School is back in session. The days are shortening. But the dog days of summer still linger. With intense heat and high humidity hanging around, it's hard to think about cool weather turf grasses. But it is that time of year.

You can have a beautiful, lush green lawn in time for the holidays by laying down rye grass seed.

The best varieties for the Houston region are Froghair Intermediate, Intercross Intermediate, and Sunbird 3 Way Perennial. Don't let the perennial name fool you; all of these grasses are considered annuals, some are forage grasses and some turf grasses.

Froghair and Intercross are easier to establish in St. Augustine turf, and Sunbird 3-Way is a slower growing dwarf, best applied to Bermuda and Zoysia lawns and landscapes. A single 50 lb., bag of rye seed will properly cover 7,500 to 8,000 square feet of turf, if properly applied and watered in. Over applying seed will actually over grow and choke out warm weather St. Augustine grass.

In our area, seed is best spread from mid-October through early November, that is if you want a nice stand in time for Thanksgiving.

If you are a DIY-er, you will first want to almost scalp St. Augustine down to the runners with a lawn mower to allow seed to contact soils. Good seed-to-soil contact is VERY important.

Secondly, you will want to use either a broadcast spreader with side deflector or a drop spreader. Calibrate your spreader exactly. The key to disbursing seed is to make sure that no seed lands in flower beds. The grass will love you for it, but you won't be loving yourself for having done so.

If your broadcast spreader doesn't have a side deflector, grab a large piece of cardboard and have someone stand between flying seed and the beds with the improvised deflector.

Broadcast one-half the seed in an east to west direction and the other half in a north to south direction. As all rye grasses are bunch grasses and do not spread by runners. Good seed distribution is critical.

The same day you seed, fertilize as well. Use a low salt, organic fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ration. You do not need a lot of fertilizer but you will need some in order not to drain fertilizer reserves from the soil.

Next, in order to germinate in a timely fashion, seeds will need to be wet for two to three weeks. This is more easily accomplished with an irrigation system set to water every other day with more frequent shorter watering cycles. Some professionals recommend watering both in the morning and evening every other day.

The turf or lawn should not be mowed for two to three weeks. The seed needs time to germinate, establish roots, and to take hold of underlying soil. If you run a lawnmower beforehand, seed will be blown out of place, and single blade grasses will be uprooted. The goal is to wait and look for 'tillering': established single seed that has grown multiple blades of grass.

At about three weeks, there should be a solid expanse of fresh green rye grass. If there are any gaps in the turf, now is the time to touch up with with additional seed, after mowing the initial stand at about 3" height.

Rye grass offers great benefits to clay soil. When the extensive root system of rye grass decays, it breaks up soils through wholly natural organic matter and by adding essential nutrients. Besides, it makes your property look sensational during the holidays and through Wintertime.

Kathy
aka Design-n-Dirt Girl

landescapedesigns.com
naturallygreengardens.com

Labels: rye grass, winter grass