FESCUE GRASS SEED SOIL PREPARATION

An important step before planting your fescue grass seeds is to prepare and grade the soil. No soil is perfect, especially the poor-draining, low quality sub-soils usually exposed by new construction. Taking the extra time and effort to improve your soil before seeding your fescue lawn will reduce your water usage and save you money for years to come.

Not only will a poor soil cost you extra money keeping your lawn watered, but it also makes for a poor looking lawn. As a rule: healthy grass lawns grow in healthy soil. Many people dump loads of fertilizer onto their lawn (another extra cost) to make it as green as possible and mask their soil’s shortcomings. But this is a short-term, habit-forming fix. A well-prepared soil, combined with the best fescue grass seed varieties available, will save you time and money and give you the best chance at a picture-perfect lawn.

A good soil is well-structured. The better the structure the easier it is for water to absorb and percolate deep into the soil profile. Clay soils are dense and compact easily, making them slow to absorb water and nutrients. This makes them prone to losing water to runoff and evaporation before much of it gets down to the roots. Sandy soils allow water to move through the soil too quickly and evaporate from the soil too easily. In a well-structured soil, water is held deeper in the soil and is protected from summer evaporation. This encourages your fescue grass lawn’s roots to grow down deeper than they would in a poor soil, giving them access to additional water and nutrients which are out of reach of shallower rooted plants.

Healthy soils need various components such as organic matter, diverse particle sizes and enough pore space to hold oxygen and water. Poor soils suffer from a shortage of most or all of these components, but organic matter is the solution to every one of them. Decomposing organic matter provides nutrients for your grass seed and also increases the diversity of soil particles (instead of the evenness of a pure-sand or pure-clay soil). The various particles from the added organic matter create a matrix of space between the soil particles that allow water and oxygen in and give roots room to grow. Taking extra steps before you plant your grass seeds will produce a healthy soil, giving you a thick, lush lawn needing less water and fertilizer.

1. Before planting your grass seed, rototill the top six inches of your existing soil. This adds oxygen and breakups any compacted areas that restrict water absorption and root growth.
2. Till in organic matter such as black topsoil, compost, shredded yard waste (leaves, grass clippings, etc.) or an organic matter-based, slow-release fertilizer.
3. Add any additional soil amendments as suggested by your local county extension agent. (Your local agent may recommend you get your soil analyzed first. Follow their instructions on where and how to have your soil tested.)

Once you have improved the organic matter content of your soil, it is time to install your sprinkler system. After installation, fill in the trenches housing the sprinkler pipe and use a rake to level the entire area, removing large rocks and other debris. Finally, use a lawn roller filled with water to firm the soil. The roller needs to be filled at least halfway with water to provide the correct weight. Be careful not to add too much water to the roller or roll any area too many times, as this will compact the soil and prevent proper water infiltration and drainage.

After your lawn has established itself, it is important to maintain the healthy, organic-rich soil you have created. Remembering that organic matter and soil structure are two of the main keys to a healthy soil, every year take some additional steps to maintain your soil’s health:

• When mowing your lawn, don’t bag the clippings. Instead, set your lawnmower to its ‘mulch’ setting. Lawn clippings provide your fescue lawn with a steady input of organic matter throughout the growing season that will slowly decompose on the soil surface.
• Have your lawn aerated at least once a year (twice—fall and spring—if you have high-clay soils). Aeration breaks-up compacted soils, opens up space for new growth, creates a pathway for oxygen to enter the soil, helps thatch and clippings to decompose and allows water to infiltrate into the soil easier.
• Top-dress your lawn with black topsoil, compost or any other fine-particle organic matter that can be easily worked down to the crown of the grass. Even sand—either alone or blended with topsoil or compost—can be a helpful top-dressing to improve soil structure (especially in high-clay soils). Top-dressing your lawn shortly after aerating, before the holes have had time to close back up, can be particularly beneficial. (Note: It is important never to top-dress a light sandy soil with a heavier top-dressing. This will cause soil interfacing and restrict root depths.)

Taking these extra steps create to produce and maintain a healthy soil will turn your fescue grass seeds into a thick, lush grass yard, needing less fertilizer and water for the life of your lawn.

In addition to water and sunlight, installing a new lawn from fescue grass seed requires soil nutrients for good growth. This is true whether you are planting tall fescue grass seeds or short fescue grass seeds. However, not every soil is ideal for providing adequate nutrition for fescue grass seeds, especially the low quality soils that typically surround new construction. Fertilizing at the right time of year is necessary for adding supplemental nutrients to help your fescue grass maintain its optimum health and beauty after it is established.

Most of the nutrients your fescue grass seed requires are already supplied to the roots of your grass in small, trace amounts through natural occurring soil processes. However, fescue grass, as with any grass lawn, require three especially important nutrients—nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)—in larger quantities than are readily available in most soils. Lawn fertilizers are formulated to provide these nutrients at higher levels than are typically available naturally within most soils.

All commercial fertilizers display three numbers somewhere on their bag, representing its particular combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These numbers are the percentages of these nutrients in the fertilizer and are separated by dashes, such as 4-6-4 (or N-P-K). In the example of a 4-6-4 (totaling 14%), the remaining 86% of the fertilizer is made up of filler material (and sometimes other trace ingredients such as calcium, magnesium, iron, etc.) meant to give you the bulk needed to spread the fertilizer evenly over your yard. In the case of an organic based fertilizer, the additional weight is not filler but organic matter, a much needed soil component in sandy and clayey soils.

Newly seeded fescue grass seed lawns need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a much different combination than an already established lawn, and thus most fertilizers are not formulated to meet the needs of a newly seeded fescue lawn. When planting your new fescue seed lawn make sure to select a “starter” fertilizer, or an organic, “slow-release” fertilizer. Do not use “weed & feed” fertilizers intended for use on established lawns, as these include weed preventing chemicals in combination with the fertilizer that can severely damage or kill new seedlings.

The phosphorus and potassium in your fertilizer needs to be easily accessible to the seedlings and so it is best to work the fertilizer into the soil as one of the final steps before spreading your fescue grass seed. To do this, use a seed spreader to apply the fertilizer evenly. Then incorporate it into the topsoil, either manually with a rake and shovel, or mechanically with the use of a tiller. Do not work the fertilizer deeper than 4″ into the topsoil.

About 4-8 weeks after the fescue seeds germinate you should fertilize your grass again. Do not continue to use starter fertilizer for this second application. The higher phosphorus content of starter fertilizers is an important nutrient right after your grass seed has germinated, but once established, your lawn no longer needs phosphorus at such a high rate. Moreover, phosphorus runoff is a contributor to surface and groundwater pollution. Instead, use either a more traditional type fertilizer, or an organic, slow-release fertilizer such as an 18-1-8 formulation which is better suited for an existing lawn. Use your seed spreader to apply the fertilizer in two directions. Make sure not to over-apply by following the application rate provided on the fertilizer’s packing. Sweep any fertilizer granules that end up on the sidewalk or driveway back onto the fescue lawn. Water the lawn immediately after fertilizing to allow the nutrients to filter down through the soil to the roots.

If you have a fescue grass seed lawn, it is important to distinguish whether you it is a Tall fescue grass or a Fine fescue grass, because each will have different requirements. If you are unsure as to how to distinguish between the two, please refer to our grass seed guides.

Turf-type Tall fescue grass does grow better than other grass seed types in shade, but it also need partial sunlight to look its best. If all areas of your lawn can get some direct sunlight for a least part of the day, then this variety is a great option, and will easily handle both shade and sun. Take a look at our 100% Tall fescue grass seed, Triple-Play Blend, here. This variety is able to tolerate traffic and heat as well as resist disease, and does not need as frequent watering.

If, however, you are looking to plant a lawn in a fully shaded area, then the fescue seed for you is Fine fescue grass seed. This variety needs full or at least partial shade, but will not do well in direct sunlight. Use our Fine Fescue Turfgrass Blend to grow a beautiful lawn under a large oak tree or awning. Not only will it be shade tolerant, but the Fine Fescue Turfgrass Blend will not need as frequent watering and can endure poor soil types better than other varieties.

It is important to remember that both varieties are cool-season seed types, and will become brown if exposed to too much sun and heat. If your lawn area is fully exposed to sun but you still like the look and feel of fescue grass, you could try planting some trees or shrubbery to create the shady environment it prefers. Enjoy your fescue grass lawn for relaxation and recreation in shade and sun.

As a cool-season grass, your tall fescue lawn will grow some in the spring, but will eventually stop growing during the summer. Compared to other cool-season lawns, tall fescue is fairly drought tolerant, thanks to its deep root system. However, it can still fall prey to other summer stresses that will eradication efforts followed by over-seeding with fescue grass seed. One of these potential stresses is the hairy chinch bug.

Hairy chinch bugs (Blissus leucopterus) are small pests that can often be confused with the big-eyed bug. Adult chinch bugs will spend the winter in protected thatch layers. As soon as the temperatures indicate the arrival of spring, adult chinch bugs will begin to lay eggs. Both the nymphs and adults suck plant fluids out of the crowns and stems of the grass, and inject a toxin that interferes with the uptake of any water or nutrients. The affected grass eventually yellows and dies. The nymphs will reach adulthood and begin laying eggs again in July and August, and depending on how long the summer lasts, the second generation might be able to lay eggs as well. The damage is not so evident during the spring, while the tall fescue grass is actively growing. However, during the hot, dry conditions of summer, chinch bug damage can look a lot like drought damage. There will be yellow, uneven patches of grass that won’t recover.

How can you tell whether the damage you see is caused by drought or by chinch bugs? Take several gallon cans and remove both ends. Stick each can several inches into the lawn, and fill each can ¾ of the way with water. Wait for 10 minutes and count the number of chinch bugs, both nymphs and adults, that float to the surface (study insect guides closely and don’t mistake the chinch bugs for their beneficial predator, the big-eyed bug). If the water seeps into the soil too quickly, refill the cans. Your lawn can sustain a certain number of chinch bugs without significant damage done to it. However, if you are seeing more than 20 to 30 chinch bugs (adults + nymphs) per square foot, then you need to develop an integrated pest management plan to control them.

Integrated pest management simply means that you implement cultural, biological, and chemical means of controlling the pest, saving chemical control as a last resort. For cultural control, you must maintain the grass in a way that puts chinch bugs at a disadvantage. Chinch bugs thrive in hot and dry conditions, so one way to culturally control them is to irrigate the lawn more frequently. You could also remove your lawn’s thatch layer in the spring or fall, so that the adult chinch bugs do not have a place to hibernate during the winter. For biological control, you could introduce more big-eyed bugs to the lawn to feed on the chinch bugs. You could also try planting tall fescue seeds with endophyte, a beneficial fungus that has been proven resistant to chinch bug attacks.

If none of these methods work, or if your chinch bug problem is so severe that drastic action is necessary, you may apply a pesticide to the soil. Pick a pesticide that is safe to use on your lawn. And remember to follow all pesticide’s application instructions. Wear protective clothing, and keep out of reach of children. Pesticides are poisonous, and they will kill good bugs and bad bugs, so they should be used sparingly, if at all.

By using integrated pest management, you will hopefully limit the amount of chinch bug damage done to your tall fescue grass lawn this summer.

Tall fescue grass is an excellent cool-season variety for a lawn. Its deep root system allows it to be extremely drought tolerant, so you can plant fescue grass seed in soils with poor fertility, and it can tolerate some shade, although it prefers sunny areas. But if you have ever dealt with shaded grass, you’ll know that thinning is almost inevitable. So how do you deal with a shaded tall fescue lawn?

The key to remember is that any shaded grass will be performing less overall photosynthesis because it is exposed to less sunlight. Therefore, the shaded grass will have less energy stores at its disposal, which means it will grow more slowly and take a longer time to recover from disease and injuries. You should keep all of this in mind as you maintain this area of your lawn.

First of all, you shouldn’t have to water shaded grass as frequently. Water is used to perform photosynthesis, so less water should be used in proportion to the decreased amount of sunlight. Too much water can also exacerbate humid conditions in the shade and encourage fungi pathogens to grow. Tall fescue doesn’t need much water anyway, so you should only irrigate when you see the classic signs of water deprivation: the grass will turn bluish gray and the leaves will wilt. Don’t water the area just because the sunned grass is starting to look water deprived. Wait until the shaded grass needs it!

Don’t fertilize as frequently either. Too much nitrogen, at the very least, can push the grass to deplete all of its food stores in creating new growth. The result is very tall and very weak grass. At the very worst, an excess of nitrogen can burn the grass. Let the shaded tall fescue reserve as much energy as possible for sustaining itself.

Usually you should mow tall fescue at a height of 2”. But in shaded areas you should increase that height to 3”. Why? Simply put, taller grass means more chlorophyll, and more chlorophyll can perform more photosynthesis. Giving your shaded lawn area this advantage will be instrumental in keeping it thick.

Tall fescue grass is fairly traffic tolerant, but it’s a different story with shaded grass. Because the shaded tall fescue does not get as much “food” as its sunned counterpart, it will not have extra energy to spend repairing torn, worn, or crushed grass leaves. Do your shaded grass a favor and avoid walking across it.

If shade is caused by tall trees, you should make sure that all branches within eight feet of the ground are pruned. This will help lessen the overall humidity and improve air circulation. It will also allow more sunlight through. If, after following all these suggestions, your tall fescue grass is still suffering in the shade, you have a couple of options. You can either reseed the area with the more shade-tolerant fine fescue grass varieties, or you can remove some of the shade sources. Whichever you choose will be a good alternative to nursing a continually struggling lawn in the shade.