https://www.walterreeves.com/lawn-care/fescue-planting-1-2-3/

Now is a good time . High of 80 and low of 60 . I have heard kentucky 31 has more fungus resistance.

Young grass also more suseptible to fungus

There is a lot to cover here. You have already made some big mistakes. Covering with straw is probably the least valuable lesson from what you have done. I'll try to cover them as I see them, and in the end I'll acquiesce to your choice of fescue and go over what Walter Reeves suggests.

My first concern is why you would want to grow fescue in Alpharetta? The number 1 rule of gardening is to grow plants adapted to your area. You are located in the southernmost part of the transition zone where you can grow both cool season grasses (like fescue, rye, and Kentucky bluegrass) and/or warm season grasses (like bermuda and St Augustine). However, if you believe we have a global warming session on our doorstep, the transition zone will be moving north leaving the cool season grasses suffering in the southern parts of the current transition zone. I just think you would be more successful with a warm season grass over the long run.

Be that as it may you have already screwed things up for the long run. You rototilled the soil last spring. Assuming it was not tilled by a tractor, that means the profile of untilled soil under the fluffed up soil is uneven. Why? Because it is impossible to hold a free standing tiller at a constant 4 or 6 inch depth. When the machine hits a root, rock, dry spot, pipe, or anything hard, it bucks up out of the ground leaving an underground high spot. Most of those spots cannot be tilled down. At the same time when the tiller hits a wet or sandy spot, the tiller bogs down and starts digging to China. This leaves an underground low spot. So the tiller causes an underground profile of hills and holes. If you level the surface for planting/seeding, then you will have a varying depth of fluffy soil as it matches the hills and holes underneath and is scraped level on top. What happens next? As soon as the fluffy soil gets any weight on it or gets wet, it starts to settle. When you add roots, worms, and reestablish the soil’s microbial biology, the soil continues to settle unevenly...for 3 long years. It starts off slightly bumpy and gets worse the entire time. You’ve already done that damage. The only way I can think of to fix that, since you’re renovating anyway, would be to hire a landscaper with a box blade and ripper tines to try and even off the underground hills and holes. Here’s what that machine looks like. For a home sized lot it should take an experienced tractor driver a few hours to finish the job. If tree roots are a problem you’ll still have issues, because even the ripper tines will not pull up trees. So I mention this because it looks like you’re about to double down on rototilling. As you likely read in the Walter Reeves article, he suggests rototilling, too. Historically rototilling for a lawn is new advice. The gardening books of the last century do not recommend digging up the soil. I might add that Mother Nature never rototills Her soil prior to planting grass. Nor does She drop straw on it. I’m not saying She is perfect, though, because She loves Her some crabgrass.

Last May you started your renovation. The only two worse months for renovating a cool season lawn are June and July. For your area August is a little early, but every single month after that is better than May. Why is that? The heat is one reason as you discovered. You may have also noticed you got a lot of crabgrass. Crabgrass is a summer annual plant which sprouts from seed when it gets daily rain or irrigation. If the crabgrass does not get daily water you can usually avoid the problem. But if you are trying to seed a lawn in the spring, there is no avoiding getting crabgrass into the mix. Well, there is a way and Walter Reeves touches on it. I’ll get deeper into it later.

Before I get into the Walter Reeves part, S Rod suggests he heard that Kentucky 31 fescue has high fungus resistance. You did not mention disease as one of your issues, so I’m not sure where that came from. K-31 fescue is more of a forage type of fescue than a turf type of fescue. In other words, it’s ugly. If you just want to keep the mud out of the house, K-31 will do it. It you want people to look at your lawn and say, “Nice!” then get one of the modern, turf-type tall fescues (TTTF).

Here’s what Walter Reeve’s says in his article. My thoughts are interspersed behind three tildas.

Seeding a New Lawn

Optimum air temperatures for tall fescue germination are 68 to 77°F and soil temperatures greater than 60°F.

· Kill all weeds by spraying the area with glyphosate two weeks before planting.

~~~This is an excellent start. The reason is to kill all the living weeds prior to planting. However, there are literally thousands of seeds ready to germinate once you start watering lightly every day. So to take this step to the next level, start watering lightly every day for a week prior to spraying with RU. Then for the week following, continue watering lightly to pick up and germinate the weeds which might take 2 weeks to germinate. Had you done this in the spring you might have avoided any crabgrass issues...which you also did not mention being a problem, but it usually is for renovating in the spring in your area.

· Mix in a layer of soil conditioner one inch thick. Till the soil thoroughly to a depth of six inches.

~~~Good God don’t do any of this. First, what the heck is soil conditioner? Nobody sells bags of soil conditioner, so what’s he talking about? The only conditioner I can think of is compost. Everyone knows what compost is, so if that’s what he’s talking about, say it. Still, don’t do it. Compost is extremely overrated. I used to be a huge proponent of compost and compost tea, but I’ve moved on to organic fertilizer as a replacement. Anyway you don’t need an inch of more stuff and you don’t need to rototill.

· Rake the area smooth, removing rocks, clumps and grassy debris.

~~~Sure. Whatever. Get rid of the dead stuff left from the RU. NOW is the time to try and get this as level as you can keeping in mind that the fluffy soil you still have from last May is still settling.

· Roll the area with a water-filled roller to reveal low spots.

~~~This and the next step are an attempt to undo the damage caused by the rototiller.

· Fill low spots with soil.

· Scatter 5 to 8 pounds of seed per 1000 square feet.

· Cover very thinly with wheat straw (1 bale per 1000 square feet).

~~~Instead of covering with straw, now is the time to roll the seed down to ensure it is making good contact with the soil. This is something Mother Nature does. When She sends a herd of grazing animals into a prairie to feed, the animals knock down the seed and walk on it. Then they press the seed into the surface with their hooves. Interestingly the pressure they exert on the soil is about the same as the pressure you and I exert when we walk on the soil. So the idea is to use a water filled roller for large areas. For small areas you can simply walk on the new seed and press it down. The soil should be dry for this.

Walter Reeves on watering...

Watering Schedule after Seeding

· Set out several paper cups while you irrigate to help determine how long it takes to apply an inch of water.

~~~Huh???

· Apply one inch of water immediately after planting.

~~~Conventional wisdom says to water lightly just enough to moisten the top of the soil where the seed is. The problem with watering a full inch right away is erosion and wash out of the seed. Remember there are no plants or roots to slow down the movement of water.

· Apply only enough water daily (or as regulations allow) to prevent the top one inch of soil from drying until seedlings are 1.5 inches tall.

~~~I’d say the top 1/4 inch is all that’s needed. You want to avoid sogging up the soil. If it ever gets mushy, that’s wayayay too much water. Just keep it moist for 10 days to 2 weeks (for fescue). You should have 80% germination in 2 weeks. If you use a mix of rye, fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass, then this is a special case, common, but special. Let me know if you plan a mix of grasses.

· After that, apply one-fourth inch of water every third day for nine days.

~~~Once you get 80% germination you can back off on watering. That’s what he’s saying here. I kinda like this.

· Next, apply one-half inch of water every fifth day for ten days.

~~~ Yes, taking the backing off still farther. I like this.

· After this establishment period, apply one inch of water per week for the rest of the growing season. Water deeply one day then wait seven days to water again. This is called deep and infrequent watering. I have much more to say about that if you’d like to hear/read it.

~~~This would be for new seed/sod only. For next year the watering will be different. Next spring your fall-seeded lawn will be mature with roots which will make it through the summer heat.

· There is no need to water if rainfall supplies the correct amount.

~~~Absolutely!!!

~~~

When the grass is 5 inches tall you can mulch mow it down to the highest setting on your mower. Then mulch mow weekly after that. At this point you can use a fertilizer of your choice. Lots of people like starter fertilizer, but they usually apply it too soon. Mother Nature’s seeds come already packed with the nutrients needed for about a month of growing. I like organic fertilizers for many reasons, which are currently off topic, but if you want my thoughts on that I can help.

I seeded last week, a mix of Pennington and Scotts, both fescue mixes. I added the Scotts since it is white coated and easier to see during distribution and on the ground. I have a heck of a time seeing the dark green Pennington seed on the ground.

There is already a blanket of sprouted seed everywhere. Tomorrow is 7 days.