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Too Late to Overseed in 5b Southern Ontario?

11 years ago

Hi Everyone,

First post here. I've been trolling the forum for a short time as I'm a new homeowner and even newer green thumb wanna-be.

I'm hoping it's not too late in the season to get my lawn ready for winter. Here's my plan so far:

Mow lawn shorter than the usual cut

Dethatch

Core aerate

Overseed (still unsure which seed to use)

Top dress (also not sure what to use for this step)

Fertilize (Some sort of new grass formula OR a wintercare product if I skip on the overseeding)

My front lawn is in fair shape, but has some thinner/dead patches and what appears to be a fair amount of thatch. Sun exposure is probably 70/30, sun/shade.

The back lawn has been a bit more trouble, since the yard had a pretty serious drainage issue which the previous owners completely neglected. We spent a good part of the summer putting in a french drain, which works like a charm, but we are still dealing with a weed infestation and one significant dead spot. Sun exposure is roughly 40/60, sun shade.

I guess my big question is, is it too late in the season to overseed? Are there certain types of grass that are more resilient to cold weather? I think I want mostly tall fescue, but I could be swayed.

Any advice on which seed I should use (or if I should just hold off on seeding until spring) and which top dressing/fertilizers would work best would be greatly appreciated!

I've already gained a lot of knowledge from this forum, and for that, I thank you all!

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Comment (1)

grass1950
11 years ago
Fescue will take up 2 weeks to germinate and KBG can take 3-4 weeks. Once germinated it will take the grass another two weeks or so before it is tall enough for the first mowing. It will take until at least the third mowing before plants have had enough time to store food and enough root mass is established to survive the winter. Turf grass growth slows aa the sun gets lower as the season changes. If your past experience with an exising lawn is that it no longer has needed mowing after X date and X date occurs before the new grass will reach a third mowing, I'd say it's too late to successfully seed. But then that is only useful if you have had a lawn in prior years in the same area as your new home. Otherwise your plan is good enough. You should check the NTEP for KBG that does well in areas with similar conditions.
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