Close to deciding on seed Hogan Fescue Mix?

[Marinegrunt]

Last year I cut down a bunch of trees, removed stumps, and leveled yard. By the time I finished it was too late to seed. I contacted Hogan a few weeks back and recommended their Fescue mix seeded now at 5 lbs/k and then over seed in the fall with their Fescue + 10% kbg. I'd say 90% of our yard gets 8+ hours of sun and the other about 4 hours. I was leaning towards a full kbg lawn but I've read where many are very happy with tttf. My 6 neighbors all use Tru Green so I'm confident my yard will still look nice no matter if I go with kbg or tttf. I'm leaning towards the tttf because that's what Stephen recommended. Has anyone used Hogan's Fescue mix? How happy are you with it? I've always heard where kbg is the best so it's hard not to want to go with it but I've read the the tttf has come a long way. I don't need the best lawn in the state but I want a lush dark green lawn. I was originally going to go with maybe Moonlight, Bewitched, Midnight, and maybe one other.

Either way, should I just wait until fall to seed it all or how much would it hurt to do a lighter than normal seeding now and again in the fall? It's getting to be a little late to plant and I know it's too late if I did go with kbg. I am mailing off a soil sample Monday so atleast I'd have time to make some amendments if need be. I figure if I wait til fall I might as well install irrigation. Our yard is roughly 9000 sq/ft so irrigation would be nice.

I kind of got to rambling but I guess I'm mainly wondering about Hogan's Fescue Mix + 10% kbg along with any other helpful tips. I couldn't find a picture of someone using Hogan's fescue mix. I tend to go overboard and all in on things so I don't want any regrets. I guess there's always Roundup tho.

[edenl01]

Here's a link to a TTTF renovation thread. This member does great work and his Reno turned out really cool and dark. I'm a Yankee so I have zero input on TTTF, I just remember the Reno by Othertime as being pretty sweet. He did do a KBG monostand in the front as well. Here's the link:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9025&p=299824&hili ... me#p299824

[STL]

If you're going all in, do the reno in the late summer/fall and start on soil amendments and prep until then. No experience with the Hogan mix, but if you go tttf, I would also include kbg. I'm going to overseed my last fall tttf reno with kbg this fall and include it on next my side and back yard renovations. The tttf looks great so far but wish I used some kbg for repairability and filling in holes.

[Marinegrunt]

Thanks for the link! His yard looks very nice. I noticed in a pic that he used Hogan Blend. That's exactly what I had been looking for.

I forgot to mention in my post above that I'm in Central IL so I can go either tttf or kbg. Looking at all of the amazing lawn pictures on here is making me want to do an elite kbg. Although, it looks like I'd still be happy with the Hogan tttf. Since I'm more than likely waiting until fall i still have a little time to decide.

Thanks again

[andy10917]

Because of the size of the seeds, a 90% TTTF with 10% KBG lawn is considered a 50/50 blend. You don't have to choose between TTTF and KBG - you can have some of the better qualities of both...

[nclawnguy]

If you're planning on getting irrigation, I would wait until that is done first. You're yard is going to get dug up a bit where your lines are going to go. That means weeds will be an issue in those spots. Some companies will lift the sod in those places and put back, but it will cost more.

[Marinegrunt]

After all the reading I've done I knew you all would recommend waiting until fall. I just had a glimmer of hope that it would be okay to do a partial seeding so we could have some grass this summer. Our yard was all dirt last summer. I should say mud because of all the rain last year in the Midwest. A few more months of dirt will be worth a better lawn tho.

Okay, so a tttf/kbg mix it is. I can't find what bluegrass Hogan mixes in with their tttf + kbg. They say it's their Hogan blend + 10% fairway blend. They also have a tttf + 20% fairway. I don't mind going more kbg since our yard gets decent sun if recommended. I just need some guidance for my first time reno. I can always do another once I'm more educated on seed.

Hogan's tttf blend has ls 1200, bullseye, cochise IV, and turbo. Not sure what kbg they add. I'll probably email and ask. From trying to decipher the ntep, and reading posts, what if I went with Falcon IV, Bullseye, Cochise IV, Bewitched, and either Midnight or Sudden Impact? Should I add another kbg? I might be better off just going with the Hogan plus 10 or 20% fairway. It seems like the cultivars I picked are decent but I'm really guessing and hoping. I'm not sure how compatible they are. There are probably better choices. It would be kind of neat choosing my own cultivars instead of using company mix tho. Seems like midnight is well liked. I chose bewitched because of the shade we get in a small portion of the backyard. I can always take down a few trees at the edge of the ravine if need be.

I'm probably over thinking it all but just want to make sure I start with decent seed and check it off my list. I'll then start soil amendments once I get the soil results back.

Thanks for the help.

[Mulchman]

I have used the Hogan TTTF blend with no KBG added and it looks very dark green. Last fall I used the aggressive nitrogen program (as detailed by Andy) and the dark color was amazing. The TTTF can look a bit rough after winter, but it greens up nicely in the spring if fed well in the fall and winterized properly. It holds up well in the summer and looks AMAZING in the fall.. thick and dark.

So yeah I would recommend going with the Hogan blend. No need to add the KBG unless you want the spreading ability for small bare spots. I just overseed every fall in certain areas if necessary.

[Marinegrunt]

Thanks Mulchman. Good to hear the Hogan tttf is dark green and thick. That's exactly what I was hoping to hear.

I think I do want some kgb for the repairability since we have kids and a dog. The kids aren't out tearing it up like they did when they were toddlers but we still somewhat use it.

I'll be anxious to see what the soil test reveals. We moved here about 16 months ago and I can say the previous owners didn't care for the weeds.... I mean lawn at all. This subdivision use to be cow pastures but that was probably 40 years ago. Soil seems okay but there are a decent amount of small rocks that were brought to the surface after leveling. I keep picking up what I can but when do you decide enough is enough?!!! Being a sloped lot the rain brings more put. That should slow down once I get grass growing tho.

[Tsmith]

Hogan Seed is good stuff...I sometimes wish I would have stayed with my mix of Hogans and KBG

[tlinden]

If its thin and money isn't an issue you could throw some down now knowing you'll redo in the fall. Sometimes you have to seed to prevent erosion so spring is better than ruts. At least thats what I'm telling myself after I seeded our hill lol.

All that aside though if you are here you will want perfection if you dont yet so might as well wait it out.

[Marinegrunt]

I emailed Hogan asking what kbg they use in their mix. Since I'm hearing good things about it I should probably just go with it. I know I'll be happy.

Ruts from erosion has definitely been an issue. I had a dirt yard most of last summer while I finished everything I needed. It just got too late to plant. I haven't mentioned to my wife that I plan on waiting until fall to seed. She still thinks there's gonna be grass soon. Maybe I'll throw down a few handfuls so I can tell her I seeded part of the lawn....haha

I always thought I kept a decent looking lawn before. I kept up on weeds and did the Scott 4 step. I never even realized so much more could be done. I just figured the lawn needed better seed. Now i know that's only part of it. When I do things I usually go a little overboard so just finding this forum is probably going to get me in trouble. Sounds like you can really go overboard with a lawn. I have really nice neighbors who keep trying to give tips on seeding. Their yards are probably average or a little above average. Not great color, not many weeds, but a couple yards are a little nicer than the others. But, they all use Tru Green. All 6 of them. I got better results at our old place using Scott's and weed b gone so I really can't wait til fall to get our lawn going using all of the great advice here. I'm really glad I found the forum before throwing some random mix down that I could buy from Menards.

[Marinegrunt]

I received a reply from Stephen at Hogan Seed. He didn't say what kbg's are in they tttf blend but said he could mix in some Nuglade at no extra charge. I don't believe they have Bewitched or maybe he just mentioned NuGlade since it'll stay the same price. Should I just buy the tttf and add my own Bewitched separately? Any opinions on if I should add a couple kbg's to it instead of only adding one? Still contemplating on just getting the Hogan Blend plus 10% kbg that they add and see how it turns out. I'm not afraid to kill it all off and reno next year.

I did get my soil sample ready. Going to mail it off tomorrow.

[turf_toes]

Hogan does not carry bewitched.

[Marinegrunt]

Thanks tt.... I kind of wondered when he mentioned the NuGlade. I've heard a few people say they couldn't tell them apart when they planted Bewitched and NuGlade together so I'd probably be okay with either or. I'm sure some of you could probably tell tho. I just want the best one for shade tolerance and whichever will go best with ls 1200, cochise, bullseye, and turbo.