An added point is during the high heat of summer you run the risk of burn-off of young grass (1-2 years old or less) if not watered and unfortunately 1" of water doesn't remain in the soil long and certainly not for 7 days: "...apply water to the lawn when it shows signs of water stress. A dark, bluish color; footprints that remain for some time after walking; and wilted, folded or curled leaves are indications that it is time to irrigate. Delay in watering at first signs of wilt can result in permanent damage" is a good guideline from NCSU. Also, over-watering can result in a fungus in high-heat times, so try to reach a happy medium and/or pick your poison.

For cornmeal 20lbs per 1,000 square feet is the recommended application rate however you can apply it as often as you want providing you don't completely cover the grass. At 20lbs per K you would only need 280 lbs assuming .33 acres (roughly 14k square feet) to do an application. I would imagine $20k worth of corn meal would cover your lawn several inches deep. I wouldn't worry near as much about the plantains as I would those violets. The violets will continue to spread and only get much worse if you don't kill them completely. Round Up is not expensive if you use the off brand version. Look for 41% Glyphosate. Tractor supply has their brand and is usually about $50 to $60 for a 2.5 gallon jug which is enough to spray several acres. WalMart also carries Eliminator brand for about $15 per quart. Glyphosate is going to be your best option to kill the violets but will kill anything green you spray it on.

>>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

That is strange that the FN came up so late, Teri. Mine has been up here in OKC since early spring, and is now about a foot high. I have lost FN before, though, in the 2nd year and had to replace it. It does reseed, but not invasively. Turk's cap is supposed to reseed a lot, so maybe you'll get some seedlings. A plant that I was totally surprised about was Flame Acanthus. Do you have that? It is a Texas native, hardy to zone 7. I grew some from seed last year and planted them out. No blooms, but I wasn't too shocked because some perennials don't bloom their first year from seed. It was one of my earliest plants to put on foliage - it is a shrub, so I didn't get a chance to cut it back and good thing. They leafed out just fine and are now in full foliage growth. Gets about 3-4' tall eventually, and both hummers and butterflies alike are attracted to the tubular orange-red blooms. I lost my Turk's Cap, too, but it really is only hardy to zone 7B. We had a very cold winter so I wasn't surprised. I'd think it would winter over in your area, though. The Eupatorium species I have no clue about. Susan Here is a link that might be useful: