# any experience with Black Beauty Ultra grass seed?



## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

in my never ending seed research, started looking hard at black beauty ultra.

It has 3 top performing TTTF, 1 top performing bluegrass and 1 top performing ryegrass

Like the color, love the grass blades (not wide)

Only problem i cant get by is the label. The label states .02 weed seed.....

Everything else looks good. Price seems reasonable......but that .02 weed seed....

IM not sure i can take the risk....what if its poa triv? i mean if we are talking dandelion seed Id go for it....but it could be bad

Anybody have any experience with this?

Or would i be better just sticking with my gut feeling and do GCI TTTF w/ KBG. I know Pete would never let me down, but i think the BB grass has a finer blade that id prefer more.....


----------



## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

I installed a locally grown Black Beauty sod in my front yard last April. I overseeded with Jonathon Green Black Beauty Ultra in the Fall. Today, I've got Poa Triv in it but I can't say it came from the sod or the seed because I had two small patches of it in my back yard and I could have carried it to the front. But it's growing like crazy now and the kill/suppress options are limited.

Guess what I would suggest.


----------



## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

other than the triv, were you happy with it?

the more i research, the more im leaning to gci tttf with bluegrass.

little pricey, but free shipping and i help support PETE.


----------



## Lawn Whisperer (Feb 15, 2021)

I was also debating between black beauty and GCI Turf. I opted for GCI for the darker color, didn't really mind the blade difference. I was satisfied with the germination and weed free. Although, not sure if the KBG in the mix germinated since it took longer to germinate. The high HOC on the TTTF might have restricted the growth on the KBG. Hindsight, probably should used PGR and kept a lower HOC until the KBG established.


----------



## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

Lawn Whisperer said:


> I was also debating between black beauty and GCI Turf. I opted for GCI for the darker color, didn't really mind the blade difference. I was satisfied with the germination and weed free. Although, not sure if the KBG in the mix germinated since it took longer to germinate. The high HOC on the TTTF might have restricted the growth on the KBG. Hindsight, probably should used PGR and kept a lower HOC until the KBG established.


you the man!

I watched your videos a few times trying to get an idea on what the tttf blades look like. I think it will be fine.

Ill probably go this way since shipping is free.

Im just trying to figure out the plan for the late summer/fall


----------



## SumBeach35 (Jul 11, 2019)

@Stegs

My 2019 fall reno used Black Beauty Ultra seed only and my spring 2020 reno used BBU and ScottS PRG.

Overall, i am happy with it. Its not clean seed and that is likely why i wouldn't choose it again. I'd choose BBU over other box store blends though.

I keep it shorter than most, 2-2.5" HOC.

2019 reno
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=12828

2020 spring reno is in my journal in my signature.


----------



## jd thomas (Oct 29, 2020)

If you're trying to have a nice lawn, which would mean as few weeds as possible, it doesn't make sense to ever use seed that contains anything other than 0.00% weed and other crop. Even 0.02% can mean hundreds of weeds or mystery stuff.


----------



## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

jd thomas said:


> If you're trying to have a nice lawn, which would mean as few weeds as possible, it doesn't make sense to ever use seed that contains anything other than 0.00% weed and other crop. Even 0.02% can mean hundreds of weeds or mystery stuff.


my thought exactly

Im going to go with pete's GCI TTTF w/ KBG. Its a little more expensive, but i trust pete. From what many have said, its great seed with great cultivars.

Thanks everyone. Ill be ordering soon so i have it ready to go this fall


----------



## jd thomas (Oct 29, 2020)

Hey @Stegs I hope I didn't sound condescending or scolding....looking at it, I guess it could be taken that way. Anyway yeah, there are too many places to easily get clean seed, so no reason to buy anything with other junk included. Good luck with your lawn!


----------



## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

Stegs said:


> other than the triv, were you happy with it?


It's not been a full growing season so I'm still processing my opinion. But I have the best lawn in my neighborhood so the bar is low.


----------



## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

jd thomas said:


> If you're trying to have a nice lawn, which would mean as few weeds as possible, it doesn't make sense to ever use seed that contains anything other than 0.00% weed and other crop. Even 0.02% can mean hundreds of weeds or mystery stuff.


they don't check every seed, they look at the batch and assume that if 1 in 1000 is weed or other crop that it's uniform. IMO it's kind of meaningless but I would love an expert opinion on this.


----------



## varmint65 (Feb 23, 2021)

Check out Chesapeake Valley Seed, they blend their own mixes and primarily use Mountain View cultivars. They carry Vitality too. Shipping isn't too bad and Gordon willing to work with you on exactly what you want on a custom blend.

Newsom and Southern Seed are also great places for seed with shipping that isn't too bad. I've ordered TTTF w KBG Mixes from both with shipping on a 50lb bag, totaling $130 or less to PA. That's less than what I can purchase for at local feed and siteone.

Most of the sources above offer blue tag, or sod certified seed with zero weed/other crop.

Regards,

Will


----------



## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

jd thomas said:


> Hey @Stegs I hope I didn't sound condescending or scolding....looking at it, I guess it could be taken that way. Anyway yeah, there are too many places to easily get clean seed, so no reason to buy anything with other junk included. Good luck with your lawn!


nope not at all. I like the idea of black beauty ultra. The cultivars look great. But when your spending alot of money on seed, why not spend a little bit more to get quality seed

I know GCI seed is weed free. I know people on here used it and had great luck, and i know Pete is the person who turned me on to tttf.

I know in the end, you really cant go wrong with gci seed. Thats what i plan on ordering for this fall overseed


----------



## jpsrules (Feb 26, 2021)

Yes, BBU is a significant improvement in color and density over box store seed at least on my lawn. However, try unitedseed.com and look for a cultivar which performed well in NTEP trials in your local area. I get better seed from Unitedseed.com for slightly less than BBU. The shipping is expensive but in my area the look of Syder LS, Raptor or Millenium are all night and day better. They are truly amazing cultivars. YMMV but I'd go straight for premium seed. If for some reason you need to use BBU it will look fine.


----------

