# when to start overseed in michigan



## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

So here in michigan, it has been hot a humid, and i had a disease come in my front lawn and really put a hurt on it. Im ok with it because i planned on a heavy overseed this late summer/early fall. So i figure if it dies, thats less competition for the higher quality seed im going to put down

Anyway, i was hoping to start cutting my lawn shorter starting this week, and slowly work it down in height, and then get seed down the first week of august.

My plan (was) to rent a slit seeder the last friday of july, and get my seed down so it has all of august to get going. IS it too early?

Last year when i overseed another area of my yard, i waited till mid september, and it was cloudy and rainy for most of late september and the seed didnt turn out

When do you michigan guys start with the overseed? Is the first part of august too early? should i wait till mid august?

I will be seeding with united seed super turf II, which is 90% tttf and 10% blue. And i know the blue takes a while to germinate


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## gregfromohio (Aug 14, 2019)

Are you north of Lansing or south of lansing?


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## MarshalOfFire (Apr 22, 2020)

I had good results with the first part of August in SW Michigan. I had irrigation though and wasn't afraid of a high water bill. Watch the weather and when you see low 80s or high 70s for most of the 10day forecast, throw it down. Just be prepared if that changes and you have to water some more.


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

I am about straight west of lansing, about 1 mile off lake michigan


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

MarshalOfFire said:


> I had good results with the first part of August in SW Michigan. I had irrigation though and wasn't afraid of a high water bill. Watch the weather and when you see low 80s or high 70s for most of the 10day forecast, throw it down. Just be prepared if that changes and you have to water some more.


I have irrigation, so im not worried about it.

What gets me is i want that bluegrass to have time to mature before the cooler weather sets in. Im not worried about the tttf.....that stuff will come up in less than a week.

I think ill stick to my plan and start mowing the overseed area shorter, work it down in height to prepare for a power rake and heavy overseed.

Id like to get it down the first part of august, so the bluegrass will be up by september


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Planning my reno... i think after August 15th but before sept 1st is the sweet spot for us.

One could make the argument that over-seeding should be down earlier as the existing grass rebounds out of dormancy when the temps drop choking new grass.
Also, existing grass may help with water retention by blocking some of suns rays.

There is a direct correlation between temperature and germination. The warmer the temps the faster the germination but will require much more water to keep seed moist and alive after germination.

Other thing to consider is PGR, i wouldn't over-seed without it. I would even go at max rate with a heavy hand to slightly injure existing turf to give your seed more of a chance. However, if your grass is still dormant, the PGR wont be affective.

My neighbor took a crazy approach last year by dropping seed in October with peat moss and didn't water, just let grow naturally... i thought he would fail. This year it looks great and survived the winter. Moral of the story is that later is always better with cool season grasses.


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Good timing for this post. I am actually starting to overseed this weekend. Temps have started to come down FINALLY. I'm in Shelby township. I know it's about 2 weeks early from when most people say to do it, but my schedule is absolutely insane starting mid August through September. Corona has totally complicated back to school, lots of more important things I need to take care of in the fall than worrying about my grass. We have a nice 2 week vacation coming up starting Mid August, and I am worried if I start seeding to late into September, my KBG won't survive the cold temps. Michigan weather is so unpredictable. I have to look at the big picture and prioritize things. Right now is perfect for my schedule to lay down seed, I can keep up with the water everyday (I work from home full time) and the back to school, vacation madness has not started. We are also having a garage sale at the end of the summer. Basically just to many things going on in august/September to be distracted with an overseed. I want to get the roots started now and let it ride into fall. I am confident in my strategy, I just hope mother nature co-operates. I can control how much I need to water, I can't control an early freeze.


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Stegs said:


> MarshalOfFire said:
> 
> 
> > I had good results with the first part of August in SW Michigan. I had irrigation though and wasn't afraid of a high water bill. Watch the weather and when you see low 80s or high 70s for most of the 10day forecast, throw it down. Just be prepared if that changes and you have to water some more.
> ...


We are in almost the exact same boat, except I am starting even earlier! As I said in my other post, My fall is just way way to busy to finish a top dress/leveling/overseed. I have no issue watering like crazy to keep things moist. I am using GCI cool blue (85% TTTF/15% KBG) It's such a balancing act here in Michigan with our weather. I'd rather battle with 80 degree temps now when my life isn't so busy than do this in the fall and piss off my wife spending every day in the yard when I should be prepping for back to school, garage sale, vacation, etc...


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## Ngilbe36 (Jul 23, 2020)

halby said:


> We are in almost the exact same boat, except I am starting even earlier! As I said in my other post, My fall is just way way to busy to finish a top dress/leveling/overseed. I have no issue watering like crazy to keep things moist. I am using GCI cool blue (85% TTTF/15% KBG) It's such a balancing act here in Michigan with our weather. I'd rather battle with 80 degree temps now when my life isn't so busy than do this in the fall and piss off my wife spending every day in the yard when I should be prepping for back to school, garage sale, vacation, etc...


Nice! I am doing the same. My GCI Cool Blue will be here tomorrow. I am laying down the first round Glyc this weekend to be followed up again in 2 weeks then tilling, leveling, topdressing and seeding.

Im doing a reno on one section and overseeding the rest of the backyard. I dont have in-ground irrigation so I cant commit to a reno on the whole 10k backyard at once.


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Ngilbe36 said:


> halby said:
> 
> 
> > We are in almost the exact same boat, except I am starting even earlier! As I said in my other post, My fall is just way way to busy to finish a top dress/leveling/overseed. I have no issue watering like crazy to keep things moist. I am using GCI cool blue (85% TTTF/15% KBG) It's such a balancing act here in Michigan with our weather. I'd rather battle with 80 degree temps now when my life isn't so busy than do this in the fall and piss off my wife spending every day in the yard when I should be prepping for back to school, garage sale, vacation, etc...
> ...


No irrigation here either, I have a ghetto above ground DIY setup, with a timer. It works fine.


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

Well i just finished a new irrigation well over this past weekend. Got my irrigation system working fantastic now. I feel even more confident in my overseeding

I plan on doing it this weekend (7/31) or the following. Weather is looking like low 80s for highs and in the 60s for lows

Im going for it.


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## LawnBoy (Sep 30, 2018)

Good luck with the overseed. I'm planning a full new seed here in the next few weeks in West Michigan.


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## BrainBailey (Nov 20, 2019)

Going to jump in on this thread as I too live in Michigan (GR area) and will be having some power seeding done. My house is a couple of years old and the lawn is predominantly a very wispy strain of fine fescue with a little Rye and KBG. The hydro seeding contractor probably used the cheapest stuff he could find and I didn't know any better. Regardless, I've sourced some nice KBG seed with the hope that power seeding it in will increase my chances of thickening the lawn. Called the service today to figure out when to put down the growth regulator and they don't want to start until mid September. This felt very late to me, especially with the cool down this week. Anybody have a second opinion to share?


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

BrainBailey said:


> Going to jump in on this thread as I too live in Michigan (GR area) and will be having some power seeding done. My house is a couple of years old and the lawn is predominantly a very wispy strain of fine fescue with a little Rye and KBG. The hydro seeding contractor probably used the cheapest stuff he could find and I didn't know any better. Regardless, I've sourced some nice KBG seed with the hope that power seeding it in will increase my chances of thickening the lawn. Called the service today to figure out when to put down the growth regulator and they don't want to start until mid September. This felt very late to me, especially with the cool down this week. Anybody have a second opinion to share?


That is late for KBG. It will need time to harden off before winter. Sept 1 is the latest in my opinion.


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## BrainBailey (Nov 20, 2019)

I thought so too, thanks for the reassurance. I think September 1 is a good deadline as you suggest, especially with the cooler weather we've seen the last 2 weeks. I actually just finished some top dressing/leveling last week in preparation. 
I overseeded the bare spots with a Lescoe KBG mix. A good portion of the seedlings are already 1.5" after only 10 days and it's too thick to only be the Rye that's in the 80/20 mix. I honestly didn't think much would come up, just rolled the dice.


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## ahur (Oct 4, 2019)

I'm putting down TTTF from Hogan, which arrives tomorrow. But, I'm not putting it down until the end of the month. I've been reading that the time to overseed is 45 days before the first frost. For me in 5A 6B, that puts me right about the first of September.

I've been dethatching manually with a Groundskeeper II. I'll be applying MILO at the time of seeding, and I am contemplating using compost to cover the seed.


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

My overseed went well. Put seed in the ground the 31st of july. Today is August 4 and i have seedlings showing. Not many but they are popping up.

I have 4 day germination in a flower pot as a test, but in the lawn it seems to be doing just as well.

I used a billy goat overseeder and beat the crap out of my lawn (after i mowed it at 2")

I put down seed, then milo (3 bags covering just over 6000 square feet) and then sprayed the lawn with a fungicide and some RGS.

Its stinks terrible, but it seems to be working

Im on a dune, so im irrigation 15 min per zone, 4 times a day. Starting at 6am and spaced out in 3 hour intervals


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## shelby48085 (Aug 4, 2020)

New member (15 minutes ago).

I don't know if I have PRG or TTTF. I've looked at pictures and can't distinguish.

Planning an overseed for mid-late August. With not knowing exactly what I have, any recommendations for type of seed? Pros/Cons?

(edit) And I'll also add that a friend gave me a 7lb bag of Scotts KBG. Not sure if I can mix that with whatever I put down. Probably not a good idea, right?

I'm just north of Detroit.

- Shelby


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Stegs said:


> My overseed went well. Put seed in the ground the 31st of july. Today is August 4 and i have seedlings showing. Not many but they are popping up.
> 
> I have 4 day germination in a flower pot as a test, but in the lawn it seems to be doing just as well.
> 
> ...


That's awesome! Even though we are technically a little early, I think we will be fine. Especially if you have irrigation. I am 10-12 days into my overseed, things are progressing nicely. I am not overwhelmed with the cool blue yet. It's coming along ok, but no better than the HD Vigoro RTF I used this spring. I dunno, I am not sold on it yet, but I am not even a month in. I ended up grabbing 10 lbs of PR last Thursday to fill in some spots. Gosh I love PR, it comes up in 4 days. The jury is still out on the cool blue for me, but it's early.


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## SapperG (Jul 25, 2020)

In Muskegon, MI here. Just moved into new house in a subdivision. Previous owner must have stopped watering while moving out because almost the entire front lawn went totally dormant. Spent the last month just watering like crazy. Its finally starting to green up a bit but still looks quite patchy in the front yard. Backyard is very well shaded and the lawn looks pretty damn good back there. Wondering what the best course of action is to take for the front lawn at this point now that cooler temps are coming in...I laid down some 22-0-10 a few weeks ago with heavy watering. Just want to plan for winter/next Sring as far as dethatching/overseeding. Any advice?


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

SapperG said:


> In Muskegon, MI here. Just moved into new house in a subdivision. Previous owner must have stopped watering while moving out because almost the entire front lawn went totally dormant. Spent the last month just watering like crazy. Its finally starting to green up a bit but still looks quite patchy in the front yard. Backyard is very well shaded and the lawn looks pretty damn good back there. Wondering what the best course of action is to take for the front lawn at this point now that cooler temps are coming in...I laid down some 22-0-10 a few weeks ago with heavy watering. Just want to plan for winter/next Sring as far as dethatching/overseeding. Any advice?


awesome. Im just south of you towards grand haven/holland

What i would do, go find some milorganite. Its a goof proof fert. Works good when the temps are up. not overwhelming with nitrogen, so no worry about burning.

Id throw that down asap, keep up on the watering and mowing. This cooler weather will bring it back, especially with food/water.

Good to see another west michigan member here! Stay in touch, let me know how it bounces back. There may be a overseed in the future, but lets give it time and see what comes back!


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

shelby48085 said:


> New member (15 minutes ago).
> 
> I don't know if I have PRG or TTTF. I've looked at pictures and can't distinguish.
> 
> ...


pretty easy to tell between the 2

Tttf will be a bit of a wider blade. If you pick a blade of grass and run your fingers down the side, you will feel serrations on the side of the leaf blade

With prg, its a very fine, very thin blade. Very smooth, almost shiny on 1 side.

Both grow in clumps, (bunch type grass)

For overseeding, consider if you want a low maintenance (not alot of water, fertilizer mowing) or if it is a high maintenance lawn where you will be out there daily

Low maintenance id go with a tttf and KBG mix. I personally used united seed super turf II. This will be good for me as im in sand and have a hard time holding water, so i need tttf for the better root system.

If you spend alot of time in the lawn, id go bluegrass with a small amount of prg. it will require more water, more fert and just more attention, but it will look awesome!

I love bluegrass, but the more i learn about these new cultivars of tttf......and how much they look like bluegrass in a well established lawn........its hard to beat .

United seed - super turf II - This is some high rated seed and really good price.


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

halby said:


> Stegs said:
> 
> 
> > My overseed went well. Put seed in the ground the 31st of july. Today is August 4 and i have seedlings showing. Not many but they are popping up.
> ...


I know im a little early, but last year i renovated my back yard with 100% bluegrass.....I did it around the 20th of september and the weather didnt behave for me. We got rain and most of my lawn washed away. The bluegrass that stayed didnt "mature" enough before it got cooler and it just never took off

This year, i may be a little early than "normal", but id be early than late....especially when germination is key


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## BrainBailey (Nov 20, 2019)

SapperG said:


> In Muskegon, MI here. Just moved into new house in a subdivision. Previous owner must have stopped watering while moving out because almost the entire front lawn went totally dormant. Spent the last month just watering like crazy. Its finally starting to green up a bit but still looks quite patchy in the front yard. Backyard is very well shaded and the lawn looks pretty damn good back there. Wondering what the best course of action is to take for the front lawn at this point now that cooler temps are coming in...I laid down some 22-0-10 a few weeks ago with heavy watering. Just want to plan for winter/next Sring as far as dethatching/overseeding. Any advice?


I'm in the GR area and just joined the boards myself. I would also recommend getting a soil test from the MSU extension office. They're $25 with postage. That will help you start to improve any soil deficiencies.


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## SapperG (Jul 25, 2020)

BrainBailey said:


> SapperG said:
> 
> 
> > In Muskegon, MI here. Just moved into new house in a subdivision. Previous owner must have stopped watering while moving out because almost the entire front lawn went totally dormant. Spent the last month just watering like crazy. Its finally starting to green up a bit but still looks quite patchy in the front yard. Backyard is very well shaded and the lawn looks pretty damn good back there. Wondering what the best course of action is to take for the front lawn at this point now that cooler temps are coming in...I laid down some 22-0-10 a few weeks ago with heavy watering. Just want to plan for winter/next Sring as far as dethatching/overseeding. Any advice?
> ...


Hey thanks for the response. I ordered the soil test from MSU a few days ago so waiting for that for sure. Was a little concerned with throwing down any more fert or anything else without that test done.


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## SapperG (Jul 25, 2020)

Stegs said:


> SapperG said:
> 
> 
> > In Muskegon, MI here. Just moved into new house in a subdivision. Previous owner must have stopped watering while moving out because almost the entire front lawn went totally dormant. Spent the last month just watering like crazy. Its finally starting to green up a bit but still looks quite patchy in the front yard. Backyard is very well shaded and the lawn looks pretty damn good back there. Wondering what the best course of action is to take for the front lawn at this point now that cooler temps are coming in...I laid down some 22-0-10 a few weeks ago with heavy watering. Just want to plan for winter/next Sring as far as dethatching/overseeding. Any advice?
> ...


Hey thanks for the response! I ordered a soil test from MSU to try to get a better handle on things without so much guess work. So waiting for that to come in. Figured i was on right track with the front yard starting to green up a bit. I wasnt sure if throwing down any Milorganite would help bring the front out of dormancy or just make what I have already darker green, I guess I'm ok with either working. I just am scared to scorch it any further than the sun already did the last few months. Thanks for your response again and I'll be sure to update!


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## shelby48085 (Aug 4, 2020)

Stegs said:


> I love bluegrass, but the more i learn about these new cultivars of tttf......and how much they look like bluegrass in a well established lawn........its hard to beat .
> 
> United seed - super turf II - This is some high rated seed and really good price.


United seed Super Turf II it is. THANK YOU

And I like maintenance on the lawn. This was my first year of doing the lawn. I like it more than my flower beds. I cut it 3 times a week at least.


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## BrainBailey (Nov 20, 2019)

SapperG said:


> Stegs said:
> 
> 
> > SapperG said:
> ...


I wouldn't worry about milorganite. As the label says, it's 'burn free'. The slow release keeps you out of trouble, just don't go crazy. You might want to consider some of the other popular conditioners/additives like Humic Acid. We're surrounded by a lot of agriculture on our side of the state, and I've had good look contacting some of the local farm elevators. Additionally, I just discovered De Bruyn seed in Zeeland. They have great prices and almost everything you'll need in one spot, plus they're the only store in West Michigan at which I've found elite quality grass seed. They don't, however, have humic.


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

BrainBailey said:


> SapperG said:
> 
> 
> > Stegs said:
> ...


Thats my guy!!! Ken is the owner of the store. Been going there for years. I do hvac for a living and he has been using our company for years. I am so glad you found him.

He sells Turf merchant seed. I have used in the past with good luck.

FYI (he will sell you a pallet of milorganite with fantastic pricing) Trust me, i have a quote from him for a pallet!!

He is a great guy and a great company. Extremely knowledgeable!!


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## BrainBailey (Nov 20, 2019)

Stegs said:


> BrainBailey said:
> 
> 
> > SapperG said:
> ...


Just grabbed a bag of Turf Merchant True Blue for my power seeding in 3 weeks. Great seed and a great price. What's the scoop on the milo? Their price was already the cheapest I've seen when I was there two days ago.


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## shelby48085 (Aug 4, 2020)

I've lowered my height of cut from 3-1/2 to 3 for a week. I'm now at 2-1/2". I've been prepping for dethatch and scarifier next week. Then I'll aerate and overseed with https://unitedseeds.com/product/super-turf-ii-ls/.

Okay, like I said, I am at 2-1/2" and * I LOVE* the grass this short. Maybe even shorter (2"?). Can I keep TF this short all summer long in Michigan?


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## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@shelby48085 I've kept mine sub 1" throughout the summer last year. It definitely stresses out at the lower heights but is doable. I think 2" would work if you're irrigated and preventative about fungus.


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## shelby48085 (Aug 4, 2020)

shelby48085 said:


> I've lowered my height of cut from 3-1/2 to 3 for a week. I'm now at 2-1/2". I've been prepping for dethatch and scarifier next week. Then I'll aerate and overseed with https://unitedseeds.com/product/super-turf-ii-ls/.
> 
> Okay, like I said, I am at 2-1/2" and * I LOVE* the grass this short. Maybe even shorter (2"?). Can I keep TF this short all summer long in Michigan?


I had planned on using the Sunjoe scarifier already and planned on seeding tomorrow, but the high temperatures scared me. So, I am going scarify Sunday. My question for you is should I do a criss cross (N-S, E-W), or is just one-way back and forth (N-S only) sufficient?

Tonight I changed out the dethatcher drum to the scarifier drum in the SunJoe and did a little test run.

The left side is the criss cross, the right side is the one-way only.

Also, do you think it would help if I dropped to 1-1/2" before seeding?


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## dajoip (Sep 15, 2020)

@Stegs @BrainBailey I live 10 min from DeBruyn's and have been going there the last 18 months. I'd heard they're known for their great seed and have bought several bags of their own "Sun & Shade" mix for patching and overseeding - is that the seed you're referring to that's considered elite? Or is Turf Merchant something else they carry that's much better?

+1 on their milo pricing, esp during their 2wk summer sale when they drop it even lower!


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## BrainBailey (Nov 20, 2019)

@dajoip Their Sun and Shade is likely a mix of Turf Merchant products, and potentially another seed brand. If you ask them what seed is in the mix, they will gladly tell you. If you really want, you can probably ask to see the labels on the seed sacks. They brought one out for me before I bought a full sack of True Blue. I would guess that their premium Sun and Shade has a bit of the True Blue in it, plus some Rye and Fescue.

+2 on the milo. Next year I'm borrowing a truck and stocking up during the summer sale.

I'm in GR so I source from DeBruyn, Site One on 40th St, and Sparta Elevator. I wish I could find everything in one place.


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## dajoip (Sep 15, 2020)

@BrainBailey I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't know what I was looking at if they did show me the label lol. I've just gone on strong recommendations by many people I know that their seed is the "best in town" - and it just so happened that they were right around the corner from me. If I asked, what would I be looking for on the seed label? I just looked at my bag and attached a photo of the seed contents.

I bought 30 bags of milo during their summer sale and sort of sheepishly joked about it as we were loading up. They weren't fazed at all and said many people get a lot more than this! 😁

Have you ever checked out the Hudsonville Co-Op? That's the other place I've been going that has a lot of stuff, and seemingly knowledgeable people working there to help and provide recommendations. What do you get at Sparta Elevator that you can't get elsewhere?


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

I live in Livonia (Wayne County) and had slit overseeding done on 9/11. Lesco Tuff-Turf (90/10 of TTTF and KBG). I watered twice a day for 10 minutes, with a few days of spraying with the hose instead. So far I'm seeing moderate growth and don't plan on cutting until the end of this week (day 21-23). I was afraid of starting too late.


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

I did a test back in August. I used Scott's KBG, to see if it would germinate (albeit) in a pot. This is four weeks later and having cut some already for my guinea pigs.


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