# Massachusetts Seed Down Timing



## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Hi Guys,

I'm getting everything ready to go for my overseeding and partial Reno. I'm going to be using KBG/TTTF 80/20 split:

KBG: 40% Mazama/30% BlueBank/30% Bewitched

TTTF: 
Shady Half of lawn : Rowdy,GTL, Valkyrie LS, Titanium 2 LS
Sunny half of lawn: Regenerate, 4th Millennium, Raptor III, Amity

I'm going to be killing off one large area that is riddled with POA T and Bentgrass(partial Reno). The rest of the turf has patches of bentgrass and poa T that I'm going to spot spray. I'm going to spot seed those areas and to blend everything in by overseeding the rest of the lawn

I live in SE Massachusetts and I'm trying to time this right. We have wacky August and September weather where we can still be holding on to 90+ degree weather in late summer/early fall. This is my first time doing anything major to my turf and I'm a little nervous so I'm just trying to gauge the best time for seed down for this part of the country. Anyone in my area that can share their experiences or can point me in the right direction?


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## Buddy (Apr 23, 2018)

I am also in Southeastern Mass and I'm doing a small reno to a section of my lawn. I plan on getting seed down the week of Aug 12 hopefully if all goes well. Last year I did a backyard renovation, and I got seed down on 9/8/18 and it took well. Was later than I had hoped, but ran into time constraints etc on my end. I think mid Aug is good because we still have some heat, but not over bearing hopefully and give it enough time to grow strong roots before the cool weather comes.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Buddy said:


> I am also in Southeastern Mass and I'm doing a small reno to a section of my lawn. I plan on getting seed down the week of Aug 12 hopefully if all goes well. Last year I did a backyard renovation, and I got seed down on 9/8/18 and it took well. Was later than I had hoped, but ran into time constraints etc on my end. I think mid Aug is good because we still have some heat, but not over bearing hopefully and give it enough time to grow strong roots before the cool weather comes.


What did you end up seeding with last year? Any pics of your Reno fr last year? Im not too overly concerned with the TTTF since it seems that these cultivators hit the soil running and germinate quickly, it's the KBG that I'm worried about.


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## Buddy (Apr 23, 2018)

I seeded with a KBG mix from Hogan's, and was very pleased. This was my first reno and still new to the process so I learned a lot through it. The KBG was slow, but has done well and spreads nicely upon feeding.

Some progress through my reno, not the best documented but something I plan on tracking better along the way.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6040


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Thanks for sharing. I'm shooting for seed down either the 2nd or 3rd week of August most likely. I'm going to put down my first app of glypho and spot spray the trouble areas. With the heat coming up this week, it should nuke it pretty good.


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## Mrotatori (Aug 13, 2018)

I live in CT, Last year my seed down day was August 22/23. The kbg came in well in the fall

End of October 2018 ( left side was the kbg )


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Mrotatori said:


> I live in CT, Last year my seed down day was August 22/23. The kbg came in well in the fall
> 
> End of October 2018 ( left side was the kbg )


I just read through your journal, thanks for replying. For an all kbg monostand, that looks great for our NE area.


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## Mrotatori (Aug 13, 2018)

@Scagfreedom48z+ thanks. Fwiw I have had some trouble this summer. My soil pH ranges from 4.1 to 4.6. I am not sure if I got hit by a disease. I will see how it responds in the fall. I don't have an irrigation system, so I don't irrigate regularly, I will water the grass when it seems to need it. There are parts of the kbg that still look good. It is a mixture of 4 kbg blends, so not a monostand. Here is a pic from July 20th, 2019.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Mrotatori said:


> @Scagfreedom48z+ thanks. Fwiw I have had some trouble this summer. My soil pH ranges from 4.1 to 4.6. I am not sure if I got hit by a disease. I will see how it responds in the fall. I don't have an irrigation system, so I don't irrigate regularly, I will water the grass when it seems to need it. There are parts of the kbg that still look good. It is a mixture of 4 kbg blends, so not a monostand


I had a soil test done from Umass this past spring and my PH ranges from 5.4-5.7. I applied 2 applications of Lime in the spring and this past weekend to slowly correct the PH before seed down. Combining both applications, I've applied around 40 lbs per 1M when totaling both apps. I was going to apply my first app of glypho but the wind was a concern. I did flag off all the areas that need to get sprayed and I have to say it's pretty overwhelming. I just have to get the first glypho app done so that I can't turn back.


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## Mrotatori (Aug 13, 2018)

@Scagfreedom48z+ that's a pretty good pH. It's definitely hard to kill off a lawn. There will be ups and downs. It's a rollercoaster ride, but the hard work pays off. I still question my decision of doing this year's Reno with all kbg. I chose kbg for it's repairability and like the look of it. It's a learning process for sure. You will do fine. You will need more than one app of glypho for sure


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Mrotatori said:


> @Scagfreedom48z+ that's a pretty good pH. It's definitely hard to kill off a lawn. There will be ups and downs. It's a rollercoaster ride, but the hard work pays off. I still question my decision of doing this year's Reno with all kbg. I chose kbg for it's repairability and like the look of it. It's a learning process for sure. You will do fine. You will need more than one app of glypho for sure


Thanks for pep talk, I need it. It's the same concerns everyone gets but Ive read through enough of the journals that at the end of the Reno's, things seems to work out fine. I be got pretty all I need. I've just purchased 30 bags of 3cu peat moss bags to cover 30k sq ft. I just need to rent a compost spreader and a dethatcher. Did you use a dethatcher or slit seeder to dethatch?


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## Mrotatori (Aug 13, 2018)

I used an electric dethatcher. I applied the seed with my spreader. Used the back of rake to push seed down into soil, lightly. Covered with peat moss. I think I added starter fert. I did not use the one with weed control. It's seems hit or miss with adding the fert with weed control. I don't recall how many bags of peat moss I used. It was not enough for 5k. I think it was 10-12 bags at 5k. I liked the peat moss since when it's dry it changes color. Your reno is 30k, that is a big renovation. You can rent a peat moss spreader from what I have read


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Mrotatori said:


> I used an electric dethatcher. I applied the seed with my spreader. Used the back of rake to push seed down into soil, lightly. Covered with peat moss. I think I added starter fert. I did not use the one with weed control. It's seems hit or miss with adding the fert with weed control. I don't recall how many bags of peat moss I used. It was not enough for 5k. I think it was 10-12 bags at 5k. I liked the peat moss since when it's dry it changes color. Your reno is 30k, that is a big renovation. You can rent a peat moss spreader from what I have read


I'm planning on using an eco lawn compost spreader which is set up to spread 1/4" of peat moss evenly.

The Reno is only partial (1500 sq ft) where everything is getting killed off. The rest of the lawn will be an overseed. I'm going to kill off patches of Poa T and Bentgrass but it's not a complete Reno. With all the small Poa and Bentgrass kill offs, I would say that it would be a combined 5K sq ft kill off.


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## Dieseldan9 (Aug 18, 2020)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


> Mrotatori said:
> 
> 
> > I used an electric dethatcher. I applied the seed with my spreader. Used the back of rake to push seed down into soil, lightly. Covered with peat moss. I think I added starter fert. I did not use the one with weed control. It's seems hit or miss with adding the fert with weed control. I don't recall how many bags of peat moss I used. It was not enough for 5k. I think it was 10-12 bags at 5k. I liked the peat moss since when it's dry it changes color. Your reno is 30k, that is a big renovation. You can rent a peat moss spreader from what I have read
> ...


I am in the same boat this year looking for advice on when the latest i can start.

@Scagfreedom48z+ I tried to PM you because I see you are close, but for some reason it would not work?


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## Carlson (Apr 16, 2020)

@Dieseldan9 I've thrown seed down as late as the 2nd weekend of September with decent results. With proper irrigation, you can go as early as mid-August.


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## Dieseldan9 (Aug 18, 2020)

Carlson said:


> @Dieseldan9 I've thrown seed down as late as the 2nd weekend of September with decent results. With proper irrigation, you can go as early as mid-August.


That is excellent news

I am adding to my irrigation and leveling an area so i cant seed yet. Probly looking at mid September as of now

Maybe sooner, but my surveyor is backed up


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## Zcape35 (Sep 17, 2019)

Sooner the better but hopefully we have a warm fall!


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