A mix of Fescue and other grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass works well in some areas.  Keeping the seedbed moist through the germination period, which is at least 10-14 days during the seedling stage is an important stage for good root development and insures survival of the hot summer when planted in the lower transitional area.

CLICK TO BUY QUALITY FESCUE SEED AT SEEDLAND Or view our seed prices.   STEP 1-  Make sure that Fescue is suited for the area location, weather and soil type that you have.  Also make sure before you plant that it is the type of grass you want.  See our www.lawngrasses.com web site for help in determining and selecting the best grass for your particular lawn.   Remember that seeding takes time to establish a lawn and perhaps some areas might be more suitable sodded?

STEP 2- Measure and lay out your site - record the square feet lawn area that you have.  Different lawn grasses handle different aspects of your site in unique ways.  What may be a suitable site for some grasses is not for others.  Allow for other types of shrubs and ground covers for use in the areas that are not suitable.

STEP 3- Pull soil samples and have a qualified laboratory test your soil for nutrients and deficiencies.  Then you will be able to fertilize correctly and make other soil adjustments as needed.  You can apply the adjustments before tilling so as to incorporate them uniformly.  Fertilizers are best applied after tilling but before dragging / raking the soil areas level.  You can also apply the fertilizers immediately after planting to Fescue grass lawn areas you have seeded. Do not over-fertilize if planting in the fall as nitrogen can make Fescue more winter kill susceptible.

STEP 5- There are two methods you can use to "kill" off your current lawn. The best method is to spray the lawn with a total kill herbicide product such as "Roundup" (Brand name produced by Monsanto) before you roto-till.   This ensures that the existing grasses and weeds will not stay around to compete with your newly seeded lawn plants. The second method is to just tiller (roto-till) the existing weeds and grasses without killing the plants with chemicals. 

STEP 6- Most likely you will need to tiller the lawn at least two times so as to incorporate the soil and old plant material uniformly.  This is especially true if you do not use a chemical to kill existing plants.  A good method is to till the lawn and then wait a week before tilling a second time.  This results in more "kill" of current plants in your lawn area.

STEP 7-  After tilling the lawn ... you need to drag and level the surface to provide for a clean, smooth and level surface to plant within.  Properly leveling your lawn now will help to avoid the lawn being scalped by your mower.  You can use a rake to do this step or for bigger areas some sort of heavy drag like device drug behind a tractor or riding lawn mower can achieve similar results.  Remove any clumps of weeds or grass left, and break up clods of dirt to create a fine seedbed in the top 3 inches of soil.