I have a fairly heavily wooded lot in NJ. I've always seeded right after the summer weather breaks. I've found that the grass is always ready for the leave onslaught. Just make sure you do the leaves at least once a week. The grass will stay alive and look decent, but not great. It will fill out in the spring provided it has good sun exposure. My biggest problem is that by end of summer much of my grass in my front yard is not in great shape because of too much shade. There are some spots that I feel will never be successful.

Here in NC they say to seed around Labor day or after, so you should be good to go. One thing about dethatching though is if you already have fescue you really shouldn't need to do it unless you've had large areas that died and have thatch layers covering the ground. Otherwise, you're just gonna be pulling up good grass plants...not good. You might find the link helpful also. Here is a link that might be useful: linky

I am NOT a fan of aerators! I don't like the air mixed in the water as it takes longer to wash the shampoo out of your hair and when rinsing the toothpaste out of your mouth, your mouth is half full of air instead of water. I'm not supposed to tell anyone but my plumber took my aerator out of my bathroom sink upon my request. The water comes out like it does in a garden hose. LOVE it! No, it doesn't splash. Not saying that it wouldn't splash in someone else's, I don't know, but it doesn't splash with mine. The water is smooth and "solid" water. I asked him to take it out of my tub faucet too. He did but only to show me that I wouldn't like it. I don't recall WHY I didn't, but he was right, I didn't. It does seem like he removed something to improve the flow (not AS aerated). I've had people come out of the bathroom and comment on the water flow from the sink's faucet and how much they liked it :) Monica

Hibiscus Seed Capsules Seed saving is a lot of fun and it's easy to do! This is how I do it....and these are general and universal instructions. Mother Nature is pretty easy to figure out if we keep with the idea that SHE needs to keep it simple too. Take a good look at a flower. When the flower fades leave it where it is, do not remove it. Eventually at the base of the flower there will be some swelling. This is where the seeds are forming. Do keep the petals where they are and let them fall naturally...I don't touch it or bother it, I just leave it be. The base of the flower will swell even more and soon you'll notice that the flower stem and the swollen base are turning a papery-brown. This is a very good indication that the seeds are almost fully ripe....in effect the plant has achieved it's goal of reproduction for that flower...it has produced viable seeds and no longer needs to expend energy to keep it alive, so it doesn't sends it's sugars and water up to the stem anymore. That's why it's turning papery-brown. It's no longer being supplied with nutrients and so it's dying back. The drying action will continue and as the swollen pod continues to dry you will see it start to open....some pods will open in a starry design, plants like poppies create a ridge of tiny little circles near the top of the pod....they make themselves into something like a little "salt-shaker" (sorta...but you could imagine it.) All flower pods will open in some manner when the seeds are ripe....it's so they can disperse their seeds. When you see that the pods and stems are both brownish in color, AND you notice that the pods are starting to open you can then collect the pods. I place the pods on an open plate or in open bowls in a safe place where they won't be disturbed and let them continue to dry naturally for another week or two. Then I remove the seeds from them. To assure that the seeds are thoroughly dry I let them dry on an open plate for a few more days...I even will stir them every now and then to make sure the bottom layers will get a chance to dry too. Storing the dried seeds is easy. I use paper envelopes. I make my own with my printer, but you could use coin envelopes or even mailing envelopes will do fine too. Label them so you know what's inside. Store them where they'll be away from heat or direct sunlight. I use cardboard file boxes to keep my seeds in and those do just fine. Another good place to keep them is in your dining room drawers. Those are dark places and your dining room is sure to be safe from extreme fluctuations in temperature. Good luck with your seed saving! Trudi