K31 vs. Kentucky K 31

rober49

6 years ago

what's the difference between K31 & Kentucky K31 fescues vs tall turf fescue?

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Comments (5)

Tom
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Its the same thing- just called k-31 for short- but its short for 'kentucky'.
rober49
Original Author
6 years ago
how do y'all feel about pennington seed? lowes has a sale til mid march on 50# bags.
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What is So Terrible About K31?
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Comments (11)
All I can say is bag of K31 i planted in my backyard (my dogs Kingdom) when I first moved into my home about 4 years is the only thing that doesn't get disease or heat stress. I've since overseeded (and in some cases, I've seeded bare areas) with other TTTF and KBG, but they regularly die each summer from the transition zone heat and the abuse from the dog(s). I don't use fungicides or herbicides or insecticides in my backyard because of the dog. Backyard mainly gets Milorganite and water. While everything else does off, the K31 laughs and just grows another inch or two higher. Think about it: K31 is a pasture grass--/it's meant to have herds move across it, scalping it to the crown eating it, and then grow back. I'm sure it would survive a nuclear holocaust and even outlive the cockroaches. The only thing that seems to kill it is when my k9 digs a hole in the backyard heh. That being said, I would never use it on my front lawn. I use more "elite" TTTF in my front lawn, where I can baby it to ensure that it stays healthy. Again, I don't use chemicals in the backyard but the front yard I will bust out the weed killer and/or fungicide, when needed. Unlike my backyard, I have irrigation in the front yard. The babying of the TTTF in the front yard is what keeps it alive in the summer (whereas the TTTF in the backyard dies). The only thing that is decently competing what the K31 in my backyard is the hybrid bluegrass I put down about 2 years ago. (Thermal blue blaze) It didn't do much last year, but this year I've noticed it spreading like wildfire into the areas that have thinned out from the KBG and TTTF dying off on the backyard. In other words: K31 is superior for low maintenance lawns that get abuse. It's not a showcase lawn.
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Kentucky Bluegrass in Georgia at 11 months + pics
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Comments (37)
Auteck, I've been warned against afternoon "watering" as opposed to light "misting". Which one are you doing? I will try to get some updated pictures for you. heelsfan, I just came back from columbia, SC which is only 4 hours drive from here and what a difference in climate. It has rained here twice in the last 2 months yet yesterday in SC I got thunderstormed on 8 times in one day. It was like a rain forest. That is the kind of humid coastal plain weather that puts that tropical swamp grasses into high gear and we haven't had that here and we don't normally even get that kind of weather until August. If you're having or have had that kind of hot humid weather with temps in the mid 90's and above then that really isn't what I'm having to contend with. I did see some tall fescue that actually looked like it was in excellent shape though.
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Overseed error, kentucky 31
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Comments (9)
K31 is incredibly durable stuff, which is why it's used. On the up side, not much kills it. On the down side, not much kills it. Treatment conditions that would take it out would absolutely destroy your KBG. Certainty herbicide can take out K31 while at-least-mostly sparing your KBG, but the application rates are touchy and you're still going to damage your bluegrass. Other than that, painting or spot-spraying with glyphosate/Round Up is the only other option I'm familiar with that I know works. Then reseed with KBG (or encourage it to spread) in late summer.
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Kentucky 31
Q
Comments (8)
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.
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dchall_san_antonio
6 years ago
With grass seed you get what you pay for. What you are paying for is specific variety of seed AND the absolute minimum of Weed and Other Crop in the guaranteed analysis of the contents. 0.00% is the percentage you would pay the most for. Seed that you find on the shelf at the box stores will have numbers instead of zeros. You can find better grass seeds online. However, if you are going to seed in the spring, you may as well use cheap seed from the shelf. Spring and summer weeds are going to germinate along with your grass seed no matter how good the grass seed is. The best time for you, in St Louis, to seed a lawn is in early September when the summer heat has broken. That is a good time to use the expensive seed.

I think you already knew that K31 and Kentucky 31 were the same. Here's a little more info about those relative to TTTF. TTTF fescues are relatively improved over the K31 variety. K31 is considered to be a weed in the lawn perfectionist community. If you just want to keep the mud out of the house, use K31. If you are interested in having the lawn of the month, then get an improved hybrid fescue. The care is the same for either one, but the K31 is less attractive.
rober49
Original Author
6 years ago
I have no interest in a perfect lawn. I actually plant dutch white clover some some hybrid dandelions. i'm a beekeeper. dandelions are one of the 1st things to bloom in the spring & until it gets burned up by high temps clover is a steady forage crop for the bees. i'm looking for mud & erosion control. with 2 hounds this is a losing battle but I'm trying to keep the wife happy. i'll go ahead & buy the 50# bag for now ( $1.30 per pound ) & something better in the fall. hancock seed has some good seed. right now i'm going around the yard with a tamper knocking down mole tunnels. i've gotten pretty good at trapping moles but I had a clever one evade me for 2 months. finally got him last week. my yard has a little bit less than a 1% slope. rain enters mole tunnels on the high side & the tunnel can be 6-8" where the water exits. to help keep from tracking mud i'm also spreading a thin layer of straw to make a path to my vegetable patch & compost piles. after I spray weed killer next month would it help to run a disc before reseeding?
Tom
6 years ago
For what your needs are- Pennington should be fine. They offer some very basic type seeds in places like Lowe,s ...... for people who want better, they have some improved types, but usually available only on-line. For those of you who over seed with rye in the fall, never use Pennington rye on a nice bermuda lawn. It has all kinds of poa in it.

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K31 vs. Kentucky K 31

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Tom

rober49
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K31 vs. Kentucky K 31

Comments (5)

Tom

rober49Original Author

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rober49Original Author

Tom

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rober49
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rober49
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