Best Seed Source for Bluegrass?

16 years ago

We're planning to seed a 1000 sf central area in the back yard, the rest will be shrubs and beds. No kids, one 20 lb mutt, very light foot traffic. We have pretty good topsoil. We're in coastal SoCA with a generally mild climate. We've installed a sprinkler system and the yard gets at plenty of sun. My nursery sells various Scott's seed blends and Pennington rye-KBG blend, or pure a KGB blend. I'm leaning toward the pure KBG from Pennington. Are there reasons not to?

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Comments (4)

tiemco
16 years ago
1000 sq. ft. will only require 4 lbs of KBG seed max, so it makes sense to buy from the big box stores as online sellers usually charge a lot more for such a small quantity. Unfortunately you are limited to what cultivars of KBG they offer. If you have a seed seller near you, you might want to check them out and see if they have some of the newer elite cultivars. Also you should check the NTEP trials to see which ones do the best in your area. Home Depot carries, or used to carry, seeds used in MLB stadiums. Normally I would not recommend that product, but those seeds they used were generally newer cultivars with dark consistent color unlike the generic Scott products. Where in California are you exactly?
dchall_san_antonio
16 years ago
Search the Internet for "grass seed supplier list." The list I found was from 2008 but should still apply. There was another article on the site about seed selection but I don't think California was mentioned. The new Elite KBG types are gorgeous!

With grass seed you get what you pay for. Check the Guaranteed Analysis on the side of the bag. Look for Other Crop and Weed. Both should be 0.00%. Bermuda grass seed could be either Other Crop or Weed depending on how you look at it. Bermuda seed is the size of dust so just a little bit of it can ruin your lawn. With such a small area to cover, call the suppliers and ask what they can do for you.
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dwpc
Original Author
16 years ago
We live in coastal Ventura County; a very mild climate typically with morning low clouds. The only NTEP evaluation I've found for CA is for fine fescues grown inland. I've had bad experience with local fine fescue blends...the "fine" doesn't seem to last and dies out leaving the clumpy coarse stuff.
tiemco
16 years ago
Yeah, forgot that CA doesn't have a KBG trial, sorry about that. You would think that they would grow it in northern CA at least, but whatever. I guess you should either use locations that have similar climates to you, or pick cultivars that do pretty well across the board. Or you can talk to local sod farmers and local golf course superintendents to see what they would recommend.