Overseeding My Cool Season Lawn In Spring With Turf Type Tall Fescue

This video shows how I reseeded my lawn with turf type tall fescue in the Spring. I live in a northern cold weather climate so my lawn gets damaged every year with the snow. You can also follow this process in the Fall. My website is yardbuddha.com.
Here is a link to a compost spreader similar to mine. www.emeraldseed...
My tool review videos:
Sun Joe Electric 15 Inch Dethatcher/Scarifier Review: • Sun Joe Electric Detha...
Ego Select Cut XP Mower Unboxing and Review: • Ego Select Cut XP Mowe...
Scotts Elite Spreader Unboxing and Review: • Scotts Elite Spreader ...
Ego Lawn Edger Review (Multi Tool System): • Ego Lawn Edger Review ...
Field King Backpack Sprayer Unboxing and Review: • Field King Backpack Sp...
Other Lawn Videos:
Replacing Creeping Bentgrass With Turf Type Tall Fescue (Creeping Bentgrass Removal): • Removing Creeping Bent...
Overseeding My Lawn With Turf Type Tall Fescue (TTTF): • Overseeding My Lawn In...
Turf Type Tall Fescue vs Poa Annua Video 1 - Organic attack plan • Turf Type Tall Fescue ...
Turf Type Tall Fescue vs Poa Annua Video 2: Dethatching • Turf Type Tall Fescue ...
Turf Type Tall Fescue vs Poa Annua Video 3 - Reseeding: • Turf Type Tall Fescue ...
Turf Type Tall Fescue vs Poa Annua Video 4 - Victory?: • Turf Type Tall Fescue ...

[@donlarsenjr2332]

Your grass now looks as beautiful as your landscaping. Great job.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks Don. The new tall fescue has definitely made a difference keeping it green during the Summer heat.

[@380stroker]

My understanding is the spring tines or 'power rake' are for raking, so the setting should always be at 0, +5mm or +10mm. The scarifyer is what takes out the thatch, it is a dethatcher, so it should be at -5mm or -10mm to get into the soil. I have this exact make and model and just renovated my front lawn. I live in the PNW, but in the UK what they call a scarifier we call a dethatcher. Its the same thing.

[@yardbuddha]

You are correct in everything you said. However you can drop the power rake tines on the SunJoe lower and get a good "scarifying". The tines have better coverage than the dethatcher and it tends to expose more soil to the new need for overseeding.

[@tgarrels]

Awesome job. That lawn looking amazing.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks for watching!

[@EricfromMO]

I moved into my house last 8/1 and builder put in KBG sod. Looks beautiful! I have a 8 zone sprinkler system but my city likes to charge an arm and a leg for water lol. With that said. From August to Nov I had to water the hell out of it to keep it going. I’m in thr midwest, Kansas City and it was hot hot last August-sept even Oct. so first week of March of this year I did what you did in this video and put turf type tall fescue from grass pad starter fert and lots of peat moss. We have had next to no rain this whole month but got my sprinkler system turned on so I’m lightly watering it now.. hoping once the rains come in April my yard will take off. It’s supposed to be low 70’s and sun going forward. *I’ve always had fescue yards and with our heat it’s A must I think.

[@yardbuddha]

Hey Eric thanks for watching. We have really hot summers here and I'm trying to switch to tall fescue for that reason. I'm trying some spreading TTTF in my yard which reaches out a little bit further. Here's my video from last year if you didn't see it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3zFo4iAp8ulodE

[@ernestvernon9658]

Man that's a really nice yard. Makes me wanna leave Nevada 😂

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks Ernest. It's been so cold here this Spring that I need a trip to Nevada to warm up.

[@iwannachopbladeslawncare]

"I'm not a lawn guy" ... I agree, because "lawn guys" destroy properties Not lawn professionals like you. You are the The Yard Buddha! A LAWN AND LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL that is moddest which I respect you for that! When that bell goes off... you know it's game time. I know big businesses that can't make a lawn look like that and they charge 7x the price because they are a big name but don't even know how to prep dirt let alone seeding.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks for watching and for your kind words sir. I try my best to keep lawn maintenance simple without all the supplemental sprays and additives that other guys are doing (and getting paid to sell). Water, fertilizer and mowing in the correct amounts is about all you need to keep a lawn looking good. Good luck with your channel!

[@patrickobrien9982]

Your yard is perfect

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks Patrick. It's not perfect but better than average.

[@patnowak8873]

master lawn guy! Excellent lawn.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks for watching Pat! Not quite a master but I know some stuff about grass.

[@matthewnovik4050]

Thanks for this... amazing lawn you got there!!! we're in Spokane county as well and definitely need to dethach/overseed... thanks!!

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks. Good luck with your yard!

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

nice germination on that Tuff Turf seed. We had similar winter damage - from a late very cold spring. I didn't think to dethatch the damaged spots - only ran it a bit. I ran the dethatcher a lot last Fall and did some scarifying also. Wasn't sure if I had damaged the lawn from that since I'm new to that tool. Actually my Tuff Turf overseeding grew in better where I had run both those - I use the Greenworks cordless dethatcher/scarifier. I used the leaf vacuum/shredder to spread the peat moss on that big area of new soil. Then we got a 2 inch rain storm that washed out a lot of seed. Still got some germination - probably two-thirds. Not thick enough. I'll do more seeding in the fall. I use the scarifier for weeding also. Then reseed over. Way better than weeding with a manual tool - when I have big patches of weeds. haha. We are surrounded by forest. I still like the Tuff Turf seed even though the price doubled. I have some left over - not enough for Fall seeding. I didn't fertilizer yet though - so that was my big gap. Last spring I fertilized and everyone loved how green the grass was. I fertilized last Fall - so it still was working through that humanure compost. Looked really green this early spring. haha. I sprayed the Endophyte fungi spores also.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks for the comments. I definitely learned that you can aggressively dethatch/scarify and the lawn will come back as long as the weather is OK. I'm using turf type tall fescue from GCI not Tuff Turf so I don't know how that type of grass performs. I think is was almost better that my weather was 55-65 degrees when I planted because it gave the roots a long time to establish.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

@@yardbuddha wow - that seed price is about what I paid. It was over $200 for 50 pounds. Since it's a bunch grass that doesn't spread rhizomatically (or whatever) then I spread it thick. haha. Doesn't go very far. I spend around $1200 for seed. Crazy. I have some left. Still where I had dead grass from the winter then it didn't really sprout. Not sure how much had washed off from that 2 inch rain storm. Where it was just soil and flat and people helped with watering - then it sprouted in bunches. haha. I did have - oh I used a spike aerator instead of dethatching. So yes where I spike aerator"ed" then it germinated also. I ordered a UK rolling manual spike aerator. It's pretty nifty. I actually got "two" of them since one company was in Thailand and I was skeptical they were not just some scam. Maybe that's just where it was manufactured so they somehow shipped directly, bypassing the owner in the UK.

[@klav5930]

Looks awesome! Beautiful yard!!!

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks. It's been over 95 degrees here for a couple weeks so I'm going to have an update video on it soon. It's holding up OK but it definitely looked better in June.

[@klav5930]

Yeah I hear you same in Michigan! I’m trying to switch over to all liquids and I applied the double dark cocktail and it’s as green as can be!

[@julianf3357]

Hi, thank you for posting these videos, I learned a lot! Your garden and turf look amazing. Any cons about the TTTF? I’ve read that it feels rough to touch and the blades are Larger? What’s your experience? All the Best!

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks I appreciate it. The newer versions of TTTF are much like KBG and have fine blades and aren't rough. It's really hard to tell a difference. The main con is that it doesn't spread with rhizomes to fill in holes like KBG does. I think there are some newer strains that do a bit but it is mostly a clumping grass so you may have to overseed more often to fill the holes.

[@hilarypopham1270]

Beautiful lawn. Way to go!

[@yardbuddha]

Thank Hilary

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

Beautiful lawn! What type of tree in your landscaping next to your driveway? Thank you. John.

[@yardbuddha]

That would be a flowering crabapple tree. Thanks for watching!

[@jeffreys.harris3433]

Nice landscape 👍🏽

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks Jeffrey! Here's a video of my backyard landscape if interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipOviHSJpbt3esk

[@PushaDee]

What are those trees in your yard that look like giant bonsai?

[@yardbuddha]

I think you are talking about the crabapple tree on the right and the apple tree by my pond. I just keep them pruned to the height of my ladder so I can reach every branch.

[@matthewolauson3892]

I just bought a house in Pinehurst, NC and has irrigation. I want my front yard to stand out since I live in a golf community. It has mix of Bermuda & centipede. Should I try to seed it with tall fescue or mix KBG & PRG or KBG & TFG? I could also remove the grass with sod cutters and seed it and straw or just dethatch it. Let me know what the best thing I should do. I also have toro grandstand & toro timemaster

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks for watching Matthew! Sorry I live up North in Washington State and don't have any idea about warm Southern grass (centipede & bermuda). The cheapest way to renovate is to kill everything with Roundup and then reseed. It's 10x cheaper than sod but still a lot of work. I know tall fescue does well in the mid South. Check out GCI Turf on youtube I know he lives around your area.

[@kellymjones41]

How is your tall fescue coming out of winter? I feel like my tall fescue is waking up a little slower than my experimental ryegrass and kentucky blue grass. It's still very early though. I'm located in Spokane as well.

[@yardbuddha]

Yeah the tall fescue is usually the last one to green up in the Spring. It needs the warmer soil compared to the others but it will look great in May. I noticed the more established it gets it looks better after Winter - also we didn't have as much snow this year so it looks better than last year by far.

[@Tundra_Guy]

That was just a debris removal from the upper layer of your soil. You need to use the scarifier to actually go in and remove thatch. Believe it or not, the tines actually cause way more damage than the scarifier does. I also own this but if you truly have the need to remove the thatch, try the scarifier. Lawn looks awesome BTW.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks. Don't know if you saw in the video but I did go over with the scarifier right before I overseeded. It didn't look like it brought up much of the thatch layer though. I still think core plug aerating is the best way to remove thatch.

[@geoffkopecky3652]

Thank you. At what step did you use the triple mix of sand, compost and topsoil? You said to put it on after seeding , but I noticed you used the spreader to put down peat moss. Please help. I am just trying to learn the process so I dont mess it up. thank you.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks for watching Geoff! I did put the seed down first and then covered it with the soil. You can do the same thing with just peat moss but I really wanted it to germinate so I did both. If you have good seed to soil contact you can just do the peat moss but I wanted to level out my grass a bit so I did some soil also. Hope that makes sense.

[@susansmith7071]

Beautiful

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks Susan I appreciate it!

[@Cardroid]

Can you share the brand of Turf Type Tall Fescue seed package or brand to us? Your lawn looks amazing!

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks for watching. The brand of seed I have been using is GCI Turf Type Tall Fescue so google that and it should come up. The seed variety changes from year to year so it might be different than what I used but it's always top quality.

[@blaiseducdaumont1280]

Very nice! What horticultural zone are you in?

[@yardbuddha]

I'm in zone 7A but it gets really cold so I think it's a 6B. Thanks for watching!

[@sbond1963]

Just wondering how it’s holding up. And what type of TTTF you’re using

[@yardbuddha]

Hey thanks for the question. My front yard did much better this Summer because we only had a few days over 100. Lots of days in the 90's and I did have some clumpy spots. I just overseeded the front this September with some Barenbrug spreading tall fescue (RTF) which should fill in those spots. I used it in my backyard this year with good results - if you haven't seen that video here's the link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3zFo4iAp8ulodE

[@HomeownerHacks]

Hey man, How does it look now in July? I'm about to overseed my bluegrass with gci tttf in fall so these videos are so perfect for me to see how it turns out.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks John - Yes I will have a video update in early August on how it's performing. It has been holding up good so far but we are now experiencing high 90's here and will probably get above 100 soon. I do still have a bunch of KBG in my lawn so I expect that to suffer but I'm trying to mow it high and get it enough water. Stay tuned.

[@kevinharris5153]

​@@yardbuddhaWhat setting did you use on the spreader?

[@yardbuddha]

@@kevinharris5153 If you mean for the seed I used a 4 on the Scott's Elite spreader but it will depend on the size of your seed. I prefer to do 2 or 3 light passes all over my yard to not shove too much in any areas too quickly. If the seed is coated it will be bigger and you might need a higher setting. Sorry it's kind of by feel if you understand that.

[@kevinharris5153]

@@yardbuddha thanks

[@juanez8]

Do you use pre-emergents and/or weed control?

[@yardbuddha]

I don't use pre emergent because I normally over-seed each Spring and you can't do both at the same time. Once you have the weeds under control it's just a matter of spot spraying throughout the year. I like Ortho Weedclear to spot spray with.

[@juanez8]

@@yardbuddha 🫡

[@tracywilliams9777]

Just curious, can you tell a difference between the tttf and bluegrass? I didn't think those types should be mixed together.

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks Tracy. No you can't really tell the difference since the new strains of TTTF have fine blades like KBG does. I guess if you planted 100% of each side by side you could probably tell a difference but not when mixed. You will see that most mixtures of grass seed contains both KBG and tall fescue.

[@matthewnovik4050]

What are your thoughts on dormant seeding over winter?

[@yardbuddha]

I'm not a fan of dormant seeding. We get enough snow, wind and rain that it moves the seed around too much. Also the weather doesn't warm up enough until May for germination. That's over 6 months that your seed is sitting on the ground open to the elements and animals.

[@ADUSEI6111]

What spreader setting do you use for CGI seed?

[@yardbuddha]

It depends on what type of spreader you have. On the Scott's Elite I used a 5. I would just see how much seed is coming out and try to manage it so you do light 2 passes across all of your yard. The worst thing you can do is put it down too quickly so I like to cover everything a few times lightly.

[@ADUSEI6111]

@@yardbuddha Awesome, thank you.. Thinking about about getting a Scott spreader for the CGI TTTF i jus ordered for Fall. So i jus wanted a tip on that

[@Lawn_Care_Lounge_tv_uk]

cool

[@yardbuddha]

Thanks!

[@Chuck-d4r]

Relax dude

[@yardbuddha]

Not sure what you mean but thanks for watching anyway. The Yard Buddha is always relaxed.

[@maggarlion]

I would never use anything with a cord in my yard.

[@yardbuddha]

If EGO makes a battery powered one I'll buy it. However this one works great and is easy to use in the meantime. Much better than the 200 pound monsters you rent from the stores.