>>KBG was less drought tolerant than TTTF. It is, very much less drought tolerant. KBG will show wilting long before TTTF will. KBG is more drought resistant than TTTF. It simply goes dormant, waiting for the rain to return. TTTF, left dry, will eventually just up and die. So will KBG, but 1/4" of water every 2 weeks is enough to keep the roots alive. Dormancy can continue for 12 weeks, but losses will start to mount. 8 is the usual maximum given, although I've seen it go a lot longer than that with that incidental watering every now and again. That having been said, my established KBG has been watered twice this year. So much of this is related to how you treat the grass and how you treat your soil. I've pushed mine to very high organic matter levels, which store water like nobody's business and won't let it go easily to evaporation (but a root can exert enough ionic pull to grab the water with no problems). I attached pictures of my lawn (follow the link to my blog as you can see the entire history if you wish to peruse back that far). It's hardly shabby, but this is not a good year. We've ping-ponged between bone dry and soaking wet. >>I water just enough to keep it alive. From March to May it was absolutely beautiful deep dark green but right now it's much lighter and even tan in some spots. Ditto. Keep in mind, I'm somewhat north of you, just a wee little bit. I'm not sure if KBG would be a good choice for North Carolina. >> I will need to overseed this fall so would overseeding KBG into the TTTF lawn be a good idea? Would this eventually lead to a full KBG lawn? I'm open to ideas. The two don't argue with each other directly, so that's not an issue. The KBG, if well-fed (we're talking 4 to 6 pounds of nitrogen per thousand square feet per year) will fill in holes as the TTTF dies out from age. That process isn't fast; there are certainly thirty year old TTTF tufts out there, I've seen some. Growth rates will differ, almost certainly, so that may drive you crazy. Color is going to differ, and the look of the grasses is very different as well. I never felt that tri-mix (fescue, rye, KBG) was a good choice for anybody, but they do that to get one grass to grow in an area, at least. Again, I'm not sure about KBG that far south. Lexington, from the map, feels like it should be OK-but-borderline, and your altitude (800 feet+) speaks well for putting in KBG. Current temperatures and overall average temperatures are fine for it, and KBG when established in good soil should stay green all winter (mine does up here). Rainfall levels are perfectly acceptable. By the way, you have rainfall moving in. Best grab an umbrella for later this evening. If you absolutely forced me to pick three modern cultivars, I'd go with Midnight, Prosperity, and Boutique. You can freely substitute Midnight II or Midnight Star for Midnight, they're all close enough. Those are three extremely dark cultivars, so consider that before you do this. When mature, they'll have that thundery dark green look that my lawn has in spring and fall (all grasses lighten in summer).. Also, tolerance for weather their first year isn't as good as it will be later on (true of any grass), so watering the first summer will be required. I never recommend dormancy the first year if it can be avoided, and if it can't, keep it short. The grass doesn't have the root depth and resources it will later on. Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog, With Photos

Dealer's choice! I think it'd be a good idea to go somewhat higher than average, but not quite that high. Call it 20 pounds per thousand square feet, or 1 bag to cover 1,800 square feet. But if you want to apply at 1 per 1,250, that's great. 1 per 2,500 is also great. What I'm saying here is that it's really hard to mess up when using Milo. Any of the above rates will work very well, and whatever you prefer is absolutely fine.

Unless you sprayed herbicide or pre-emergent, the soil is not the reason your seeding projects have failed. I have a clump of grass that has been growing on top of cement for the past year. After seeding last fall I found a clump of thatch and threw it in a corner on the cement. Since I had already spread seed it had a few seeds in it, so it grew grass. I left it there just to see how far it will go. It gets no water, no fertilizer, it simply exists. If grass can grow on cement, it can grow on whatever soil you have. In order for your seeding project to succeed, you need a few things: Quality seed - stuff you find at Lowe's is low quality. Seed to soil contact - remove the layer of thatch and dead grass so the seed can get in direct contact with the soil. Water - water 4-5 times a day 5-10 minutes at a time to keep the seed continually moist. Heat - Seed when air temps are still around 80, it helps speed up germination. Starter fertilizer - to give the seedlings a boost. Do all of the above and your seeding project will be a total success. KBG can take up to 3 weeks to germinate, so make sure you can sustain the frequent watering for that long. The crabgrass is going to die anyway at first frost.

You should wait to fertilize until you've mowed the lawn at least once, or 30 days have passed since you put seed down.. Which ever comes first. Mow when it's 3 inches tall, and cut it to 2.5 inches. After that, I would not mow it until its 3.5 to 4 inches tall, and I would not cut it below 3 inches. I would only fertilize 0.5 lb of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft the first time you feed the new lawn. For example, if you have a 12.5lb bag of 32-0-10 fertilizer, there are 4 lbs of nitrogen (12.5 x .32 = 4) in the bag. If your lawn was 8000 sq ft, you could apply the entire 12.5 lb bag and achieve the desired rate of 0.5lb/1k sqft. (4lbs / 8ksqft = 0.5 lb N per 1ksqft) If your lawn was 4000 sq ft, you would apply half the 12.5lb bag and achieve the desired rate of 0.5lb/1k sqft (6.25 lbs of fertilizer * 0.32=2 lbs N.. 2 lbs nitrogen / 4ksqft = 0.5 lb N per 1ksqft) if your lawn was 2000 sqft., you would apply only a quarter of the bag --- 3.125lb. (3.125*.32=1 lb N.. 1 on N / 2k sqft = 0.5 lb N per 1k sqft) After you have mowed four times, you could think about applying a weed control product. Use a pump sprayer and spot treat. It's pointless to spray entire yard if ther weeds are only in some areas. about 4 weeks after you have fertilized at the half pound rate, you could probably doma follow up using a full pound rate.