Seed choice new construction

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
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kbgfarmer
Posts: 485
Joined: July 21st, 2016, 10:35 am
Location: Verona, WI
Grass Type: Bewitched Kentucky bluegrass
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Seed choice new construction

Post by kbgfarmer » January 11th, 2018, 7:33 pm

So it's been a long stretch that I have been away from this forum. Life's gotten super busy. We are expecting a new baby at the end of February and are also in the process of building a new home on a 2 acre wooded lot estimated to be done by April or May! I met with the landscape company today and mentioned that I wanted to provide the seed for the turf and that I wanted to do pure KBG. He looked at me like I was nuts. He said it does well in Kentucky and not Wisconsin. Obviously he doesn't know his turf. I think the turf area will be less than or equal to .5 acres. When I asked him what seed he uses he mentioned that he likes to use this "Madison Parks" mix that is very common here in town. To me it's a garbage mix with fine fescue and perennial ryegrass thrown in. When I asked him how much seed I need to bring him he said 100 lbs seeded at 4-5 pounds per k. That doesn't seem right to me. I thought KBG is typically seeded at 2-3 lbs per k.
I'm thinking of using an equal mix of award, midnight, bewitched, and blueberry. At 100 lbs of seed thats like 1200 bucks at seed superstore! What do the experts think of this mix? Looking at NTEP ratings they all seemed to do relatively well in the north central region. Look like a good mix? Any other sources I should look for? I'm thinking of buying 60 lbs and telling him to seed at the correct rate of 2-3 lbs/k. I'll be applying tenacity at seed down since I don't trust him to do it properly and will likely be seeding in spring which I know is typically no no but my homeowners covenant states that it needs to be seeded asap after finish of construction. Oh, and I will be installing an irrigation system as well. Here are a few pics of the new digs.


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andy10917
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Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
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Re: Seed choice new construction

Post by andy10917 » January 11th, 2018, 9:23 pm

Most of your thinking is valid, and the suspicions about the landscapers are warranted. The guy is talking through parts of his body that were not designed for talking.

2-3 lbs/K is correct. He's so used to putting down NoMix that he assumes everything goes down at that rate.

If the house isn't finished until May, you will be making a bet with the price of the seed that you may not win. You have to remember that you plan for 21 days for seed to germinate - and that throws you right into the teeth of the post-Memorial Day heat. That is, umm, other-than-optimal. I'd give serious consideration to putting in the irrigation and waiting for mid-August to go seed-down.

I can't figure for the life of me how they level that property.

Is that your topsoil to the left of the house?

kbgfarmer
Posts: 485
Joined: July 21st, 2016, 10:35 am
Location: Verona, WI
Grass Type: Bewitched Kentucky bluegrass
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Seed choice new construction

Post by kbgfarmer » January 11th, 2018, 9:39 pm

Yes, it is my topsoil. I doubt they will truck it away given the need for dirt on this property. It has been and is going to continue to be a challenge to level the place. They already brought in 80 truck loads of fill to fill in the area that will be the driveway. They also had to design a huge culvert to go underneath the driveway for drainage. I didn't do my due diligence in surveying the lot before I purchased it because if I did I may have passed on the lot. But in the end it will be beautiful but expensive! The landscape guy said I will likely need two tiers of retaining walls in the front. I'm also hoping the builder will bring more fill in for the front though I've already spent an arm and a leg on fill so I'm a little scared to see how much that would cost.
In regards to seeding, I would love to wait until August but am afraid that the homeowners association and the written covenant might get at me for having bare dirt for that long. I guess I can inquire with them about it.

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Joined: May 22nd, 2013, 5:59 pm
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Grass Type: Blueberry KBG
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Re: Seed choice new construction

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » January 12th, 2018, 12:02 pm

So, you need to play the part of the expert and tell your contractor what to do, pay him well and on time when he does, follow through checking his work. Not a slight on him. Tell him you aren't the average joe and you want things done EXACTLY the way you say. Let him kibitz all he wants. Withhold payment until it is so. It now becomes a management exercise - that's the best thing you'll do for your lawn this spring. He sounds like a pretty reasonable guy that will be fine to work with - pretty typical response I'd say. Make sure they spread that topsoil around the yard and don't use it for fill, and use the fill for topsoil. Avoid straw, hay getting spread. Even the 'weed-free' variety.

You're in Madison, WI. You can probably drop seed mid-July on a freshly graded yard with irrigation. You only have to wait 5-6 weeks. Buy some extra seed and throw it out there end of May to make the HOA happy, knowing it will fail and it's only to satisfy their curiosity and say a yard was seeded.

By the time your house is closed on, and the HOA gets it's panties in a wad that your grass isn't green enough, you'll be weeks away from germination. By the end of the fall, if you do things right, they'll be begging you to be the landscape chairman of the common areas.

kbgfarmer
Posts: 485
Joined: July 21st, 2016, 10:35 am
Location: Verona, WI
Grass Type: Bewitched Kentucky bluegrass
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Seed choice new construction

Post by kbgfarmer » January 13th, 2018, 4:04 pm

Thanks a lot HLG! That's what I was thinking of doing! I was going to buy a cheaper bluegrass blend (still elite varieties but not sod quality) and give it to the landscape guy to spread at the rate he felt like doing (4lbs/k) knowing that it will likely fail as well! If I do get some germination at least it will be bluegrass. Then in July like you said I'll spread my expensive seed at the correct rate with mesotrione and go from there. Just got my irrigation bid with 40-50 heads and it was $3896 for .5 acre turf areas! That's less than I spent on my current system for 5000 sq feet of turf! And it comes with a Hunter Hydrawise wifi controller which from my research seems top notch. There is an additional option to add a tank with injection system to apply fertilizers, fungicides, and mosquito control through the irrigation. anyone have experience with this? Thanks again! Getting more nervous about the lawn than the actual home! My wife thinks I'm nuts.


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micvog
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Re: Seed choice new construction

Post by micvog » January 16th, 2018, 12:26 pm

Congrats kbgfamer on the new home!

I had a Madison-based landscaping contractor to seed my new construction lawn about 2.5 years ago with seed from Seed Superstore. The contractor obviously was used to using their NoMix and, although they tried to seed at 2.5# per K, they ended up seeding at 7.5# per K (a combination of not being able to adjust their truck-based blowing system and the smaller KBG seed vs. NoMix). As HLG pointed out, oversight will be key.

A local option for an elite KBG blend is Reinders. I found out a day after I ordered seed from SSS and wish I had known earlier.

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