Fall Seed Tips

If you are doing a total renovation or eliminating unwanted grasses, try spraying with Glystar Pro or any glyphosate product, and add a little liquid fertilizer or urea to fool the plant. The plant will be just like a man on death row getting a last meal; it will readily take up the nutrients and the glyphosate into its system. This will help provide a quick and thorough killing of the turf.

On a total renovation, it’s recommended to aerate or till the soil to prepare the seedbed. This is great for seed to soil contact, but can also promote dormant weed seeds to become active, which competes with the new grass. One option is to hold off on seeding for 3-4 weeks to see if any weeds begin to germinate. This allows you to go back and kill off the unwanted weeds or grasses prior to seeding (watering during the 3-4 weeks may help the weeds to germinate and allow you to seed sooner). After holding off, you can go back and aerate/overseed or slice seed.

Don’t be afraid to use starter fertilizer! Our ATS 16-28-12,  ATS 9-12-6 Turf Starter with SoilBuilder or Healthy Grow 2-3-4 + Holganix will help increase the germination time and rate. Many people think that one application is enough, but it is not. Apply starter fertilizer at the time of seeding, then again 30 days later. You will be amazed at how well the new grass will respond. This will lead to happier customers and fewer service calls from seeding.

As always, communicate to your lawn care customer that this is a partnership for the success of the seeding. Also, make sure to tell them they have the most important job in the partnership: watering. You can do everything right, but if they do not properly water all of your work, their money might become wasted.

Ed Clevenger
ATS Sales Representative