# Tall Fescue vs TTTF? What's good?



## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

Hey everyone, so I have a pretty bare front yard. I plan to overseed here this week, as my temps are finally getting into the 60's, and increasing soil temp.

I see Tall Fescue is more drought tolerant than Perennial rye, and I need to go that route for lack of watering.

I want a decent seed that has a darker green color to it, but not break the bank. It seems K31 is a lighter grass. What should I get. Gonna oversees *** in fall. Just need fast germination for this spring/summer. Is TTTF or Tall Fescue better?

Southeast Michigan, about 2000 SQ ft is my project.

Thanks.


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

Are they the same?


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

They are the same since it's only 2k property you won't break the bank and should be easy to irrigate. Don't do k31 it's flat out ugly. Check United seed online for a nice tall fescue mix


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

M32075 said:


> They are the same since it's only 2k property you won't break the bank and should be easy to irrigate. Don't do k31 it's flat out ugly. Check United seed online for a nice tall fescue mix


Awesome, I am glad you mentioned the K31. I tossed the idea around, but I'm glad I didn't order yet.

I plan to overseed with KBG this fall... should I do PRG or Tall Fescue this spring? I am sure I am a mix, but what would blend better later? PRG and *** or Tall Fescue and ***?

Thanks


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

Do you have pics of the yard? Can you get by with what you have until the fall, when you had planned on seeding with kbg? Overseeding kbg in to existing fescue or rye isnt always a great idea. A bare yard is going to be more ideal for overseeding with kbg, esp if a kbg yard is what you prefer.


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

derowe82 said:


> Hey everyone, so I have a pretty bare front yard. I plan to overseed here this week, as my temps are finally getting into the 60's, and increasing soil temp.
> 
> I see Tall Fescue is more drought tolerant than Perennial rye, and I need to go that route for lack of watering.
> 
> ...


Do you have pics of the yard? Can you get by with what you have until the fall, when you had planned on seeding with kbg? Overseeding kbg in to existing fescue or rye isnt always a great idea. A bare yard is going to be more ideal for overseeding with kbg, esp if a kbg yard is what you prefer.


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

@jha4aamu





I'm not 100% worried about having full ***... Just want to sow something now to clean up this mess I have (see images) and then overseed again. I can always overseed with Fescue or Rye again too. Not too worried on a specific. Just want green and better. I just figured *** would rejuvenate itself in bare spots but I guess if I overseed every fall or every other fall with fescue, that would work too? It's also pretty bumpy so I'm going to have to put topsoil down anyways to level it out so if I waited, it's going to look pretty crappy All Summer Long. Just need it fixed. Thanks!!


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

You are correct that kbg will sort of repair itself, but it usually doesnt germinate well when being overseeded into an exisitng lawn. Overseeding with tttf or rye in the fall would be better. You would probably get pretty good germination with kbg now since there is alot of bare soil, but it would take alot longer than rye or tttf.


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

jha4aamu said:


> You are correct that kbg will sort of repair itself, but it usually doesnt germinate well when being overseeded into an exisitng lawn. Overseeding with tttf or rye in the fall would be better. You would probably get pretty good germination with kbg now since there is alot of bare soil, but it would take alot longer than rye or tttf.


Okay, yea I thought about *** now, but the germination rate I am afraid will put me into the summer heat before it establishes good, killing off a good chunk of it. My back yard is pretty solid so maybe I will just continue to Fescue the front and overseed the yard with fescue each fall.

Now I just need to figure what TTTF to use. Thanks y'all.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

United seed has some nice blue tag fescue blends you can get 25 pounds of seed shipped with tax for about $125. That should cover your seed for this spring and a over seed this fall. Or 10lbs for probably $60 should cover this spring but cutting it close. I personally like the Super turf 1 tall fescue blend but there's a few blends to choose from


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

M32075 said:


> United seed has some nice blue tag fescue blends you can get 25 pounds of seed shipped with tax for about $125. That should cover your seed for this spring and a over seed this fall. Or 10lbs for probably $60 should cover this spring but cutting it close. I personally like the Super turf 1 tall fescue blend but there's a few blends to choose from


Thanks for the reply. Appreciate it. I'll look into it.


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## BigRedGun (Oct 1, 2021)

United seed has No Net and Snap Back RR, among others, for TTTF. They say you can mow down to 3/4" with Snap Back. If you don't want to mow low, you can still cut it at 2-4". United is on the other side of town from me and I will probably go with one of those when I redo my lawn down the road. Depends what your end goal is. Good luck!


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## San (Jun 21, 2021)

If you want KBG, I would just throw down some cheap PRG down in spring and kill it all off in the fall and then do a reseed with KBG.

Also if you kill it all off, you can just level everything without having to bring it extra soil,


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

San said:


> If you want KBG, I would just throw down some cheap PRG down in spring and kill it all off in the fall and then do a reseed with KBG.
> 
> Also if you kill it all off, you can just level everything without having to bring it extra soil,


Hey, thanks for the reply. No I am not interested in having a fully *** yard, I just like the mix in my lawn for the rejuvenation and repair that *** offers to bare spots. I am actually going to overseed with turf type tall fescue since it's a little more drought resistant and where I live, water bill is extremely high so watering the lawn really doesn't happen much either so we'll see what happens. Worst come to worse it's only grass and I try again in the fall. I plan to do a heavy overseed in the fall of a mix.


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## nwlawnguy (Apr 27, 2018)

I have Barenbrug RTF and it repairs bare spots. You can mow it low or high. I mow mine twice a week at 1 1/2 - 2 inches.


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

nwlawnguy said:


> I have Barenbrug RTF and it repairs bare spots. You can mow it low or high. I mow mine twice a week at 1 1/2 - 2 inches.


Wow, that looks great. Where did you buy the Barenbrug RTF at? I have seen Barenbrug at my local home and farm stores, but never RTF.

Thanks.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

derowe82 said:


> Wow, that looks great. Where did you buy the Barenbrug RTF at? I have seen Barenbrug at my local home and farm stores, but never RTF.


You can buy here:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/barenbrug-water-saver-lawn-seed-10-lb-11110

https://www.idealturf.com/store

Barenbrug RTF is good stuff. I've had good luck with it.

Avoid PRG as it's short lived. Note that cheaper grass seed mixes have more PRG in them.

Also note that while grasses such as TTTF are drought tolerant/resistant, that is only *once it's established*. If you plant any grass in spring, you will need to baby it all summer until it sets down deep roots. That means watering it at the first signs of drought stress.


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## derowe82 (May 7, 2020)

Deadlawn said:


> derowe82 said:
> 
> 
> > Wow, that looks great. Where did you buy the Barenbrug RTF at? I have seen Barenbrug at my local home and farm stores, but never RTF.
> ...


Hey, thanks for the reply. I'll check out the links. Also, yes I have been keeping it damp/wet every day since sowing. I had some sprouts I noticed on Saturday, but woke up to light frost this morning. Hope I don't lose any of them.

Thanks again


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