# All in on KY 31?



## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

Hey all,

I recently purchased my first home (Eastern Shore, Maryland. 7a). The lawn doesn't look that great and I decided to try to fix it up. I figured I would try to overseed it and called my local garden store and they recommended I seed with KY 31 since I do not have an irrigation system (the lawn I'm seeding is around 15,000 sqft). I had just started doing my research at the time and didn't know much so I decided to give it a shot and overseeded about a week and a half ago.

I've since learned a bit more (specifically by lurking around this forum) and have learned that KY 31 may not be the most ideal seed. My main question is whether or not I should try to lay different seed down or if I should go all in on KY 31. I've been watering for 5-10 minutes twice a day with an impact sprinkler I've been moving to ~7 zones (admittedly, this is a long process without an irrigation system).

Here is an image of what the current lawn looks like for reference (mulching is the next step  ):


http://imgur.com/1CDBUic

. Thanks for the help!


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## badtlc (Aug 22, 2019)

If you don't mind the wide blades of K31, just stick with it.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

It's a little late to change your mind. By the time you kill it with glyphosate, there's un-germinated seed, your best bet would be to just make the best of it this year, see how you like it, and get ready for a renovation next year.

A hose-end timer and a few hoses will save you a lot of trouble next time. And with fescue, chances are you'll be overseeding yearly, so they'll come in handy year after year.


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## Mmcgrouty (Sep 21, 2020)

I planted a little K31 behind my garage, it grew in nicely and looks decent. It's lighter green than most people like, though.


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## Mardel74 (Aug 16, 2020)

I'm no expert, but I had use k31 in past and is decent; I say give it a try, you can always reseed with other types or do a full renovation,keep it nice an feed and you make it look better than many Doctor lawn customers &#128540;


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## cityofoaks (Sep 8, 2020)

Yea just leave it, its fine especially for the average yard. There may be a time in the future when you want to renovate your yard and go with something else but for learning and experimenting K31 is good as anything else.


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## 01Bullitt (Aug 31, 2020)

Check out Powhatan's lawn journal. He has Kentucky 31 and has lots of pictures.
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=232586#p232586


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## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

@badtlc I think really anything would be better than what I have now 

@j4c11 thanks for the recommendation on the hose-end timer! I'll have to check it out. Right now I have a hose splitter that lets me set up two at a time (my PSI/GPM isn't high enough to run them both at the same time unfortunately). I also have two 100ft hoses which are not fun to haul around...and to reach the furthest end of the yard I need to connect them together...

@Mmcgrouty yeah the lightness of it is definitely something I wouldn't like as much as other types. But again definitely much better than I have!

@Mardel74 Definitely seems like good ideas to keep it until I decide I want to do a renovation

@cityofoaks This has definitely already been a good learning experience so it's definitely doing it's job there 

@01Bullitt I say their lawn early today. Looks great and gave me a bit of hope 

I really appreciate the replies all!


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## JSchoey (Apr 30, 2019)

I'd probably leave for this year and see what you think of it next year. You could just start overseeding next with a different type of fescue. You'll want/need to do an overseed with fescue yearly anyway as someone mentioned above.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

tbrewer02 said:


> thanks for the recommendation on the hose-end timer! I'll have to check it out. Right now I have a hose splitter that lets me set up two at a time (my PSI/GPM isn't high enough to run them both at the same time unfortunately). I also have two 100ft hoses which are not fun to haul around...and to reach the furthest end of the yard I need to connect them together...


Just so you're aware, the hose timers turn on the valves one at a time. There's timers with 4 outputs, and the way it works is, it turns one valve on for the specified period of time, then shuts it off and turns the next one on, and so on. All programmable, what time, what days, what valves, how long. I don't have an irrigation system either but I have two 4 port timers and they get the job done, they keep the seed nice and moist while I'm at work.


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## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

j4c11 said:


> tbrewer02 said:
> 
> 
> > thanks for the recommendation on the hose-end timer! I'll have to check it out. Right now I have a hose splitter that lets me set up two at a time (my PSI/GPM isn't high enough to run them both at the same time unfortunately). I also have two 100ft hoses which are not fun to haul around...and to reach the furthest end of the yard I need to connect them together...
> ...


Yeah I think the problem I would still have is that I would need to move sprinkler heads around after each set has finished since I currently have ~7 sprinkler placement areas. But I think having a timer with 4 ports would still save some time overall since I can set up more than 2 sprinkler heads at once.


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

I'll,only add / toss in that one le$$onn I've learned the painnnnful way is that ANY discussion about ANY seed ALWAYS starts with a label that indicates, if nothing else: "*0.00 Weed Seed*" AND "*NONE*" for "_Noxious Weed Seeds Per Lb_"

Ideally also 0.00 for "other crop seeds" although that drives the price even higher (but paying for pure seed upfront pays off huge dividends later - esp with the heat and humidity that suppresses desirable grasses and opens the door for proliferation of those nasty weeds, just doubling your work and expenses).

Best of success - another thing going for you is there is some really fine soil over there on MD's Eastern Shore! :thumbup:


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## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

@440mag Just went to check the bag for a label and there is nothing...seems a little strange but not sure if that's normal.

And good to know about the soil. Maybe it's from being completely surrounded by water


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

Haha, thank the dinosaurs :lol: (eons ago, just about EVERYTHING we call the East Coast was the floor of an ocean-sized primordial swamp!)

As a matter of fact, they're still lurking around you, even today!  https://chesapeakebaymagazine.com/eastern-shore-man-breaks-md-fishing-record-with-prehistoric-catch/


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## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

What a catch!

How do you know about the area? Most people don't seem to know it exists


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

Born and raised in Cheverly, MD / Prince George's County

Used to hunt fish and chase tail between Annapolis and Ocean City

30 years LE at local, state and federal level and the blatant corruption the wife (also retired State) and I witnessed coming out of the MD Governors Mansion and General Assembly led us to seek changes in attitude via changes in latitude ... only things we miss about MD now are the (non-elected) people and the gorgeous natural beautiful scenery ... I better stop now to stay within the forums non-political parameters! ;-)


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Work with it. Btw, one of the dealers on my state had 0/0 KY-31 seed this Summer...no weeds or other crop found.


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## Bigfeather1 (Jun 11, 2019)

one of the things that has stuck in my mind on my quest for a nice lawn is "everything we do all year is to prepare our grass for July and August" . Bearing that in mind the way to combat hot and dry is properly watering. Get those roots deep ! I'm here with you my friend, west of Greenwood Delaware.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

tbrewer02 said:


> Yeah I think the problem I would still have is that I would need to move sprinkler heads around after each set has finished since I currently have ~7 sprinkler placement areas. But I think having a timer with 4 ports would still save some time overall since I can set up more than 2 sprinkler heads at once.


I require 7 sprinklers to cover the lawn as well, the solution is to use 2 timers. And 7 sprinklers. Most houses have two water faucets, so you can hook up a timer to each. If not, you can use a two-way splitter and connect both to the same faucet, and set up the timing so they don't both run at the same time. Use a hose from the splitter to get the timer closer to the zone that need to be watered, that way you 're running one hose instead of 4 , and you can use shorter hoses from the timers to the sprinkler heads, cheaper that way.

I've created a technical diagram for the above setup


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## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

j4c11 said:


> tbrewer02 said:
> 
> 
> > Yeah I think the problem I would still have is that I would need to move sprinkler heads around after each set has finished since I currently have ~7 sprinkler placement areas. But I think having a timer with 4 ports would still save some time overall since I can set up more than 2 sprinkler heads at once.
> ...


This is awesome! I'll definitely need to try something like this. Would save me hours.

The previous owners had an irrigation system installed, but only for the flower beds. It's also pretty old and I'm not sure when the last time it was used. I've been thinking about getting someone to come see how much it would cost to extend the system to the yard...I guess it can't hurt.


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## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

Bigfeather1 said:


> one of the things that has stuck in my mind on my quest for a nice lawn is "everything we do all year is to prepare our grass for July and August" . Bearing that in mind the way to combat hot and dry is properly watering. Get those roots deep ! I'm here with you my friend, west of Greenwood Delaware.


I'm in Salisbury. So you're just a few miles north


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

tbrewer02 said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I recently purchased my first home (Eastern Shore, Maryland. 7a). The lawn doesn't look that great and I decided to try to fix it up. I figured I would try to overseed it and called my local garden store and they recommended I seed with KY 31 since I do not have an irrigation system (the lawn I'm seeding is around 15,000 sqft). I had just started doing my research at the time and didn't know much so I decided to give it a shot and overseeded about a week and a half ago.
> 
> ...


In theory, if you want a low maintenance lawn and aren't fussy, KY-31 is your grass. It is often used on roadsides and you know how harsh that environment can be! However, it does have its drawbacks. It is a clump forming grass, so it will not self-repair like some of the newer tall fescue cultivars. It also has wider blades and is a bit lighter green which I don't mind, but some lawn purists don't like.

In my latest seed project, I used Barenbrug RTF (rhizomatous tall fescues) and mixed some leftover KY-31 in it. The advantage to blending different cultivars is you get genetic diversity. It's sometimes a crap shoot as to which grasses will do best under your conditions.


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## Lawn Noobie (Sep 29, 2020)

j4c11 said:


> tbrewer02 said:
> 
> 
> > Yeah I think the problem I would still have is that I would need to move sprinkler heads around after each set has finished since I currently have ~7 sprinkler placement areas. But I think having a timer with 4 ports would still save some time overall since I can set up more than 2 sprinkler heads at once.
> ...


The part about using one long hose to the timers and then extending it to the heads is genius and why didn't I think of it 🤔 but my one question is where do you safely place the timers? Away from laying on the lawn and the sun and wet conditions?

I get that its outside anyway but usually under a bit of an underhang from the house


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Lawn Noobie said:


> The part about using one long hose to the timers and then extending it to the heads is genius and why didn't I think of it 🤔 but my one question is where do you safely place the timers? Away from laying on the lawn and the sun and wet conditions?
> 
> I get that its outside anyway but usually under a bit of an underhang from the house


They're typically water/weather proof, mine has been out in the rain quite a lot. They're meant for outdoors use in wet conditions. If there's no place to put it, then I would recommend a $3 metal fence post, drive that into the ground and tie the timer to it with a zip tie. For bonus point, get a tupperware container when your wife is not looking and put it upside down on top of the timer to protect from direct exposure to elements.


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## tbrewer02 (Oct 1, 2020)

Lawn Noobie said:


> j4c11 said:
> 
> 
> > tbrewer02 said:
> ...


I felt dumb too that I didn't think of it... so I'm glad I'm not alone!

I'm hoping to try it out within the next few weeks, moving sprinklers around after overseeding really took over my life. I met both of my neighbors over the weekend and they both mentioned that they always see me outside moving sprinklers around...I guess there are worse things to be known for than "the sprinkler guy"


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