# Still getting 80-90 degree weather till end of August. Wait to overseed??



## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

I was planning my overseed for this weekend but after checking the forecast it says highs of 86 most days as far as I can see (until aug20)

Should I wait another few weeks to overseed or with enough watering am I good to go? Location is a few hours north of the ND-Canada border


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## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

As long as you can keep the seeds moist and continue to water after germination you'll be fine. I've got high 80s low 90s coming up this weekend and I put my seed down Tuesday. I have in ground irrigation and a means to put the water to it though.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

synergy0852 said:


> As long as you can keep the seeds moist and continue to water after germination you'll be fine. I've got high 80s low 90s coming up this weekend and I put my seed down Tuesday. I have in ground irrigation and a means to put the water to it though.


Ok thanks. I'll be using a sprinkler, but have the time to do it.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I would get your seed down. Day time temps are cooler here but night time temps are way down from just last week.

The days are also shorter. As long as the seed stays moist, you're good to go.


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Do it, you'll be fine as long as you can keep it moist. I am 3 weeks into my overseed in SE michigan. Getting great results.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

Awesome thanks guys. I'll be doing this project tomorrow morning &#128512;


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

@Harts you've helped me with tenacity in the past, if you don't mind I have another question for you.

So I've only done one app of post emergent coverage with nis about 3 weeks ago. But now I plan to put down again at seed down to double as my second app to finish killing everything that turned white originally and as a prem for my seeding.

Should I spray it without nis this time as I seed and water in? Would that also take care of finishing off the weeds and unwanted grass or would that just be more effective for prem coverage?


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

halby said:


> Do it, you'll be fine as long as you can keep it moist. I am 3 weeks into my overseed in SE michigan. Getting great results.


Dang! 3 weeks... Just got my seed down this weekend. Started seeing widespread germinating today. Weather has been cooperating well for the most part.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

The general rule with Tenacity is this:

Post-em - use surfactant 
Pre-em - no surfactant

It isnt really designed to give both properties effectively. How bad is your weed problem.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

It's actually not that bad, I had just read that for effective post emergence coverage you'll have to spray again about 2 weeks after the first app.

I'll just do preM app and water it in then.

Does it matter if I spray it right on the seeds or should I spray and then put seed down?


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

When Tenacity is used at seed down as a pre-em, it needs to be applied approx. 30 days later to continue control.

I would spray as the last step in the process. Seed first then spray.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

Thanks, that's what I'll do then.

P.s. I'm amazed how much thatch this sun joe is taking out. Going on 4 compost bags for 2000sqft


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## moedank (Sep 10, 2019)

This thread is reassuring. I'm in mid Missouri, 6a hardiness zone, and plan on seeding this weekend with TTTF. Temps are in the mid upper 80s until Sunday then they drop into the upper 70s to low 80s for the next two weeks. Feel like I'm taking a slight gamble until we crest into September. Don't have a timed inground irrigation system but do have some impressive sprinklers that can cover the whole lot. I could buy a hose timer or my wife, who has been working at home, could periodically turn them on whenever needed.


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Keep in mind though everyone, you need to watch for disease. All it takes is one or two nights of high humidity with these day time temps still mid 80's to bring on disease. I just cut my watering off on my newly seeded areas as I started seeing mycelium this week. It literally can pop up over night with all the watering you have to do with new seedlings. I got great establishment for the most part, but I am not going to push anymore watering. Whatever germinated this far I am ok with. I am not going to risk a disease outbreak at this point. I will patch up these thin areas in September when the humidity and high 80's are gone.


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## moedank (Sep 10, 2019)

halby said:


> Keep in mind though everyone, you need to watch for disease. All it takes is one or two nights of high humidity with these day time temps still mid 80's to bring on disease. I just cut my watering off on my newly seeded areas as I started seeing mycelium this week. It literally can pop up over night with all the watering you have to do with new seedlings. I got great establishment for the most part, but I am not going to push anymore watering. Whatever germinated this far I am ok with. I am not going to risk a disease outbreak at this point. I will patch up these thin areas in September when the humidity and high 80's are gone.


Good point. My test plot of grass seed (to make sure the bag of seed was good) has only been watered three times over the last 7-8 days and the grass is already 3 inches tall. It has handled high temps and humidity well so far. I prefer to water on the lighter side, which hopefully slightly reduces disease potential. The straw erosion nets I use along with peat moss really keep the moisture in so less waterings are needed.

Now, I do have a gallon of propiconazole that supposedly can be put down with the grass seed or anytime after. Still hoping the forecast holds on, dry with cooler temps, so the grass can establish itself more before getting any fungicide.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Would applying phosphite to control/prevent mycelium help?


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Scagfreedom48z+ said:


> Would applying phosphite to control/prevent mycelium help?


its supposed to. I have some on the way.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

halby said:


> Scagfreedom48z+ said:
> 
> 
> > Would applying phosphite to control/prevent mycelium help?
> ...


I'm going to be using at the recommended rate and application times throughout my overseed process. The fact that it provides nutrients and a non resistant fungicide is huge.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

I don't have any sort of fungicide in hand so hopefully I don't get a fungus.

Maybe I should skip my last watering of the day as the sun is going down then Going forward


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Lungal09 said:


> I don't have any sort of fungicide in hand so hopefully I don't get a fungus.
> 
> Maybe I should skip my last watering of the day as the sun is going down then Going forward


I would only skip if it is necessary. If your soil is dry at 6pm, you will want to hit it with water. This may change on a day by day basis.


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## moedank (Sep 10, 2019)

Lungal09 said:


> I don't have any sort of fungicide in hand so hopefully I don't get a fungus.
> 
> Maybe I should skip my last watering of the day as the sun is going down then Going forward


My last watering is usually around 4:00-4:30pm, even for less than one week old grass seed. My goal is to keep the seed and soil just moist enough until sundown. Then, the dew keeps everything wet until I water the next early morning. I'm fine with giving it a slightly heavier watering in the morning since I usually only water early morning and mid afternoon, unless it is unusually hot.

Again, I use erosion mats by necessity because my yard is sloped but they do have the added benefit of holding moisture well and likely save me 1-2 waterings each day.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

Lungal09 said:


> I don't have any sort of fungicide in hand so hopefully I don't get a fungus.
> 
> Maybe I should skip my last watering of the day as the sun is going down then Going forward


That's a pretty big chance you're taking, fungus can pop up during a reno and overseed, potentially wiping out a lot of your hard work.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

Yeah you guys are right I shouldn't be watering that late. I'll change it to about 5 for my last one of the day just to keep it wet until sunset


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

@Harts Yeah my goal is to keep it wet 24/7. It gets watered at 530 then at 10. From then on neither my wife or I am home until 5 so that's the next watering. If it's dry again at 8 I've been doing another water. All of them aren't heavy waterings, just keeping things wet. Keep my current plan?


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

The thing with watering seed is that your schedule can change daily. Overcast days you may only need to water 3-4x. Hot and sunny, you might need to water 5x.

Do you have a timer? I'm concerned your seed bed is going to dry out between 10am and 5pm. 12-4 are generally the hottest parts of the day. You need to find a way to get water down during this time.


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## jcs43920 (Jun 3, 2019)

I would wait a little while, it if you have a setup with irrigation three times a day you could go ahead and do it now. I've actually had better success with seeding in the heat compared to 65-60 degree soil temperatures, but that's as long as its constantly kept moist.

If your unable to water it at least three times a day I would definitely wait a couple more weeks until things cool off. Also you'll want to use some kind of mulch to keep it moist. I'm not a fan of straw at all but it does help when your in a situation where you need to keep it wet and can only water once a day.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

jcs43920 said:


> I would wait a little while, it if you have a setup with irrigation three times a day you could go ahead and do it now. I've actually had better success with seeding in the heat compared to 65-60 degree soil temperatures, but that's as long as its constantly kept moist.
> 
> If your unable to water it at least three times a day I would definitely wait a couple more weeks until things cool off. Also you'll want to use some kind of mulch to keep it moist. I'm not a fan of straw at all but it does help when your in a situation where you need to keep it wet and can only water once a day.


Very sound advice. My only concern is where the poster is located. He could see frost in September. I would find a away to keep the seed moist and seed now.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

Harts said:


> The thing with watering seed is that your schedule can change daily. Overcast days you may only need to water 3-4x. Hot and sunny, you might need to water 5x.
> 
> Do you have a timer? I'm concerned your seed bed is going to dry out between 10am and 5pm. 12-4 are generally the hottest parts of the day. You need to find a way to get water down during this time.


Yeah I'm concerned about those hours of the afternoon as well. I don't currently have a way to water when I'm not home. I just have a sprinkler and hand sprayer.

Because of the shape of my yard and where I've seeded I almost have to hand water so a timer on a sprinkler wouldn't do me much good.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

Sorry I should have mentioned, I seeded on august 7th. I put down peat on top of the areas that are bare top soil where I filled in low spots for moisture retention but didn't do anything on the grass areas


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## mobiledynamics (Aug 9, 2020)

How did you overseed go LunGal . It was calling for high 80's-90s M-W. The forecasters were spot on. However, I was seeing sporadic rain on these days. Here's hoping your overseed went well.

I did my hell strip (no irrigation) this weekend, anticipating the rainy days with known same/similar heat. Just wanted to take advantage of the rain knowing I may put down more seed 3 week from now, depending on how the 1st pass went


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

mobiledynamics said:


> How did you overseed go LunGal . It was calling for high 80's-90s M-W. The forecasters were spot on. However, I was seeing sporadic rain on these days. Here's hoping your overseed went well.
> 
> I did my hell strip (no irrigation) this weekend, anticipating the rainy days with known same/similar heat. Just wanted to take advantage of the rain knowing I may put down more seed 3 week from now, depending on how the 1st pass went


It went well I think. I spend about 3 hours dethatching then cleaning up the debris, then scarifying and cleaning up again. Took out about 6 compost bags on 2000sqft.

Overseeded and sprayed tenacity and now just watering like crazy. No germination yet but hoping to see some in the next few days.

Unfortunately we haven't had rain in about a month here, but we're supposed to get some tonight and tomorrow so here's hoping.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

Got home from work and noticed I have germination! This is the front yard that's gets full sun so if it's doing well here, then the rest must be ok too 😊


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Congrats. That's great news.


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## 1028mountain (Oct 1, 2019)

Honestly I think I think too much how much watering means because before I took my lawn into my own hands I paid someone to do it and didn't water for shit. And the grass still germinated and grew. It's just us lawn nerds who obsess over when and how long to water seed.


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