# Calling all you TTTF only guys (and gals)



## Camman595 (Jun 15, 2021)

Currently, my lawn is weak and recovering. It is mostly TTTF with a decent amount of KBG and a small amount of PRG. I have several bare spots after killing weeds. I have a bag of New Millennia TTTF blend in the garage waiting for fall so I can overseed (and seed the bare spots).

In my area (central KY) KBG is higher maintenance than I would like and we have hot enough summers that the KBG in my neighborhood suffers. I do not have an irrigation system. So, a TTTF only lawn has quite a few perks for me. Some others have pointed out that the KBG can repair itself in a way the TTTF cannot.

So for those of you that have lawns consisting of TTTF only, do you have any regrets? Do you like the look of your lawn? Or was it a utilitarian choice? The seed blend that I chose should work really well for my area. But, I am second-guessing myself.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Most of the season I like the look of my lawn. This time of year is rough but without irrigation it wouldn't matter if I had KBG or TTTF the summer going to be hard on the grass. As long as your blend is high quality you will like the looks


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## thin_concrete (Sep 11, 2020)

There are lots of TTTF cultivars that are rhizomatic now too, which is a feature of KBG that aids self-repair. I am doing an overseed this fall with Titan RX and Rhizing Moon because they are designed to have rhizomes. And while I can't currently attest to their ability to heal themselves, you may want to consider specific TTTF cultivars that have that feature.


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## moedank (Sep 10, 2019)

Camman595 said:


> So for those of you that have lawns consisting of TTTF only, do you have any regrets? Do you like the look of your lawn? Or was it a utilitarian choice? The seed blend that I chose should work really well for my area. But, I am second-guessing myself.


It looks great in the spring and fall and handles transition zone weather moderately well with low maintenance. Low maintenance for me being 2-3 fungicide applications along with 3-5 manual waterings throughout the most stressful parts of late spring, summer and early fall.

Check out my lawn journal to see how the grass went through summer with minimal care. Yes, it showed signs of stress and some of it went dormant; however, it rebounded excellently when the cooler weather of fall arrived. It has gone through two summers with minimal care and hasn't been reseeded except for one tiny 2x2 ft section in between the road and sidewalk that likely has rocks or cement buried underneath.


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## Camman595 (Jun 15, 2021)

thin_concrete said:


> There are lots of TTTF cultivars that are rhizomatic now too, which is a feature of KBG that aids self-repair. I am doing an overseed this fall with Titan RX and Rhizing Moon because they are designed to have rhizomes. And while I can't currently attest to their ability to heal themselves, you may want to consider specific TTTF cultivars that have that feature.


Thanks. Two of the cultivars in this blend have rhizomes and the third one claims to have "aggressive lateral spread ability", so hopefully, between the three it will cover small spots in the lawn.


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## Camman595 (Jun 15, 2021)

@moedank I checked out your lawn journal and it looks great. I will be very pleased if my lawn looks like yours after this is all done.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

I am slowly converting my 1,400sf lawn to GCI TTTF. So far I have done a heavy spring overseed of the backyard (~500sf) and a spring reno of ~200sf of my front yard where I had a huge tree removed in February. Backyard is looking good, mowing twice a week at 3.5" and I can barely keep up. Front yard is coming along, mowing once a week at 2.75".

Colonial Bentgrass + FF is kind of catching my eye recently though...


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## Butter (Nov 14, 2017)

I have all TTTF. Some irrigated, some not irrigated. I love it most of the time. No regrets here. There are very few KBG lawns in my area so TTTF is the best option besides common Bermuda and K31(not really options for me). There are a lot of really good varieties available that make for a very nice lawn. I wouldn't get to hung up on rhizomes and lateral spread.


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## Thejarrod (Aug 5, 2018)

overall, no regrets.
it is a little bit frustrating when i have to wait a bit longer for springtime greenup, BUT i LOVE how it handles the summer stress. the biggest downside is fungus. I'm learning more about fungicide, which if applied correctly, will almost completely eliminate it.

i should also note that I have older cultivars in most of the lawn. Newer varieties are better at combatting the fungus.


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## thin_concrete (Sep 11, 2020)

Thejarrod said:


> overall, no regrets.
> it is a little bit frustrating when i have to wait a bit longer for springtime greenup, BUT i LOVE how it handles the summer stress. the biggest downside is fungus. I'm learning more about fungicide, which if applied correctly, will almost completely eliminate it.
> 
> i should also note that I have older cultivars in most of the lawn. Newer varieties are better at combatting the fungus.


What kind of yard profile do you have where you're seeing the fungus? Shaded areas? Direct sunlight? I ask because my back yard is heavily shaded as we back up into woods; whereas my front yard is baked by the summer sun for a good majority of the day.

I picked up some Azoxy 2C, Propiconazole, and Clearys 3336F to be able to cycle through them as needed. The whole yard is irrigated and I have no doubt I'll have to spend some time fine tuning cycles next spring/summer/fall, but I am concerned about the fungus aspect of TTTF, especially after the snow mold I got this past spring.


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

thin_concrete said:


> There are lots of TTTF cultivars that are rhizomatic now too, which is a feature of KBG that aids self-repair.


Which ones? I'd like to compliment my TTTF backyard with some of that/those.

I found this: https://www.barusa.com/professional-turf/turf-technologies/rtf It claims to be the only Tall fescue with Rhizomes.


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## ddc337 (Jun 8, 2021)

Curious if anyone else has tried this and would welcome any advice. I have an established front yard of mostly KBG. It is 2,000 square feet, in the sun with minimal shade. Chicago area. My backyard is mostly tall fescue. I would like to transition my front yard to tall fescue. If I overseeded in the fall with tall fescue, what would my front yard look like next year?


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

ddc337 said:


> Curious if anyone else has tried this and would welcome any advice. I have an established front yard of mostly KBG. It is 2,000 square feet, in the sun with minimal shade. Chicago area. My backyard is mostly tall fescue. I would like to transition my front yard to tall fescue. If I overseeded in the fall with tall fescue, what would my front yard look like next year?


Like what % of it would be TTTF vs KBG or how would it physically look?


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## Cook (Apr 29, 2021)

I heavily researched over the last few years and finally did a full reno on my front lawn last fall. I went all TTTF. I love the look of KBG but didn't like the seed heads in the spring, followed by the dead (and rough) seed stalks, followed by the struggle in the summer. The only thing I did like was the ability to self repair, albeit it isn't as fast as a warm season repairability, as well as the darker color.

From what I'm told, new KBG cultivars are better with heat stress. I'm debating on trying a plot this fall. That being said, the new TTTF cultivars are amazing. I find it very soft (not as soft as KBG of course but still very soft walking on it) and dark. When the sun hits it, it really pops.


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## Camman595 (Jun 15, 2021)

Thanks everyone, it sounds like a made a good decision and will be happy with the results. I will post pics after the overseeding.


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## Overtaxed (May 9, 2021)

Cook said:


> I heavily researched over the last few years and finally did a full reno on my front lawn last fall. I went all TTTF. I love the look of KBG but didn't like the seed heads in the spring, followed by the dead (and rough) seed stalks, followed by the struggle in the summer. The only thing I did like was the ability to self repair, albeit it isn't as fast as a warm season repairability, as well as the darker color.


Good god man, that lawn looks amazing! That should be an ad for whatever cultivar you used!


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Cook said:


> I heavily researched over the last few years and finally did a full reno on my front lawn last fall. I went all TTTF. I love the look of KBG but didn't like the seed heads in the spring, followed by the dead (and rough) seed stalks, followed by the struggle in the summer. The only thing I did like was the ability to self repair, albeit it isn't as fast as a warm season repairability, as well as the darker color.
> 
> From what I'm told, new KBG cultivars are better with heat stress. I'm debating on trying a plot this fall. That being said, the new TTTF cultivars are amazing. I find it very soft (not as soft as KBG of course but still very soft walking on it) and dark. When the sun hits it, it really pops.


Looks great! What cultivars did you use?


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## ddc337 (Jun 8, 2021)

ksturfguy said:


> ddc337 said:
> 
> 
> > Curious if anyone else has tried this and would welcome any advice. I have an established front yard of mostly KBG. It is 2,000 square feet, in the sun with minimal shade. Chicago area. My backyard is mostly tall fescue. I would like to transition my front yard to tall fescue. If I overseeded in the fall with tall fescue, what would my front yard look like next year?
> ...


I'm relatively new to lawn reno and was originally asking whether I could slowly convert my *** to TTTF via fall overseeding. It appears after further research what I would like to accomplish would only work via a full renovation.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

ddc337 said:


> ksturfguy said:
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> > ddc337 said:
> ...


Yeah full reno would be best. You could always go with a TTTF/KBG mix but you'd probably never fully go TTTF unless you kill out the KBG.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

@Cook Looks great


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## Cook (Apr 29, 2021)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


> Cook said:
> 
> 
> > I heavily researched over the last few years and finally did a full reno on my front lawn last fall. I went all TTTF. I love the look of KBG but didn't like the seed heads in the spring, followed by the dead (and rough) seed stalks, followed by the struggle in the summer. The only thing I did like was the ability to self repair, albeit it isn't as fast as a warm season repairability, as well as the darker color.
> ...


thanks, that's GCI TTTF (thor blacktail and falcon iv) with some 4th millenium as well. doing an overseed with more 4th mil this fall


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## dleonard11122 (Jun 24, 2020)

I have a 100% TTTF lawn, and after a couple of years I'm willing to admit that I wish I went with KBG when I seeded. At least in the areas that have irrigation coverage, I wish I went with KBG for the reparability.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Cook said:


> Scagfreedom48z+ said:
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> > Cook said:
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That's great! Was this an overseed or a full Reno?


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Cook said:


>


They've gone plaid!


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## Cook (Apr 29, 2021)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


> Cook said:
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> > Scagfreedom48z+ said:
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full reno.


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## Nikegolf1224 (Apr 21, 2021)

Cook said:


> I heavily researched over the last few years and finally did a full reno on my front lawn last fall. I went all TTTF. I love the look of KBG but didn't like the seed heads in the spring, followed by the dead (and rough) seed stalks, followed by the struggle in the summer. The only thing I did like was the ability to self repair, albeit it isn't as fast as a warm season repairability, as well as the darker color.
> 
> From what I'm told, new KBG cultivars are better with heat stress. I'm debating on trying a plot this fall. That being said, the new TTTF cultivars are amazing. I find it very soft (not as soft as KBG of course but still very soft walking on it) and dark. When the sun hits it, it really pops.


How do you get the checker pattern? Just diagonal cuts opposite ways?


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## Cook (Apr 29, 2021)

Nikegolf1224 said:


> Cook said:
> 
> 
> > I heavily researched over the last few years and finally did a full reno on my front lawn last fall. I went all TTTF. I love the look of KBG but didn't like the seed heads in the spring, followed by the dead (and rough) seed stalks, followed by the struggle in the summer. The only thing I did like was the ability to self repair, albeit it isn't as fast as a warm season repairability, as well as the darker color.
> ...


yeah, I mow in one direction one week and the opposite the following. No stripe kit but if your mower doesnt stripe well you can add one to help.


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