Do you agree with this timeline in real life? I’ve heard change from 3 times a day to regular watering after a week and many others transitions. I have Fescue
Do you agree with this timeline in real life? I’ve heard change from 3 times a day to regular watering after a week and many others transitions. I have Fescue
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mirinjesse
Whatever your longest germination time is. For KBG germination is 7-21 on average, so for me, I mow, fertilize and switch watering after day 21.
swhalen17
My strategy (SE PA)
Dethatch / overseed
1-2 weeks – 7min every 4hrs
Start nitrogen spoon feed
3-4 weeks – 15min every 12hrs
5-winter – 20min every 3 days
That’s what I did last year. I’m 15 days out since the overseed and the lawn is really starting to pop (even though it doesn’t rain in SE PA)
TiredDadCostume
Think it also depends on how much sun you get. I do 2 times at 5-8 minutes for 2 weeks, then gradually move back to deep. I’m rye with heavy afternoon sun. Morning is light sun and heavy dew this time of year
sagdash
I’m in Kansas, too. Which season are you asking about?
timbo1615
I hate overseeding especially without irrigation 🙁
WickedDarkLawn
Did you bareground seed or overseed into existing turf?
For a new lawn, I start ramping down the constant watering after I see complete germination. You want to encourage the baby grasses roots to dive deep in search of water.
I wait until I see germination and then keep watering 4 times for a few more days to make sure everything is up out of the ground. Then I knock off watering and water 3 times a day for a couple of days, then down 2 times a day for a couple of days, then down to 1 time a day for a couple of days and then finally I skip a day. From there, I start doing deeper watering every other day if it’s not too hot.
I have a little heat wave coming through, so instead of going to 1 time a day tomorrow like I should be, I’m going to continue with 2 times a day until we get out if the high 80’s. Then, I will start to ramp down from there. I should be ready to do the first mow at 2 inches on my new tall fescue early next week. I’ll cut at that height a few times, and then I will bring it up to 2.5 inches and then 3.
Overseeding is a lot easier and forgiving because the existing turf holds a lot of moisture. You can get away with watering and worrying a lot less. Once it’s all germinated, you are kind of on easy street. Just water it a couple of times a day until it is like 2 inches tall and then go back to your normal routine.
Not a ton of resources out there on this. I just kind of do my best and give what I think the grass needs based on the weather.
sagdash
I go 3-4 x per day for 2 weeks. 2-3 x per day for 2 weeks. Then once a day for a week and have always had good success. But also, that depends on weather, rain, shade, soil.
3ric3288
I watered 7 minutes 4x day for two weeks, then half inch daily for a week, then one day at half an inch weekly with great success is the summer heat (90’s) as an experiment.
Preface postage stamp townhouse lawn with 600 total square feet (larger areas need more time)
1. 3×5 minutes every day for 2 weeks
2. 2x??? (My first round here so this is adjusting) every day for 2 weeks
3. 2x every 2-3 days x15 minutes for two weeks
Past-Direction9145
in the first 10-12 days its a period called imbibing. the seed cannot be allowed to dry out during this period or it dies. even one afternoon in the sun drying out, thats it, that’s all your hard work
so it doesn’t matter what schedule you use or how long you water for. the goal is to keep it wet. I’ve watered 6 times even 8 times a day for only 30 seconds a shot when it was 100F out and I got full germination. the lawn did not die later in the year either, the idea you can’t germinate in the summer is just because people are cheap and don’t want to pay for all the watering required.
so the answer is: however much it takes
when the grass is germinating, you’ll be dialing it back to get it to that theoretical 1″ per week but it’ll be a rough ride to get there. during which time you’ll be learning all about your grass and when it needs to be waterd, what it looks like when it’s too wet or too dry.
2nd worst thing you can do is come up with a schedule like above. absolute worst thing would be to set your sprinklers to a timer and walk away. you need to be there to see whats going on, every day. if your blood doesn’t start getting going at the thought of what your new grass will look like today versus yesterday, find another hobby this one is not for you.
the rest of us are like kids staring into a candy store. sun went out? go look. got cloudy out? go look. raining? absolutely go look. sunny again? go look. sprinklers on? go look. turned your sprinklers off? go look to make sure they’re actually off.
11 Comments
The 2024 Lawn of the Year contest is here! You have until September 30th to submit your lawn for consideration.
[Make your submissions on the stickied post, here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/lawncare/s/sz6a1U6lhP) As long as you’re proud of it, its worth a shot!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lawncare) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Whatever your longest germination time is. For KBG germination is 7-21 on average, so for me, I mow, fertilize and switch watering after day 21.
My strategy (SE PA)
Dethatch / overseed
1-2 weeks – 7min every 4hrs
Start nitrogen spoon feed
3-4 weeks – 15min every 12hrs
5-winter – 20min every 3 days
That’s what I did last year. I’m 15 days out since the overseed and the lawn is really starting to pop (even though it doesn’t rain in SE PA)
Think it also depends on how much sun you get. I do 2 times at 5-8 minutes for 2 weeks, then gradually move back to deep. I’m rye with heavy afternoon sun. Morning is light sun and heavy dew this time of year
I’m in Kansas, too. Which season are you asking about?
I hate overseeding especially without irrigation 🙁
Did you bareground seed or overseed into existing turf?
For a new lawn, I start ramping down the constant watering after I see complete germination. You want to encourage the baby grasses roots to dive deep in search of water.
I wait until I see germination and then keep watering 4 times for a few more days to make sure everything is up out of the ground. Then I knock off watering and water 3 times a day for a couple of days, then down 2 times a day for a couple of days, then down to 1 time a day for a couple of days and then finally I skip a day. From there, I start doing deeper watering every other day if it’s not too hot.
I have a little heat wave coming through, so instead of going to 1 time a day tomorrow like I should be, I’m going to continue with 2 times a day until we get out if the high 80’s. Then, I will start to ramp down from there. I should be ready to do the first mow at 2 inches on my new tall fescue early next week. I’ll cut at that height a few times, and then I will bring it up to 2.5 inches and then 3.
Overseeding is a lot easier and forgiving because the existing turf holds a lot of moisture. You can get away with watering and worrying a lot less. Once it’s all germinated, you are kind of on easy street. Just water it a couple of times a day until it is like 2 inches tall and then go back to your normal routine.
Not a ton of resources out there on this. I just kind of do my best and give what I think the grass needs based on the weather.
I go 3-4 x per day for 2 weeks. 2-3 x per day for 2 weeks. Then once a day for a week and have always had good success. But also, that depends on weather, rain, shade, soil.
I watered 7 minutes 4x day for two weeks, then half inch daily for a week, then one day at half an inch weekly with great success is the summer heat (90’s) as an experiment.
https://preview.redd.it/njtuucu4srod1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2a719d416580a09163da3df89fb9375a36623970
Preface postage stamp townhouse lawn with 600 total square feet (larger areas need more time)
1. 3×5 minutes every day for 2 weeks
2. 2x??? (My first round here so this is adjusting) every day for 2 weeks
3. 2x every 2-3 days x15 minutes for two weeks
in the first 10-12 days its a period called imbibing. the seed cannot be allowed to dry out during this period or it dies. even one afternoon in the sun drying out, thats it, that’s all your hard work
so it doesn’t matter what schedule you use or how long you water for. the goal is to keep it wet. I’ve watered 6 times even 8 times a day for only 30 seconds a shot when it was 100F out and I got full germination. the lawn did not die later in the year either, the idea you can’t germinate in the summer is just because people are cheap and don’t want to pay for all the watering required.
so the answer is: however much it takes
when the grass is germinating, you’ll be dialing it back to get it to that theoretical 1″ per week but it’ll be a rough ride to get there. during which time you’ll be learning all about your grass and when it needs to be waterd, what it looks like when it’s too wet or too dry.
2nd worst thing you can do is come up with a schedule like above. absolute worst thing would be to set your sprinklers to a timer and walk away. you need to be there to see whats going on, every day. if your blood doesn’t start getting going at the thought of what your new grass will look like today versus yesterday, find another hobby this one is not for you.
the rest of us are like kids staring into a candy store. sun went out? go look. got cloudy out? go look. raining? absolutely go look. sunny again? go look. sprinklers on? go look. turned your sprinklers off? go look to make sure they’re actually off.