Coated vs uncoated grass seed?

dodge trucker · #1 10-04-2018, 07:19 PM

Which is better and why?

J-Mech · #2 10-04-2018, 07:27 PM

Your choice. Seed is coated for a few reasons:
-Helps protect the seed from fungus, bugs and rot if it isn't planted at the right time.
-Makes it slick do it flows through a planter better

Basically it's just protection. Unless you are planting several acres or storing the seed for an extended time, you don't need it. Even if you have a large area to plant, I'd just buy what you need and seed it.

dodge trucker · #3 10-05-2018, 02:47 PM

I have some spots in my yard that died off due to the lack of rain, other was overtaken by crabgrass. I found and sprayed some quinchlorac and added some 2,4-D for good measure about 4 or 5 weeks ago, took out about half of the crabgrass.
I didn't grow up on a farm or within a nursery but have been told that September was the best time to plant/overseed a yard. So 2 weeks after the spray, I ran the power rake and then followed with the lawn sweeper chewed up the bare spots with the tiller (my ground is like concrete) brought in a couple of yards of pulverized dirt for the low and eroded spots and tossed a couple of bags of grass seed at it. I spread it on the whole yard. Grass is starting to come up on about half of the bare spots, finally got some rain early this morning, with more finally coming over the next few days. Some of my yard repair is in the ditch in front of the house on account of some idiot kids around here that don't care what is actually"road" in the winter and tore mine up last winter.

Anyways I found that Wal Mart by me had 2 big bags of grass seed (mostly fescue) on a clearance price for the season, so I picked one up. And it is coated, label says around 53% of the weight of it is in the coating.

fatboy621 · #4 10-06-2018, 08:56 PM

It depends on what the coating is. Scotts makes a seed that is coated called "watersmart", the coating will absorb and hold moisture helping the seed germinate. The best thing for seeding the yard is a good starter fertilizer and the right amount of water.

dodge trucker · #5 10-07-2018, 01:03 AM

this is the "Kentucky 31" label, (I take it) a private label Walmart brand.
Look at the label and see that the teeny tiny print says it is a Pennington product.
They had a few odd bags of "expert" brand fertilizer also left over, and it too was bagged by Pennington./ Not interested in a "Mopar vs Chevy" style debate between Scotts and Pennington but at least it is a brand I have heard of....

dodge trucker · #6 10-07-2018, 01:19 AM

been getting PLENTY of rain these last couple weeks, upstairs they are finally remembering that they forgot to water us since about late April.... and now its catch up time.
I have a few spots of ditch bank that I have seeded now twice in the past couple weeks, this got the majority of my new pulverized dirt load I brought in, because of damage done by some nimrod idiot neighbor kids last winter... and the dirt and seed seems to be holding there pretty well.... I seeded there heavy 2 weekends ago and raked it in with a leaf rake (dirt was soft, so it didn't take much to mix it into the top soil) and I threw out more of this new coated seed there just yesterday. no new sprouts there from 2 weekends ago... some places in my yard its going great. while in other places, its like I never seeded... and yes I did apply starter fertilizer to all of the bare spots right after seeding 2 weeks ago.... I just found another
bag and 1/2 of Scotts starter fertilizer in the garage that I didn't know I had out there.... I will get that applied to the bare spots when I get a break in the rain. when I did it a couple weekends ago, I overseeded the whole yard and followed directly after with some of the same starter fertilizer that I just found.

but I have a flat spot off the corner of my garage that won't hold dirt to save my life... about all the new dirt I put there, is now mixed into my stone drive along with most of my new seed....
there is a mudhole under my Wrangler in this (mostly) gravel drive, that is growing like mad.... and I didn't plant any seed, or add any dirt or till the ground up there....

If this don't work then my next step is a 100% burndown courtesy of Roundup, then till it all under/ not just the bare spots and start from square 1. I will beat this crabgrass. I am tired of the fight though. I wouldn't mind a bit of clover, but unfortunately anything I spray, that is the 1st thing listed as being killed. so if I want to keep the Dandelions, Creepy Charlie and crabgrass away, I guess I can't have clover, either.

though I can count on 1 hand, how many dandelions I have had the last 2 years in my yard.... hope that THAT continues.

I know that next spring my yard will green up and look beautiful, mid to late June will be telling, as to whether I won.

fatboy621 · #7 10-07-2018, 05:53 PM

I won't argue the " ford vs Chevy" with you. I use nothing but Scotts products, could be the fact I work for them and get a discount and product for free sometimes. I do know that old seed will not germinate as well as fresh. Some times we get out dated seed for free and I have had good results with it I just put it on heavy. My lawn is in very good shape, but still fight crab grass along the neighbors property lines. I have lots of big oak and hickory trees that suck a lot of moisture out of the ground. Under the hickory trees the grass is kind of thin no matter what I try. Just keep at it and you will win the fight with the crab grass. A good pre-emergent need spring will help a lot it just won't kill any crab grass that is all ready established.

dodge trucker · #8 10-07-2018, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatboy621

I won't argue the " ford vs Chevy" with you. I use nothing but Scotts products, could be the fact I work for them and get a discount and product for free sometimes. I do know that old seed will not germinate as well as fresh. Some times we get out dated seed for free and I have had good results with it I just put it on heavy. My lawn is in very good shape, but still fight crab grass along the neighbors property lines. I have lots of big oak and hickory trees that suck a lot of moisture out of the ground. Under the hickory trees the grass is kind of thin no matter what I try. Just keep at it and you will win the fight with the crab grass. A good pre-emergent need spring will help a lot it just won't kill any crab grass that is all ready established.

yeah employee discount is always good.... as I found out with machinery sometimes "free" is too expensive, ha ha.... what would you suggest as a "good pre emergent" being that you work for who you do? Does my region of the country matter for what I put down and when? I'm in NE IL, about an hour south of Chicago. I know it does for other aspects of application and growing..... I have gone to the FS co op in past years and gotten some of their deluxe grass seed mix and had decent luck....

I'm done throwing seed down now til after leaf harvest (haven't even started that yet) but I was thinking 1 more overseed application over the whole yard after that....
and I have plenty left in that bottle of quinchlorac for post emerge next season should I need it... need to apply it sooner than I did this year though for sure... I didn't have it or know what to use that early in the season this year.

Being that you are an "inside guy", what is in scotts "Halts" that they push as a pre emergent?

usually I apply plenty of nitrogen based fertilizer each year, this year I didn't because we were so dry/ I was afraid of it acting like a burn down with our lack of rain.... so I instead attacked the "weed" side, instead of the "feed" side.... every few years I'll put down this stuff I have that is fortified with iron as well as nitrogen.... every year besides this one, I have been putting down a couple of applications of the local big box farm stores private label "equivalent" to Turf Builder throughout the summer ...… and my grass goes crazy shortly afterwards.
I haven't had any soil tests done but I figured Id better between the drought and residual left from past years, give the lawn a break this season that is just ending. the only "fertilizer" I have used this season (yes this is a Scotts product) is a healthy dose of their starter fertilizer, a broad application a couple weeks ago on the whole yard and this morning a reinforcing shot of it on the freshly planted bare spots.... and it is POURING out now about 12 hours later.....

fatboy621 · #9 10-08-2018, 08:54 PM

Pendimethalin, You should be able to get it at the co-op store. Be careful it is very yellow and will stain just about anything it touches. It is best to get it down very early before the soil gets above 50 deg F. Seeds will start to germinate around 55 or so.

I am far from "the inside guy" I only have a basic knowledge of the chemistry in our products. Now if you need to know how to repair the equipment, I'm your guy. I have worked there for close to 25 years in the maintenance dept. as a mechanic and electrician.

dodge trucker · #10 10-08-2018, 11:24 PM

That pendi-whatever, is the name of the coating on that particular seed??