How long to naturally Seed Grass?

I have a lot of weeds in the grass and I have been cutting it very high and letting it grow longer. I'm seeing a lot of seeded shoots (is that correct term?)

In any event how long before those are viable to grow new grass?

I think you'll find the weeds winning this one. Weeds don't like being mowed, grass could care less how often it's mowed. Broadleaf weeds, mow low and often and they'll go away then the grass can take over.

Spray Amine 2-4-D on it. Weeds always win.

Kevin

The weeds will seed before the grass, that's why they recommend killing the weeds two weeks before overseeding or wait until fall when the broadleaf weeds tend to die off.

Grass seed will not seed itself, it has its man parts cut off due to scientific genetics. KBG Blue will spread with stolens. RYE seed and over seed. Looks like you need to watch lawn care nut when he lived in Indiana on the old you tubes.

My experience has been just the opposite.
Weeds grow when there is no cover on the soil. Short thin grass leads to exposed soil leads to weeds. That is, where there is not thick lush grass, weeds will take over. Mow too low and expose the soil to too much light and weeds fill the gap. In our village they placed nice lush sod in a small park. An elderly gentleman was given the task of caring for that sod. He scalped the grass constantly exposing the roots of the grass and the soil to the sun, and the weeds took over expensive sod in three years. They just did a major spray on it to kill the weeds. This was lush expensive sod mind you.

Depending on the grass type, of you even know what it is, the seeds can often be sterile. They grass seeds also need to mature to be viable. Determining the type of grass (not the brand name but the type) can inform you on cutting height. Fescues and turf-type tall fescues typically like taller cutting and do not perform well unless they are thick. Taller can often mean thicker.

Be wary of cutting short after letting go to seed because the stems often get hard and tough. If grass is 6”-8” tall cut off an inch. Wait two days, cut another inch. Do this over several days paying attention to the color of the grass. You may need to increase the number of days in-between cuttings to allow it more time to heel. It may take a week or two to get the grass down to proper maintenance height. Too much color change too quickly is a big indicator of cutting off too much too soon. Done properly over time you can keep the grass green and lush while you are lowering it.

Often times fescues are used in most lawns. I personally do not like them. I recently completely renovated a lawn with a blend of TTF and Perennial Rye. I like the rye better. These can be blended with other eyes as well. They will go dormant in heat, but recoolerate nicely and are dark green, tolerate lower mowings and foot traffic well. They also grow thick and can be soft in the feet with the right variety.

Bluegrass generally re-seeds itself nicely. Not so much with fescues. Though some don’t agree I also like fine fescues. Also, Southern States seeds has been developing some nice lawn seed that needs far less cutting because it is bred to grow very slowly.


I am a LCN follower on YouTube and have been a long time. Good call Holdencoal.

Richard S. wrote: ↑

Mon. May. 25, 2020 7:03 am

I have a lot of weeds in the grass and I have been cutting it very high and letting it grow longer. I'm seeing a lot of seeded shoots (is that correct term?)

In any event how long before those are viable to grow new grass?

Viability can be questionable. See my above post. Some bluegrass re-seeds readily, as do other grasses. That said, some grass, especially hard fescues (think KY-31 types) “can be” and often are sterile, though not always.

Your best bet would be a soil test, kill existing lawn, scalping, removing waste, then core aerating (can be skipped if you use a slit seeder and I think I would skip it using the slit seeder) and heavily over seeding using a slit seeder in at least 3 directions preferably 4, then letting current grass grow tall again to provide shade to the soil, but it’s getting late unless you are prepared to water through some heat. It can be done but will take deep water early in the mornings. You need to get in this over-seeding ASAP. Triple the recommended seeding rate. Really throw her down. You can also wait until late August early September to do this.

I have had the best luck with Pennington grass seeds. Not affiliated with anyone. Just completely renovated a few lawns. Scott’s got me 3 times over a spring season, a fall season, and another spring season. I finally said enough. They sent a rep out, went over my steps of renovation, said I did everything by the book and reimbursed me for nearly $400 in bad seed.

Your local landscape supply like Site One landscaping will have bulk seed cheap compared to elsewhere. I buy my bulk seed at Pennington near me. Their Pro-turf coated grass seed is the shizzle.

Old lawns do get tired. Newer varieties are far superior in color, softness, density, vigor, heat and cold tolerance, as well as can be more tolerant of foot traffic. Buy good seed and “thrower down”. —-The Lawn Care Nut

Hoytman wrote: ↑

Tue. May. 26, 2020 10:21 pm

Some bluegrass re-seeds readily, as do other grasses.

There was a lot of seeds, my question was in regards to how long between appearing and how long they need to mature on the stem.

Your best bet would be a soil test, kill existing lawn, scalping, removing waste,

I'm not getting crazy with this. It's a pretty big lawn and I have hundreds of other things to do to improve. I'm looking for things I can do passively to improve it. It's not terrible but there are some spots overgrown with weeds. I'm thinking maybe hitting them with some weed killer that doesn't kill grass.

As far as leaving it high it appears this strategy may be working where the weeds are light and sporadic.

Without seeing the seeds there is no simple answer. They just need enough time to reach maturity. Then they will have to dry. Drying works best typically on the plant during dormancy, but in May/June this isn't going to happen with cool season grasses. Warm season grasses aren't even up yet except maybe the deep south. The seeds will have to dry after being cut...and then you have to pray they are mature enough and not sterile as well. Otherwise, be patient if it's a BG because it can spread by stolon as well and tall frequent mowings and some good fertilizer can help here.

There are a couple ways to tackle the weeds. Spraying can work well, but often impedes (think 2,4,D, etc.) seedling germination and/or vigor after germination making growth slow at best and is not typically recommended.

You can flame weed a couple times in those areas with a back pack flamer found at hardware stores. Not often used or recommended, works and over looked for small areas. May not kill the roots right away, and may take a couple times to kill the root. Can be a good choice for those not wanting to use sprays.

You can slice the weeds off at the surface, let them grow again a little, and keep slicing them off with the tool that works best for you. It's a slow process, but eventually the roots will die because they need the sunlight from the leaf exposure to survive.

Sounds like you'd be better suited just using a simple hand pump sprayer, a cheap one from TSC, and hand spot spray round-up or glyphosate and just kill the weeds and a little surrounding grass. IF you're careful you won't kill too much of the grass. This is a cheap and good way to fill in spots without spending lots of money on chemicals and/or vast amounts of grass seed. Remove the dead material. Apply seed and cover with a good 1/4" thick layer of peat moss from your local Lowe's store...the big square bales. Holds moisture much better than straw, or use straw, but beware straw will likely introduce more weed seeds as well. Re-seeding or over seeding in spring works best when not applying weed killers or pre-emergent. Of course, spot spraying with a handheld sprayer shouldn't hurt and sounds like it could work for you just using glyphosate.

Once grass is established spot spraying, even with a huge pull-behind sprayer for a big yard is better than pray-and-spray-ing the entire yard unless it's really bad...weed only killers, that is.

It's only good to look as good as the work, effort, and money put into the process, whether your an average home owner or a particular one. Either way can work, just don't expect a golf course thick and green lawn if your heart isn't into putting more than average efforts into it. Whatever you do, it only has to suit you.

The grass you are seeing with seeds is likely an annual, grass dies out over the winter and seeds germinate next Spring. Do a search on annual bluegrass or Poa Annua to see if that is what it looks like. 'Tenacity' mixed with a surfactant and some dye to see where you sprayed will get rid of weeds and keep the desireable grass. I think Tenacity kills the poa annua as well as broadleaf weeds though. It can also act as a pre-emergent for those weed seeds yet to germinate.

My method is to rent a core aerator and run it around the yard in the Fall, overseed then spread mushroom soil over the area by throwing shovelfuls around. Then i drag a dethatcher behind the tractor with no weight on it to act as a rake and scratch the seed and mushroom soil into the aeration holes a bit. Then rain or irrigate to water it well for about two weeks. I did it too late last year and didn't get good germination before we got a stretch of cold weather. I did it again early April with much better results. We have poor clay soil so the mushroom soil helps our seed a lot.

titleist1 wrote: ↑

Wed. May. 27, 2020 3:52 pm

The grass you are seeing with seeds is likely an annual, grass dies out over the winter and seeds germinate next Spring. Do a search on annual bluegrass or Poa Annua to see if that is what it looks like. 'Tenacity' mixed with a surfactant and some dye to see where you sprayed will get rid of weeds and keep the desireable grass. I think Tenacity kills the poa annua as well as broadleaf weeds though. It can also act as a pre-emergent for those weed seeds yet to germinate.

My method is to rent a core aerator and run it around the yard in the Fall, overseed then spread mushroom soil over the area by throwing shovelfuls around. Then i drag a dethatcher behind the tractor with no weight on it to act as a rake and scratch the seed and mushroom soil into the aeration holes a bit. Then rain or irrigate to water it well for about two weeks. I did it too late last year and didn't get good germination before we got a stretch of cold weather. I did it again early April with much better results. We have poor clay soil so the mushroom soil helps our seed a lot.

Great post!!! Great shared info, and great method.

Beware...Tenacity is expensive...and you may think you killed your lawn, but be patient. Last I bought was $65 for 8oz. It will turn weeds white as well as some of the grass, just a tad, but the grass will come out of it. Tenacity is one of a select few products that will not inhibit new seed growth. The pre-emerge is what makes Tenacity such a great choice. The dye and surfactant's mentioned are great suggestions.

Tenacity won’t kill poa, but does hurt it. Glyphosate, aka roundup is the only thing that truly works on poa. I have a bad case of it from the last neighbor being a golfer. You can see it really good when you have you lawn cut at 5/8”. You can try ethofumesate but it’s hard to find.

No one mentioned lime....my lawn was crap one year and I walked the lime to it 2 times a month apart. It was an easy fix and have not messed with it since.

johnjoseph wrote: ↑

Fri. May. 29, 2020 11:57 pm

No one mentioned lime....my lawn was crap one year and I walked the lime to it 2 times a month apart. It was an easy fix and have not messed with it since.

Line controls Ph, and if your Ph is off then the nutrients in the soil can not be absorbed by the roots. Think of Ph like a glue. To sticky and it holds you tight, to liquidity it’s hurts to touch. In the sense of nutrition for your lawn. Just right everything works.

I have had good results with only frequent mowing. I mow with the deck hight set on "4" the cut grass is about 2" tall. It's been 9 years I do have a few weeks here and there dandelion and clover which doesn't bother me. I had a very bad infestation of poison hemlock and just mowing it killed it all.

Also grass will propagate by the roots I have a huge bare spot where dad ran the ag sprayer to flush the lines and killed everything. That was last year and it's filling in.