Overseeding Rye with Fescue

[scrubgod]

Howdy all,
We had 2 residential installation projects this past fall that didn't get going until it was too late and too cold to create turf by seeding in fescue (sod wasn't in their budgets). So, we seeded with Rye and they had a nice winter lawn. However, now we must go in and seed the fescue. Do we do a chemical kill of all the rye then do the fescue seeding, or do we just mow it real short then fescue seed? Any help is appreciated! We work in Atlanta, GA.

Regards,
Erik
Cultivating Concepts

[Matt Kulp]

When you say mow real short then fescue seed, do you mean slit seed? How heavy are the weeds in the lawn? If it is heavy with weeds, I would kill off and start over. If it is just spotty grass and min. weeds, I would overseed.

[markuscb]

Yeah, if it's spotty, I would power rake it and then overseed. I've done this with numerous yards in the past and had good results

[laurelcompanies]

assuming it was annual rye/ if so once heat hits it is a goner anyway. spring seeding no matter what is a failure.
you compete with every weed/ annual grass germinating at the same time.
overseed with fescue, then sell the customer a good fall overseeding too.
spring seedings always end up my biggest problem child. No one is ever happy with results, compared to fall seeding.
did i mention you also are in a race for plants to mature enough before warm weather hits, that they do not require constant moisture to survive.
gosh... good luck. communicate to customer.... tough spring/ summer.. then sell fall seed. point out no sod in budget! because customers tend to expect miracles.