Mixing the Seed

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
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Pirate Russ
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Mixing the Seed

Post by Pirate Russ » August 1st, 2021, 12:51 pm

I have done quite a few renovations over the year as i have had so much tree and truck damage to the lawn based on Hurricane Sandy, Isaias, a Microburst, Ash borer beetle etc. And based on these renovations (which have been large, and in some cases small), it seems that i have never been able to get the same blend that i had in the existing area. This has resulted in some color differences (really just in early spring and late fall and winter) between the areas. Therefore, in the 2021 renovation, I want to use the same blend i did in my 2019/2020 renovation (it was Tall Fescue Blend from Seed Superstore). Unfortunately, he does not have Regenerate Tall Fescue. While i have been able to locate it from another seed company, i am wondering if folks have any special technique for mixing the seed. Is it simply just dumping a cup of each seed into a bucket and stirring, or do you guys have any special technique you use? I certainly hope this is my last renovation for a while.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Mixing the Seed

Post by MorpheusPA » August 1st, 2021, 12:59 pm

Rather than cups, I layered. Two inches of this, two inches of that, two inches of the third, mix. Repeat. It all went very well, and the spreader will also mix your seed again when it goes through the output, at least a little.

I probably mixed more than I really had to, but I didn't want patches of one type of seed rather than another. And my general rule on mixes is that, if you think you're done, double the mixing time.

Pirate Russ
Posts: 267
Joined: August 25th, 2010, 11:26 am
Location: Northern NJ
Grass Type: Turbo, Cochise IV, FalconV and LS1200 TTTF and Award KBG
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Mixing the Seed

Post by Pirate Russ » August 1st, 2021, 1:46 pm

Thanks. I also forgot about the spreader mixing it too. Thanks again.

northeastlawn
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Re: Mixing the Seed

Post by northeastlawn » August 1st, 2021, 9:08 pm

One thing I tried with a small section in the front off my house was to do two separate passes of each seed. I was putting down a TTTF blend, with some shade tolerant KBG. I spread the TTTF, then the KBG separately. I won't know until next May/June how much KBG took and how well it was dispersed by the seed heads , but it seemed a better way to make sure both types of grass were evenly spread. I'd do it again on a bigger area if an extra pass of the spreader wasn't a big deal.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Mixing the Seed

Post by MorpheusPA » August 1st, 2021, 9:49 pm

That's a good idea if you're mixing species. KBG seeds are very tiny compared to TTTF, which are the size of dry basmati rice grains.

If it isn't inconvenient, mix species separately and put them down separately. That'll avoid any accidental missed rates with the KBG. In my case, the whole lawn was KBG, so no problems there.


Pirate Russ
Posts: 267
Joined: August 25th, 2010, 11:26 am
Location: Northern NJ
Grass Type: Turbo, Cochise IV, FalconV and LS1200 TTTF and Award KBG
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Mixing the Seed

Post by Pirate Russ » August 19th, 2021, 10:40 am

I have a question on topdressing the seed. I typically always use Peat Moss, but i found that in areas with dirt (where you are filling in low section) with 2-3 inches of topsoil, a heavy rain will wash out the peat moss and dirt (if early in seeding process). I have found that Penn Mulch does a really good job keep the soil and seed in place. As a result, can you top dress with Peat Moss in Dirt Area and then put down Penn Mulch or is that too much?

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MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
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Re: Mixing the Seed

Post by MorpheusPA » August 21st, 2021, 12:20 pm

No, that's great if it works for you! The general rule is no more than a quarter inch, but really, grass will sprout through more than that. I might be inclined to skip the peat and just use the Penn Mulch in thinner areas.

(Penn Mulch is recycled newsprint, making it cellulose and lignin heavy, so you're adding a lot of durable OM to begin with).

If you wanted to add some peat later on, you certainly could. It doesn't have to be done at seeding time.

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