You can seed now, but you gotta do it soon (depending on where you live). Try a dwarf type tall fescue,( like Bonsai 3000).......much more attractive and less mowing.

K31 is considered a weed by some. Others are happy with it. It is a coarse, hardy, clumping grass with good drought tolerance and if all you want is something green, it would be fine. If you want a fescue that looks good, use a turf type tall fescue (tttf) instead. On the label look for high germination rates (90% or above if you can find it), no noxious weed seed, and very little "other crop" seed. And check the date for when it was tested. Fescue germinates in 1-2 weeks.

It's really, REALLY late, and with Tropical Storm Joaquin being a potential threat for early next week, that's a consideration as well. Although the latest predictions seem to indicate that it'll pass well east of you, so that's good.

K-31 is unbelievably durable, but many (like me) consider it unbelievably ugly. Most other fescues feature reasonable durability with a more attractive grass plant.

If you can get it to grow and all you want is green go for it.

I started out with some custom expensive grass seeds, ended up with Fescue 31. I now have a green yard, though I believe it is most what people consider a problem, crabgrass. Its green, better that the red clay.

Most of the seed companies offer Tall fescue products better than k-31 . Its also best to with a product that has a blend of Tall fescue types, instead of one single type . A blend is usually more disease tolerant. Disregard what i said about Bonsai- as this type is not great in your climate zone.

Thanks...I know there are a lot of better cultivars out there - I use some great seed on my own lawn, but just wasn't sure if K31 would look decent from the street since the lawn isn't really seen up-close. Since the consensus seems to be that it's ugly, I'll find something a little better.

Morph, I know I missed the window of ideal seeding time, so am I better off putting it down now and hoping for the best, or very early spring (and also hope for the best). Note: my store is about 1 mile from the Atlantic Ocean, that should help moderate temps a tiny bit right?

For fescues, you might just sneak it out yet, but losses next summer are likely to be kind of high. It's better than nothing, though, and simply plan to reseed it in late August of next year. Rye would also be OK at this time, but it's really too late for bluegrass.

Any really bad areas that still remain at the end of fall can be dormant-seeded either before your first snowfall (if we get one this year) or in February just as temperatures start to rebound from their low point and head upward again (usually around February 15th-25th for PA/NJ).

Thanks. Last question - should I try to get the seed down before this monsoon hits or wait a few days until the heaviest rains are over?

I bought the business last fall and inherited a mess of a lawn. And in trying not to water too frequently I stressed it like crazy (because of course the previous owner watered like 4-5 days a week) and only made the problem worse. I did plan to seed this year around labor day but as you might image, business is very seasonal here and with such a hot and dry summer business was booming so I didn't have any time to devote to lawncare. A good problem to have.