What was the manufacturer and name of the power seedr that you used?

I ended up renting the Classen TS-20 at Home Depot. They're close-by and I managed to get everything done inside a four hour window, which limited my out-of-pocket. It has a bucket in front which holds the seed. The seed drops from the bucket and then the machine cuts narrow slits in the ground about an inch and a half or so apart as you roll it. The slits can be dug in as low as an inch into the ground, but if you go that far into the dirt, the machine has some pull and will take off real quick. The depth is adjustable, as is the amount of seed you are dropping. I honestly think the best move I made is renting the lawn roller. $12 and it patted down a lot of the looser dirt real nicely.

Thanks for the reply, I look forward to following your blog. How deep to set the powerseeder for your lawn?

I believe the slits were cut about a half-inch to 3/4's of an inch into the ground on average. I had already power raked my lawn in May of this year and switched over to a Honda HRX quadra-cut mower after this, which limited the thatch in the ground quite a bit. The only thing I didn't do that I have seen recommended is a soil test and a thin layer of topsoil to dress the seeds. I think the soil is in good shape. Has a rich coloration and I used a good starter fertilizer yesterday. I had also fertilized in late spring after the power raking.

My chief concern at this point are the daytime temperatures which may reach 90 a few more times this month. Hopefully, a damp soil will negate this as I have read maximum temperature for germination is 86 F for tall fescue.

A pic of the front yard today.

This post was edited by KYgator on Tue, Sep 3, 13 at 18:44

Day 3- Temps are forecast in the low 80's today after dipping into the upper 50's last night. Ground is pretty wet, but no puddling. I have already dialed back the watering of the front. Still going every 6 hours, but only 15 minutes at a time now as the front lawn is not large. Will likely step down to 10 minutes every 6 hours tomorrow. Because the 7-day forecast continues showing no chance for rain and highs heading for the upper 80's on Sunday, I wanted to saturate the ground well to prevent any chance of seed drying up. By all means, please provide feedback. This is a 1st endeavor for me and considering the money/time spent, I don't want to mess it up.

Sounds like you really did your homework on this. Finding Arrow!!! DUDE! You really do get what you pay for with seed.

Watch the watering. You do not need any depth to the moisture in the soil. It needs to be moist right at the surface where the seed is. That's all. It would be a shame to rot out the new roots with too much water initially.

Your temps are fine. Now is the time to do this.

Thanks for the props, dchall. I cut the watering in half after the first day. I might take it down to 10 minutes every six hours for the front and back lawns. Trying to leave the right amount of moisture on the surface isn't as easy as it seems. The temps are not scorching hot, but on the high end of the range we want to be in and mother nature isn't chipping in with any rain at all. Day 4- temps are forecast to reach the mid 80's today. No rain in the forecast for the next 5 days.

Day 5 - tapered the watering a smidge. Still going every 6 hours. 12 minutes in the front yard (less area to cover), 14 minutes in the back. Forecast today is sunny skies and highs in the mid 80's. Main area of concern is the next few days, as the forecast is mainly dry with highs in the upper 80's, with next Tuesday lower 90's being predicted. Obviously, keeping the ground wet the next few days is imperative as 86 degrees for germination is the upper end of the range for TTTF. I realize this is soil temp and the actual soil temp may only reach this for a couple of hours at most, but still a concern. This seed was not cheap.

Day 6 (09/07/2013)- noticed first germination in selected spots. Big concern are rising temperatures in the Ohio Valley. Temperatures are expected to hit the upper 80's Sunday and lower 90's from Monday through Wednesday. Still watering every 6 hours. Soil moisture appears to be adequate, but no puddles or sogginess. This is "Day 6" of my blog, but still less than 5 full days after seeding. I thought I might see some early germination given the warm temperatures. However, with tall fescue, I understand the normal germination time frame is from 7-14 days.

You should be good. The moisture evaporating helps keep the soil temp cooler.

Day 7 (09/08/2013) - More early germination in select patches. Interestingly enough, the areas I am seeing germination would figure to have received a bit less watering than areas I am not seeing as much. Also, the thinly sliced divots in the dirt with the overseeder are seeing more early germination, whereas the rolled soil is not seeing as much. It is still less than six full 24 hour days since overseeding. I will post a photo below showing some of the germination.

Biggest concern is still the heat expected from this afternoon (currently 87 degrees and sunny) through Wednesday as highs are expected to reach the lower 90's without rain in the forecast. I will keep the soil damp and hope the minor heat wave will not stunt or damage the process. Next Friday a front is moving in that will cool high temps to the upper 70's for all of next weekend. By then, hopefully, I will have tapered the watering to about half of current levels and I can relax a bit.

dchall, I suppose one of the advantages of seeding this time of year is even if it does get hot for a few days, the days are shorter which impacts the amount of direct sunlight on the soil. I'm probably overanalyzing, but after managing a lawn all summer that hasn't been seeded or treated in over 15 years preceeding, I am eager to get some results.

(09/09/2013) - Seeing germination, but only about 20% of the area seeded appears to have germinated at this point. It has been almost 7 full days since seeding. With soil temps hovering in the lower 80's, should I be seeing more germination by this point?

Highs hitting the lower 90's today through Wednesday. Keeping the soil wet.. hoping for the best.

Tall fescue takes about 2 weeks to see significant germination. It could be 3 weeks to get 80%.

(9/10/2013) - More germination observed this morning. Filling in nicely in certain areas. Areas with more pre-existing grass than dirt don't seem to be filling in as well. Perhaps it is an it's being blocked by the grass, but I think that's the case. Probably having more trouble rooting in those areas I would assume. Some areas with lots of dirt are sprouting small weeds. Coming up on 8 days since seeding. Highs still forecast in the lower 90's for today. Had to increase watering in the front lawn last night as I noticed the top layer of soil had dried out in some spots. The heat is making this a challenge. After Wednesday, we'll get a big break from the heat and I would be surprised to see temps in the 90's again this year.

D_chall.. if this is a preview of what I will be like by next Monday, I think I will be very pleased with my results. Still too early to take it to the bank. Fingers crossed the heat the next two days doesn't kill any new grass.

Nice thread and good luck.

Curious how full you filled the roller? I only filled it half way last year based on some advice but thinking more may be better this year. The thing is not easy to push around for a tall guy I must add...

Thanks for the kind words. We filled the roller up completely. I think the guy at Home Depot said it gets up to 300 lbs once completely filled. It didn't seem to overly bulky or imposing on the turf. I am tall as well, but it wasn't bad.. a good workout.

9/11/13 - Germination is filling in, but I still have areas that were essentially all dirt seeing about 25% germination. It also appears the shadier areas of the lawn are getting more germination. I sprayed a weed killer in some of the bare patches about 5 weeks before seeding. Fingers crossed that's not hindering the growth. My guess is the hot temperatures and lack of shade. Ground moisture has been consistent.