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Fescue not growing

15 years ago

Planted tttf on Oct.11, w/ 24-24-4 starter fert.,germinated good after 2 weeks,about an 1 inch high across the 2700s. ft. For the last week and half, hasn't grown any, still has good green color.put down 10lbs.,fert.week ago I put down the other 5 lbs. I'm taking in a soil sample tomorrow, tested ph w/ home kit came out at 7.0/7.2. Soil temp for my area is 70 under 2 inches bare soil. Soil was rototiller last fall,ran over w/ one of those hand held aerators, before seeding this fall,just not sure what my next step is.

Comments (7)

  • 15 years ago

    From your soil temps I am assuming you are in the transition zone. Is this true? Where are you located? Most new grasses have a period after germination where they stop growing for a bit. The general consensus is that the grass is focusing it's resources on root growth and other cellular processes at this point. TTTF's "pout" stage is generally pretty short. It should be about 3" by the time it is a month old under normal growing circumstances. Once it hits three inches you should mow it down to two.

  • 15 years ago

    Good info, & yes transition zone, Oklahoma. I put down 20lbs for 2500sq ft. Grass came in thin some area's. I remeasured yard it's actually about 2700 sq ft. I put down another 7 lbs seed last thursday, should be coming up a day or two,you think that might have contributed to slow growth, since I'm not giving as good a deep watering as it needs for the roots.

  • 15 years ago

    Probably not. Three week old roots are still pretty short, so I'm sure they are getting enough water. Those seeds you just put down will probably pout for even longer since temps are falling in OK.

  • 15 years ago

    Planned on fertilizing w/ a bag of fertilizer & barricade around 1 week of Nov. & again w/ just fertilizer in Dec. Is that about right.should I do one in Feb also,then hit again w/ barricade in March. I've got some good compost brewing too. I've got almost an 11/2 acres w/ 20 something huge Oaks, Pecans,Elms,etc.., so plenty of compost to make. I would like to get away from the store bought stuff, and have a nice lawn by proper mowing height, watering & good soil management. Maybe I can send some pics, if I can figure out how to post them. Thank you for all the great advice.

  • 15 years ago

    I wouldn't use any preemergents on grass that young, especially as temps are falling like they are. Save it for next spring. I wouldn't fertilize until after the first mowing. Organic lawns are certainly better for the environment, but if your soil test shows any major deficiencies it's easier and more cost effective to get it to where you want with synthetics, then transition over to mostly organic.

  • 15 years ago

    That's my plan, after soil test,get it right.then try organic. I had a nice lawn until the 40 + days of over 100. Just stopped watering it, by end of July it was all brown, stayed that way till I renovated. I had used Haltz preemergent end of march. I broke that barrier when renovated, but w/ the Glyphosate I put down 3 weeks before seeding, am I gonna have poa annua problems? 2-4-D will be ok to use on any broadleaf weeds, after I mow, correct.

  • 15 years ago

    That Halts would have worn off before you started your renovation. Preemergents don't last forever, I think Halts is 90 days. Poa annua is always a problem, regardless of what you do. I have read some people having good success with Tenacity, but regular preemergent applications in spring in fall will limit poa annua spread over time. Poa triv is another story. Read the label on your 2-4 D, usually it's safe after a few mowings, but always check before you use it.

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