pdf
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Here is "Homerun" a new superior perennial ryegrass.
"Fastball RGL" perennial rye is also excellent. Resistant to rust and Gray leaf spot.
http://www.mtviewseeds.com/downloads/datasheets/HomerunPDF.pdf
Notice they suggest 7 to 10 pounds per thousand sqft for winter overseeding of southern golf fairways. (After vertical mowing.) This is probably because germination is less in an overseed situation--as compared to loose bare soil. And winter overseeding of Bermuda on a golf course has to come in dense and tight.
They do not sell online. This means you have to get in touch with the regional salesman.
"Fastball RGL" perennial rye is also excellent. Resistant to rust and Gray leaf spot.
http://www.mtviewseeds.com/downloads/datasheets/HomerunPDF.pdf
Notice they suggest 7 to 10 pounds per thousand sqft for winter overseeding of southern golf fairways. (After vertical mowing.) This is probably because germination is less in an overseed situation--as compared to loose bare soil. And winter overseeding of Bermuda on a golf course has to come in dense and tight.
They do not sell online. This means you have to get in touch with the regional salesman.
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Geeze Riggs, thx for the detailed info. How long have you been a Milo guy?
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I am not a "Milo Guy". I think of Milorganite as a combination organic topdressing and high phosphorus starter fertilizer. It is a whole lot easier to apply than a couple tons of topdressing.
Notice the high rates they suggest. For seed they suggest one bag per thousand sqft--around 30 pounds per thousand.
Crazy high amounts. That is about 1.8 pounds of nitrogen. Costly. At least it is easy to spread compared to top dressing.
https://www.milorganite.com/using-milorganite/rates-and-schedule
Notice the high rates they suggest. For seed they suggest one bag per thousand sqft--around 30 pounds per thousand.
Crazy high amounts. That is about 1.8 pounds of nitrogen. Costly. At least it is easy to spread compared to top dressing.
https://www.milorganite.com/using-milorganite/rates-and-schedule
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Agreed on the rates, good tip about using it as a starter
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