Seed Express Tall Fescue?

bmoore2010

13 years ago

I'm looking at Seed Express' mixtures and am looking for some opinions! I need to seed 2 500 sq ft patches from recent excavation.

The Seed Express recommended blend based on zip 19087 is SS1000 blend (regardless of shade setting I choose):

"Contains equal parts Rebel IV, Inferno, Padre, Justice, and 2nd Millennium"

However, they have other grasses available to mix:

3rd. Millennium, Faith, Firecracker LS,Inferno, Rhambler

(why not 20% each of the above?)

The lawn will have fairly light traffic but I still like a nice thick lawn that can handle some kids kicking around in.

I'm fairly new to this and need to just do some areas which were recently dug up and plan on reseeding the entire lawn (or at the very least the rest of it)later in the year. As the lawn is currently dug up in several large spots I don't have time to do the soil sample this go around but will prepare better for the end of summer seeding, but the soil is heavy on the clay side. I'd prefer to stay away from sod if I can even though I know it's probably best at this point in the season - but I don't mind using this as a "test" to see if I actually like the grass...

I have done some reading but it's fairly overwhelming and I find it difficult to see what an actual seed blend would look like in the end. The 2 areas will get 5-6 hours of sun and 2-3 hours of sun per day.

Can anyone suggest a good TTTF blend? Or other nice blend options?

I know I'm probably not providing enough information so please let me know what I can do to be more helpful. Also any suggestions to help me along would be more than welcome.

TIA!

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Comments (4)

tiemco
13 years ago
I recently did a partial renovation (fall 2009) using a blend I created after analyzing the most recent NTEP trial results. My basic criteria was to get the best looking, finest bladed TTTF available. My mix was 40% Firecracker LS, 30% Faith, and 30% Cochise IV. I am very pleased with the results as the three cultivars look almost the same with regards to blade texture and color. You'll find most of the newer TTTF's color and texture to be similar, as they don't offer the variation found in KBG, but checking the NTEP results for color and texture similarities isn't a bad idea. All of the cultivars you mentioned are good ones, and score high in the NTEP trials. SSS sells good cultivars, and it just upgraded their TTTF selections. They are a bit pricey, but if you only need a pound or two of certain cultivars it's one of the few places that will sell it in such small amounts, but not the only place (I bought some of my seed from The Hogan Seed Company). For 1000 sq. ft you will only need about 8 lbs. of TTTF. Planting it now however will probably be a waste of money as the summer heat will be too much of a stress on young grass, as will fungal disease due to constant watering and fertilizing in hot/humid weather.
bmoore2010
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the great feedback. By finest blade, I assume you are referring to the thickness - not the quality? (Sorry!)

"Planting it now however will probably be a waste of money as the summer heat will be too much of a stress on young grass, as will fungal disease due to constant watering and fertilizing in hot/humid weather."

I totally understand. Aside from sod, is there another option to hold me over? I'd just like to have some ground cover until I can do things right later in the year when the timing is better.
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tiemco
13 years ago
Yes, I was referring to blade thickness.

If you want to put something down ryegrass would be the easiest and fastest to grow. Annual ryegrass will only last a season, which is nice since you might not want it in your lawn after a fall seeding, but it might have trouble this summer since it usually dies off in the heat as it was designed to do. Perennial ryegrass can inhibit growth of other grasses due to its allelopathic properties, so if you plant that you might want to kill it off before a late summer/early fall seeding.
john_in_sc
13 years ago
Another alternative is to contact the seed manufacturers for a local rep....

I did this based on the NTEP results in my area -- Jaclyn Seed pointed me to a local distributor about 30-miles away... They are an actual "Turfgrass" company who supplies sod farms, golf courses, local government highway departments, etc... They recommended a mix that they felt was the best suited to our area's soils, insect/disease pressure, and climate... The best part was that buying from them costs about 2/3 the price of buying seed from a local Home store... (And about 1/5 the price of Seed Express..)

He also sells fertilizers and amendments.. Their prices on these are considerably better than the local home stores... and since they routinely deliver in the area -- they will deliver for free!

I have an order with them scheduled for Mid August/Early September delivery...

Thanks

John

Seed Express Tall Fescue?

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tiemco

bmoore2010
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Seed Express Tall Fescue?

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tiemco

bmoore2010Original Author

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bmoore2010
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