Who puts seed down in the fall? (lawn, growing, seeding)

[skbs]

I heard it was good for your lawn to put seed down in the fall to thicken it up, make a more lush carpet of green and help the roots to become more substantial... any thoughts on this?

[Calvitts]

Originally Posted by skbs

I heard it was good for your lawn to put seed down in the fall to thicken it up, make a more lush carpet of green and help the roots to become more substantial... any thoughts on this?

I believe it depends on the type of grass that is being put down. Cool weather grasses, i.e., tall fescue, should be put down in cooler weather. I believe warm weather grasses (centipede, bermuda, zoysia) are spread in the summer.

Thoughts from Others?

[Janecj]

I seem to always reseed in Fall for Fescue (cool season grass). Much better to do it in the Fall than Spring.. it takes a hold much better. Just make sure you get rid of the weeds first. Summer is definately the choice for warm season grass. I find it better to just get sod in this case as the seed is so expensive and just doesnt do as well.

[kygman]

Seed more expensive than sod?? Don't know where you shop for grass seed!

[Janecj]

Originally Posted by kygman

Seed more expensive than sod?? Don't know where you shop for grass seed!

The sod does better than seed, and therefore money is better spent imo than to keep throwing seed out that doesn't do well. I find that warm season grass is harder to grow by seed.

Not sure if you realize a typical 5lb bag runs around $40.00 for warm season grass.

[blossom4792]

On the cost issue, I will say that I have really spent huge money on grass seed. In bare areas, I do see a clear impact, but in areas where I am reseeding, I'm unclear. The problem with grass seed is not so much that one bag is expensive - it's that you always have to buy a second bag and a third and a fourth ... There is a huge area of my lawn where I started from scratch last fall. It grew beautifully at the time, but now it is brown and dying. So maybe sod *is* the way to go? PS - to the original question, I just bought a bag of grass seed noted for "fall reseeding" so here I go again!

[kygman]

I just added this to another thread and it sounded like it may be good for this one, so I copied and pasted.

I imagine they have the same type deal in Michigan, but my dad got a soil sample from his yard, about the equivalent of a quart jar full, and took it to the soil conservation office in his county. They sent it to Univ. of Kentucky for analysis. It came back that he needed nitrogen. He put it on his yard the way the directions told him. Within a month he was having to mow his yard twice a week for a while.

Each state probably has the same deal that you might want to check into.

[Thyra]

Originally Posted by skbs

I heard it was good for your lawn to put seed down in the fall to thicken it up, make a more lush carpet of green and help the roots to become more substantial... any thoughts on this?

We usually put seed down in the Fall...Overseeding, I think they call it..some years more than others and our lawn is THE best one around

[blossom4792]

Originally Posted by kygman

I just added this to another thread and it sounded like it may be good for this one, so I copied and pasted.

I imagine they have the same type deal in Michigan, but my dad got a soil sample from his yard, about the equivalent of a quart jar full, and took it to the soil conservation office in his county. They sent it to Univ. of Kentucky for analysis. It came back that he needed nitrogen. He put it on his yard the way the directions told him. Within a month he was having to mow his yard twice a week for a while.

Each state probably has the same deal that you might want to check into.

wow, I'm in Lexington. What department at the university would do this? Our soil here is horrible, just clay, very frustrating.

[skbs]

Originally Posted by Trudeyrose

We usually put seed down in the Fall...Overseeding, I think they call it..some years more than others and our lawn is THE best one around

overseeding... yes... this is what I am talking about... heard it makes the lawn even better for the next growing season. When do you do this? I have a lawn co that comes and does my chemicals... but they want an arm and leg to do the seeding.... We are thinking of doing it ourselves... Do I just go out an get any seed or is there one in particular that I should look for? And how early or late should I do it? Thanks everyone for all of your advice.....