SEEDING A NEW LAWN

[EddieW]

I was afraid that would be the answer. After the last 2 summers, I don't feel very lucky./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I think I'll wait until fall and put some annual rye down then sprig in the spring. Thanks

 

[W5FL]

After living here for 5 years, my wife wanted a lawn. Took about 8 pallets of Tiff Bermuda, but it sure made an instant lawn. It has to be sprigged or just planted with turf, but it looks like you could putt on it. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif It is thick enough and grows well that weeds are not much of a problem.

 

[Bird]

My very limited experience with fescue was when I bought a new house in town, moved in on July 4, and a few days later had the yard hydromulched with common bermuda. I had to start mowing 21 days later. Then when the house next to us was completed and the owner moved in about Labor Day, he asked how I got such a pretty lawn so quick and I told him, so he called the same company to hydromulch his, but they told him it was too late in the year for the common bermuda and they could do it with fescue, and did. The guy took real good care of his yard, watered frequently, and had a very nice lawn. The problems were that he had to mow year round while my bermuda didn't need mowing from mid-November to early March, but the fescue spread into my yard and no matter how frequently I mowed, I had clumps of fescue that would be twice as tall as the bermuda (and yes, I did apply Round-Up occasionally which left brown circles in my lawn for awhile). Then the guy sold the house and it became a rental property and the renter only mowed when the city threatened fines, and did nothing else to the yard, so it became a neighborhood eyesore with a lot of bare dirt and clumps of tall fescue that continued to try to spread into my yard.

Now in this part of the country, I like the common bermuda, but it needs a lot of sunshine, so in the shade we use St. Augustine.

Bird

 

[EddieW]

I sure understand what you're saying. If fescue isn't overseeded every fall it looks about as bad as anything you could do to your yard. I am in what all the publications on fescue call the "transition zone" which is about as far south as you would really want to grow fescue as a full lawn grass and too far north to grow St. Augustine. Bermuda does about as good as anything except that it greens up so late. My last mowing on the bermuda I have is usually mid-October and don't have to start again until April. WIth the fescue I mow 1-2 times through the winter. I get so tired of brown that I like to have the green fescue to break the monotony. My neighbors are far enough away with pasture between us that weed seeds are more likely to cause them problems than my yard. I try to think about what things will look like from my neighbors house before I do anything on my property and hope he does likewise. If I had seen my grass creeping over into your yard I would've been trying to help you figure out how to keep it out. Well it is almost warm enough to mow (96 degrees) without pulling any muscles so I need to get busy. I've been on vacation this week and my lawn sure needs mowed.

 

[Bird]

Yeah, I mowed my yard this morning starting as soon as I could see without headlights; it's 94 in the shade here right now.

Bird

 

[BrettW]

Alan, what seed would you recommend for the Charlotte,NC area? I'll have about 2 acres to seed and make into a yard, but will not be able to water it much. thanks, brett w

 

[RoMo]

I used tall Fescue called Rebel.

RoMo

 

[Stonewall]

Fescues are very popular here in the Denver area as they do not require much water to stay green and some strains are also very slow growing - stay away from them if you're looking for a lot of seat time! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[grandad]

A late message in this thread, but Rebel is an excellent product... I have about 3 acres of it newly seeded, and it's coming up great. One word of advice about planting a tall fescue like Rebel here in the "transitional" climates like North Carolina... a fall/winter seeding can give better results than a spring seeding, because it gives the new seedlings time over the winter to build a root system. That gives them a better chance of taking the summer heat/dry conditions and a head start vs. the annual crop of spring weeds. I learned this the hard way...lost an entire spring seeding of those same 3 acres due to the drought last year.

Also, for open field/pasture planting, you can blend in some oats, which will help keep the weeds down until the grass gets established... maybe you don't want to do this with your lawn. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif