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kevingalaxy

What type of grass seed Central NJ, Sunny Yard

kevingalaxy
15 years ago

I have cut down some bushes/flowers and now have a bare patch maybe 5 feet x 50 feet. The area is south facing, low traffic, no pets, could get dry in summer. I live in central nj. What type of grass seed is best? my local stores have Kentucky Blue and Fescule they also have those "sun" and "sun and shade" mixes. Any ideas?

Comments (4)

  • auteck
    15 years ago

    For your application, a mix/blend of Turf-Type Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass will work great.

    Now, the best time to seed is in the Fall. If you must have grass now rather than later, then get some sod and water it for the next 2 weeks.

    Fescue has better shade tolerance than Bluegrass, so those "shade" mixes probably contain Fine Fescue, Tall Fescue, Bluegrass, and sometimes PRG. I would stay away from those Scott seeds.

    Pennington Seed has a decent blend of Tall Fescue and Bluegrass. The bare the name of Smart Seed on the package. The ratio is 1:1. 90% of bag is usually Tall Fescue, and 10% is bluegrass. The ratio still 50% bluegrass and 50% fescue - which is what you want. Bluegrass seeds are VERY small compare to Fescue, hence the 90/10% ratio.

    I hope this helps.

    Auteck

  • marek88
    15 years ago

    I'm in southern NJ near Atlantic City and i have mostly KBG with some tall fescue (seeded by the contractor that build the house) and some fine fescue in shaded areas as well so I have 3 different types. If you have enough sun KGF looks great and its definitely my favorite but then again it also requires more care. I have mostly KGB in the front and it looks really nice. One side catches fair amount of shade and fine fescue seems to do better there but its all mixed in and you cant tell from far. I have a lot of tall fescue in the back mixed in with KGB and that looks ok but I'm not a big fan of big fescue clumps but that might be the kind my contractor seeded. Either way KGB is my favorite.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    15 years ago

    The ratio is 1:1. 90% of bag is usually Tall Fescue, and 10% is bluegrass. The ratio still 50% bluegrass and 50% fescue - which is what you want. Bluegrass seeds are VERY small compare to Fescue, hence the 90/10% ratio.

    auteck's message is important. To carry it further, weed seeds are quite often like dust. When you look for seed, read the analysis. The "Other crop" and "Weed seed" should be 0.00% or close to it. At 8,000,000 seeds per pound, it does not take much bentgrass (Other crop) to give you a bentgrass lawn.

    Example (caution - mathematical content):
    Other crop: 0.01% (but it is bentgrass). 0.01% of 8,000,000 seeds per pound is 800 seeds PER POUND of other seed. In a 10-pound bag that's 8,000 bentgrass seeds.

    Moral: You get what you pay for in seed. Get the best you can afford.

  • richlear
    12 years ago

    Although I appreciate all the posts I have a "BEEF" with the posters.

    What is with the acronyms? I don't know what KGF is. I can figure it is some from Kentucky and maybe a Fescu, but come on. If I had the information I wouldn't be here looking or asking.

    Acronyms are only for those in the know.