Tall fescue overseed/renovation (pics updated 11/29)

[tiemco]

Last fall when I did some renovation I planted areas too heavily and little to no germination occurred, had to do it all over again. Another place came in very, very thick. It was so thick that the grass never got dry and I lost most of it to Pythium blight due to a very humid early September. So I had to plant that over again.

[gtnike]

Tiemco, when I mentioned I struggle with Fescue, I meant more of the summer months with the high heat. I cannot seem to water it enough to keep the grass green. Obviously the climate in Tennessee and Connecticut are very different. When I saw your using Fescue I was thinking you might be a little closer to me as it seems most norterners use KBG.

I do have some rough spots in my yard where I have unsuccessfully seeded Fescue, but that is due to the rocky terrain we have here. In Middle Tenessee, you have about 1 foot of rocky soil unless you truck in topsoil . Even then, I have a few rocks in my backyard that would require a jackhammer to break up. I haven't trucked in any soil because I have an 18 month old and next year I'll probably build him a swingset and will put mulch underneath the swingset, thus eliminating the grass.

[tiemco]

Too bad about the crummy soil. I think the most important thing to do when planting TF is good soil prep. If you can till 5-6 inches down in good soil, then your TF will have a much better chance of growing deep roots, thus being more drought tolerant and being able to survive the hot summers without constant irrigation.

[tiemco]

Well it's been another week of watering and watching. I have definitely cut back on the watering, and we got a torrential downpour on saturday, so I didn't have to water on sunday or monday. Yesterday (monday 10/5) was the first time I mowed the whole front yard since 9/13. What a relief to get the leaves up as well as finally cutting the reseeded area. It's also nice to cut the new stuff since that promotes thickening and tillering. OK, enough talk, lets look at some pics. Here's the view of the lawn from the street:



And looking left to the area by the telephone pole that was hit hard by brown patch this summer:



Looks pretty good from the far shot, lets look a bit closer. Here's looking at the sycamore from the driveway:



And from the other side:



And looking down towards the street at the border of the old and the new:



You can see the difference in the old and the new. The year old areas are obviously darker and thicker. It hasn't even been a month so I am not worried as the new grass is mostly single blades with no real tillering. I expect more thickening and darker color in the next month as long as the weather cooperates, but I am pretty sure it won't be till next year until the new stuff really hits its stride. Here is a closeup of the new/old border:



Here is the front part near the flower bed that was also hit pretty good by brown patch this summer:





I guess the hard part is pretty much over now, hopefully it will progress nicely till the late fall dormancy ensues. The only thing to worry about is those stupid deer, and the squirrels. Of course this morning one of those forest rats tore up a few small areas right down by the street. I guess he wanted to show everyone his handiwork. Tune in next week for the usual update.

[nothing0]

Take 'em out..

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQQMJQ/ref ... B000BQQMJQ

[tiemco]

I have one of those, and I have relocated 5 squirrels this year, but the abundance of hickory nuts is such a lure for them, and of course they have to bury them in my new grass. The problem is that I can't make them go in the trap. I would have no qualms about dispatching a few via rifle, but I am way to close to the street and other houses to do so.

[tiemco]

Well it's been about a month since I put the seeds down. I mowed it for the second time today. The weather is getting cooler, no frost yet, but probably a soft one later this week after a big cold front moves in. Hopefully it will pass and be followed by a warm up. Took some pics just because, but the grass is pretty much the same as last week, maybe a little darker and thicker. This will probably be the last batch of pics for the year unless it looks a lot different in the next few weeks. Here's the view from the street:



A bit closer towards the middle:



A look at the area near the telephone pole that was wiped out this summer by brown patch:


By the street, another area that was hit hard this summer:


Looking towards the sycamore from the driveway:


Looking towards the street at the boarder of the old and the new:


Looking towards the sycamore from the other side:


You can still see the difference between the old and the new in terms of color and texture. I expect this to remain so until next year. My biggest fear is that the new cultivars will still be markedly different from the old by next year, but only time will tell. The older TTTF is a mix of middle of the pack cultivars, none of them near the top of the NTEP's, unlike the ones I planted this year. I guess the worst case scenario means I have to redo the older sections next year, and post the results of that project as well.

[andy10917]

Very nice! I hope "blending" goes well.

[nothing0]

How's target practice going?

Everything looks good to me. I bet it blends well. If not you can always start over next year.

Edit The hose bridge is gone. I knew something didn't look right.

[tiemco]

Thanks andy, your renovation looks great too, can't imagine how you kept all that land moist for three weeks. Next year it will look awesome.

Seems like there is only one squirrel left, he is a tricky one, doesn't seem to want peanut butter, guess he is too locked into the hickory nuts. The hose bridge was taken down for the mowing, but it might go back up if we get a dry spell.

[Seven333]

How's the Firecracker LS section coming along? Can you tell that I'm very interested in that cultivar?

[tiemco]

The Firecracker LS area looks really good. I wish the whole renovation area looked as good, but it is about a week and a half behind the Firecracker and I used a higher seeding rate on it as well. It tillered very well, but no spreading yet. It is a nice color but I suspect next year it will be darker and thicker. Here is a pic. I just mowed it so that's why it looks lumpy and uneven in places:

[Seven333]

Wow, that is awesome for month end seedlings! Can you estimate your seeding rate? Sorry if this has been answered already.

[tiemco]

I used 11 oz. (.6875 lbs.) for 65 square feet. So that is 10.57 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. The grower recommends 6-9 lbs/ 1000, which is a little low for tall fescue but I guess they figure it will tiller and spread more. I did get a few spots of pythium when we had two humid wet nights mid September, but I just cut out the affected grass and gave it all a spray with immunox. It was seeded on 9/3.

[tiemco]

Well I did my last mowing of the renovation today (11/29) after I cleared off some leaves that blew over from the neighbors (stupid neighbors). Didn't really get too many clippings, so I am pretty sure topgrowth is over, and it is supposed to cool off this week. It's been over a month since my last pics, and two and a half months since the initial seeding. The new grass grew darker and tillered very nicely, but it is much finer than the older sections I did last fall. Here are some pics to show you what I mean.

Here are som views from the street:



Here is a closeup near the telephone pole.

The front by the street:

Here is a view looking at the sycamore from the driveway. You can barely see the border of the old and the new. Now they are similar in color, but the older is much coarse in texture:

Looking at the sycamore from the other side, you can see the border of the old and the new better in this one:

One more shot looking at the street. Again the faint border is noticeable in the lower center of the pic:


Probably the last pics for the year since topgrowth is over. All and all I am very happy with the new grass. It is thick, and fine bladed with a nice green color. I am assuming it will be darker next year, especially after some iron is applied. Ultimately I think I will be redoing the older grass with the same cultivars I used this year especially if the difference is still very noticeable.

[Ohio2112]

Sweet!

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[Abyss]

man that really darkened up, looks really good, it should look killer come spring