The Grass Doctor

Lawn care question - should I seed this season or in the spring?

I know that fall is one of the best times to seed your lawn but I have gotten a late start on laying down Scotts Turf Builder with wintergaurd. This is the bag with the weed control added. It says on the bag that I should wait 4 weeks after applying before seeding the lawn. In 4 weeks it will be approaching mid November and I am concerned that this will be too late to try and seed before it is too cold. I am in KY and we have already had a few nights in the lower 40s and upper 30s. I have already applied the product to the front yard but now I am wondering if I should just focus on seeding the back lawn instead of applying the Wintergaurd and then next Spring I can apply a weed controller product. 1. Will it be too late to seed the front lawn in early to mid November in KY (zone 6). 2. Should I forget the Scotts product in the back yard and instead just get the seed laid down instead? Thanks - any other help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help, guys. This is an existing lawn and I have already bought a 50lb bag of k 31 fescue. Apparently a popular choice around here and recommended to me by a couple of people. I guess once this Scotts works and nukes all the weeds then I will just have to deal with bare spots until I can seed that area in the spring.

Public Comments

1. You didn't say if this is a new lawn or reseeding an older established one. I also live in Ky and rely on the UK extension office for a lot of advise of our area. A winter cover crop of winter wheat or annual rye may be the best for this late if it is a new lawn.. We try to reseed with the last snow of the winter. The ground is usually open because of the freezing weather. The snow adds moisture and a slight amount of nitrogen so the seeds are there for the first warm days that we have.. Most Ky counties have Extension agents that will guide you best for your area.
2. It's too late to seed the front yard, but you have another option for the back yard - you can seed with inexpensive rye grass, which looks nice and has the bonus of being a great cover crop by adding much needed nitrogen to your soil. In Florida we do this in our garden in the the brutal summer months, using black eyed (or crowder) peas.
3. I just reseeded my lawn and it is comming up. I live in zone 5
4. This season while the soil is still warm and there are less weeds and dampness in the soil as well.