Getting close to that time of the year again, when we must replenish our grass so that we may have something to cut with our Cubs. My front yard takes a beating during the summer as it's oriented towards the West , and so it receives full sun in 100 degree heat from around 11:00am until the sun sets. Needless the say, tall fescue quickly goes dormant. I expect some of it will just die, especially younger grass planted last year. Thus, another round of overseeding will be in order. This year I have chosen to use
Speedway Tall Fescue , because it came out #1 in the Raleigh NC NTEP tests, and also because I like to have genetic variety in my lawn. In addition, this year I am also going to try to mix Hybrid Bluegrass in with the Tall Fescue, and since there's a lot of direct sun, I have picked
Spitfire KBG, a hybrid Texas and Kentucky Bluegrass also produced by Seed Research of Oregon which is supposed to better withstand full sun and heat. And since it's KBG, it should spread via rhizomes and fill in any problem areas next year.
With only about 4 weeks to go, I took some of the seed and planted it in a plastic container so I can become familiar with germination times and rates. The seed was spread on top and not covered by or pushed into the soil. Once again, mere soil contact and water were sufficient. These are the results after 5 days.
As expected , the KBG is slower to germinate, but it is starting to.
After 5 days, the tall fescue is germinating nicely. First signs of germination could be seen after 3.5 days.
The roots on the tall fescue are impressive after just 5 days. That's about 3 inches in length. Even so, I can't help but feel that the Bullseye variety I used last year had even more vigorous root growth.
If all goes well I intend to tease the neighbors by planting a golf flag on my lawn
.