Released August 27, 2008
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Using the wrong rate can be a serious mistake in seeding or overseeding a tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass lawn this September.
“Sowing too little seed saves neither time nor money. At best, it results in a thin, clumpy, weedy stand of turf,” said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.
With tall fescue, in particular, homeowners sometimes err too far in the other direction, Upham said. They sow too much seed, hoping the approach will give their lawn a finer texture – more like a healthy bluegrass lawn.
“Bad idea,” he said. “No matter the kind of turf, too much seed can be worse than too little. In fact, it can become a grass killer. Overcrowding leads to weak, poorly rooted turf plants that are unusually prone to disease and stress damage.”
In Kansas, starting a tall fescue lawn from scratch requires 6 to 8 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet of surface -- no more, no less, Upham said. Overseeding a thin fescue lawn takes about half that amount of seed.
Kentucky bluegrass seeds are so much smaller than fescue seeds that 1 to 3 pounds per 1,000 square feet give a new lawn a good start. Again, overseeding requires about half that.
“Of course, you still can end up with a scraggly lawn if you don’t distribute the seed evenly,” Upham warned. “You can have good grass, overcrowded grass and clumpy grass – all in the same lawn.”
He recommends homeowners adopt one of the following options for distributing seed evenly and then maintain a steady walking pace as they use the spreader:
- Carefully calibrate the seeder before using it. K-State’s step-by-step instructions on how non-professionals can calibrate lawn spreaders are available at every Kansas county and district Extension office. They’re also on the Web at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf2324.pdf (page 6 of the publication "Fertilizing Kansas Lawns" - MF2324).
- Measure out the amount of seed your lawn needs. Adjust the seeder to a low/slow distribution setting. Then cover the lawn area multiple times. Complete each successive pass in an opposite direction until all the seed has been distributed.
“Using the seeder’s wheel marks on the turf as a guide, you’ll need to overlap your distribution lines. You don’t want to miss any areas – particularly with bunch-type tall fescue, which can’t spread,” Upham said.
Applying fertilizer before or during seeding is a good idea, too, he said, as is ensuring good seed-to-soil contact and keeping the new planting moist as it sprouts and starts to grow.
Links to K-State’s entire library of turf publications for homeowners – including ones on starting and caring for tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass lawns – are listed on the Web at http://www.ksuturf.com/Homeowners.html.
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http://isis.oznet.ksu.edu/KSRENews/story/fescue_bluegrass082708.aspx
Contacts: Ward Upham, 785-532-1438
Kathleen Ward, kward@ksu.edu
