More grass questions

[Scoot]

Fellas,

As you may remember I seeded my lawn a few weeks ago. I've got grass coming up all over the place and it generally looks alright. I'm about to start patching in the thin spots today or tomorrow.

My question about the grass is this- it looks somewhat thin right now. However, I seeded a mix of rambo kentucky blue grass (20%), award kentucky bluegrass (20%), baron kentucky bluegrass (20%), fescue (20%), rye grass (20%). It's been two weeks since I seeded (roughly) and I assume it's only the rye grass and the fescue that's is currently coming up-- is that right? So, given that it looks pretty thin to me right now, should I not worry about this and wait for the bluegrass to come in to decide if I want to overseed for a better fill? How long until I can expect the bluegrass to show up?

[harvey lee]

I would not worry yet as the blue grass has a slower growth rate.I would give it at least another 3-4 weeks.

[echotrail]

Harvey Lee is right about the blue grass seed. Keep it damp,watering the area twice a day mabe neccessary this time of year. A little starter furtilizer will help

[Powerstroke]

Ryegrass will germinate within 7 days if you've done everything right. It seems you ahve cause you've got great germination so far.

KY bluegrass takes at least 21 days. Give it at least 2 more weeks for the full effect.

[Bobby Bass]

Most combo grass mixtures sold have some annual rye grass in the mix. This is there for a couple of reasons. It provides a quick green up and it also holds the ground together and holds moisture for the bluegrass which can take up to 21 days to germinate. the rye grass if it is a annual will die off but the bluegrass is a perennial and will be what returns next year. Give it a chance to germinate and grow before you start to over seed again. A really good yard from scratch may take as many as three seeding to become a thick weed free lawn. I would wait till early fall before seeding again. Weeds are less of a factor then and the new seed will get a head start on next years weeds.

[Wiskers]

Yepper your on the right track. I just tilled up my whole yard and seeded it only a few weeks ago also. Keep it watered and mow it as often as it needs it. The more you mow it the thicker it will get. I too have open spots but the Sodd fella that I got the seed from said it will fill in and after about a month is when you will know what needs to be re seeded.

Good luck with you lawn.

[Scoot]

Thanks fellas.

One more question- when should I mow it? Obviously, it won't be for a while. But how do I know when it's ready to have a mower run over it?

[Powerstroke]

If you're talking about getting the first mowing on new grass, you want to wait till its at least 4 inches. I try to let it go to seed once before I would mow it. The more grass blade you leave the more food it can take in making it stronger and helping it grow better roots.

I have to disagree that mowing it more often if good for it. Its not like shaving, excessive mowings won't stimulate growth. The more blade you give the plant the better it will do. ALso, longer grass shades the ground. It doens't seem like it would make a huge difference, but it does to the plant. Try to keep your grass no shorter than 2.5-3". KY bluegrass is not for putting greens, don't mow it that way.

[Big Dave2]

Quote:

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If you're talking about getting the first mowing on new grass, you want to wait till its at least 4 inches. I try to let it go to seed once before I would mow it. The more grass blade you leave the more food it can take in making it stronger and helping it grow better roots.

I have to disagree that mowing it more often if good for it. Its not like shaving, excessive mowings won't stimulate growth. The more blade you give the plant the better it will do. ALso, longer grass shades the ground. It doens't seem like it would make a huge difference, but it does to the plant. Try to keep your grass no shorter than 2.5-3". KY bluegrass is not for putting greens, don't mow it that way.

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I agree with this advise but just remember the 1/3 rule. Never cut off more than 1/3 of the grass plant at a time.

[Powerstroke]

Very important. I forgot to add in an agreement to your earlier post.

To use my experience to make a point, I just bought a house last week. My first house, first lawn. It looks OKAY, but since we have a sprinkler system, it should look better. The previous owner mainted it well and the neighbors call it the "fairway". I went and bought a brand new lawn mower. Finally got to mow it yesterday. I set the mower to 3" and went to town. I didn't trim a single blade for the first 5 passes. The lawn has been watered 3 times since last thursday when it was mowed last and it hasn't grown to 3"!! I mowed it to 2.5" since I'm leaving town and I will go back to 3" when I get home. I guarentee it will look better when its allowed to grow longer.

[Big Dave2]

Another important point about watering, it is better to water deeply and less frequently than to water small amounts more frequently, if that made sense.

This incourages deeper root growth.

P.S. this applies only to established lawns, new seedlings needs to remain moist.