overseeding

[sts2660]

I have to overseed 2 lawns
The first is a 60K sq ft tall fescue sod lawn with sprinklers hardly any thatch.
I was going to aerate it the overseed and apply starter fertilizer(was limed in early spring).
The second is a 40K 2 year old seeded tall fescue with no sprinklers and has some pretty good drought damage.The PH is 5.0 so I was planning on liming ,aerating ,seeding and fertilizing,then applying straw over the newly seeded bare spots.
Would any of you guys do anything differently and if so why?
By the way all summer we only get a thunderstorm once a week if we are lucky sometimes its more like 2 weeks.

[Turf Talk]

Hi sts2660 , Welcome to gopher graphics,

I have 6 and a half years experience in turfgrass management on a golf course 4 as a trainee and 2 and a half as a formeman.

Tall fescue usually requires overseeding in the spring or fall *and should be mown fairly high (around 3 in.) to retain an even textured finish.

it should be overseeded every year for thicker sod formation and to repair thinning areas. Heat stress, insect damage, diseases, or other factors play a role in the lawn becoming thinner over the course of a year.

Here is what i would do when overseeding tall fesuce:

Mow the lawn as close as the variety allows (around 3 in), rake to remove all excess debris, apply a fertilizer for newly starting seed beds and seed at the rate of 2-3 LB (this depends upon the thinning of the lawn) per 1000 Sq.Ft.

Keep moist for 2-3 weeks until the seedlings are established. When properly managed and maintained a tall fescue lawn can provide a green lawn all year round.

I think 5 for your pH is a little low and it should be raised using lime, tall fescue is most productive when with a pH of 5.8-6.5 dont be afraid to use the lime because once you start to feed it and green it up using nitrogen, all these sulphate of ammonia type fertilisers will begin to gradually drop the ph again to acidic.

Scott Bursky
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I would not use straw if you are pulling plugs, the seed is in enough to not need it.