The following is expert advice on how to create and then maintain a beautiful and healthy fescue lawn. It is appropriate for you if your lawn is within approximately 50 miles of Interstate-85. I guess some of the methods are relevant to other areas. However, my experience is based in the Greenville-Spartanburg, SC area. I85, from Montgomery, AL to Virginia, has similar climate and soil to my specific area, and therefore my specific advice will be pertinent. Why are you listening to me? I started mowing for a living 38 years ago (I was 13). Since then I have received “a lot of education” regarding fescue. This education includes college (Clemson), first-hand experience (2,000+ gardens), tips from golf course caretakers, tips from quality fescue turf farms, and tips from other professionals in the grooming industry. grass.
First, keep in mind that you need to do WHAT you need to do WHEN you need to do it. Garden centers and the like will sell you seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, etc. At any time of year. That does NOT mean that you can apply these things or perform these tasks at any time of the year. Imagine if a farmer planted his crop or reaped his crop at will. It does not work. Know the season or time of year in which you must perform certain tasks. Your next step is to measure the area in which you want to have your fescue grass. The QUANTITY of seed, fertilizer, etc. who you use is almost as important as when. I’ll give you amounts to use for every 10,000 square feet.
THE BEGINNING: The installation of your new fescue grass should be done around September 15th. Never before September 1 or after October 31. If your soil needs lime to correct the pH (it usually does), this is not the time. Lime can inhibit the germination of your new seed. We like to apply lime in July. Another “pre-plant” task is to eliminate competition for your fescue. August is a good time for this. If your lawn has more than 50% bermudagrass and weeds, you may want to use a runner and kill it all. If you have a reasonable amount of fescue, you can treat the weeds with 2-4-D or another type of lawn herbicide. 2-4-D should not be used after mid-August, as it can inhibit the germination of your fescue.
The next step is the preparation of the soil. The best method is to till the soil well and then rake it to make it smooth. A second option is to use a central aerator. You can rent a self-propelled type (5HP gas engine) from your local rental equipment store or perhaps your local hardware store. I find that most homeowners (and many landscaping companies) don’t air out enough. You need your lawn to look like it has millions of holes. As a guide, we run an aerator for a full 3 hours on approximately 10,000 square feet of lawn.
Next, the seed and fertilizer are applied. Relative to the total cost of your lawn and its maintenance, seed is cheap. Buy the best you can find. A “blue label” seed from Oregon is a safe bet. You will need to apply 5 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet for new lawns or 3 pounds for existing lawns. You want to make sure you have even coverage. We like to spread half of our seed going north to south and the other half going east to west (relative direction). Your fertilizer should have about 8 pounds of nitrogen per 10,000 square feet. We like 16-4-8. A 50 pound bag with 16% nitrogen equals 8 pounds of nitrogen. There are many types of “starter fertilizers” available. We have found that they are more expensive than 16-4-8 and no more effective. As with the seed, extra care must be taken to ensure that the fertilizer is distributed evenly. It is a good idea to “roll up” the grass with a lawn roller after spreading the seed. This ensures good contact of the seed with the soil.
Water. Let me take a step back and explain why you need to sow very close to September 15th. Fescue thrives in temperate climates. You don’t like it if it’s above 85 or below freezing. That gives us two good growing seasons: fall and spring. Winter slows the growth of the fescue, but doesn’t really harm it. Long, hot summer days can be brutal for fescue. Before summer starts, you want your fescue to be as ripe and healthy as possible with long roots. The way to accomplish this is to get your fescue to grow as large in the fall and then regrow as much as possible in the spring. Now when the 100 degree July days hit you, your fescue can survive. So plant the seed as soon as it is cool enough (Sept 15) and now you need to water to germinate as soon as possible. Ideally, you should have a properly installed irrigation system. We like to run our irrigation system for a very short time (3-5 minutes per zone) 3 times a day. We do this until we see that the seed has germinated. Typically this takes 10-15 days. For the next 2 to 4 weeks, or until the grass is about 3 to 4 inches tall, we water once a day. If at any point you can walk on your lawn and your feet sink like the ground is too muddy, turn off the water for a couple of days. If it rains well, turn off the water for 2 to 3 days. When your new lawn approaches 4 “, it’s time to mow. You wish you hadn’t watered in the last 36 hours. You’ll need to set up your ALTA mower. With most push and lawn mowers proprietary type, you will use the tallest 3.5 to 4 inches is a good height. You can then water your lawn after you’ve cut it. For the rest of the fall and then again in the spring, we recommend watering your lawn liberally, but only 1-2 times a week About 1 inch of rain a week is a good guide.
Here’s a good schedule (quantities are per 10,000 square feet):
- September 15 – 50 pounds of seed, 50 pounds of 16-4-8 fertilizer
- Oct 30 – 25 pound fertilizer (with something near 30% nitrogen)
- Feb 15 – Apply weed control before emergence (crabgrass preventative). Quantity varies, read instructions
- March 15 – 50 pounds 4-16-8
- May 1 – 25 lbs 16-4-8, apply pre-emergency
- July 200 pounds of lime
I’ll write more in a future article on general care, weed control, and insect control for your beautiful new fescue lawn.