Question: I have an established Bermuda grass lawn; I would like to add Rye grass. I don't know if it's too late or too early to do this also what type of Rye grass do you recommend for use in our area?

ANSWER: For a home lawn, I would recommend 5 to 7 pounds of
perennial ryegrass seed per 1,000 sq.ft. and for annual ryegrass I would
recommend 10 to 12 pounds of seed per 1,000 sq.ft.. Late October to
early November is still the best time to overseed.

I would recommend aerifying the lawn 30 days prior to overseeding if
possible. For some homeowners, this is not possible or hard to do.
Right before you overseed, scalp the lawn down as low as your mower will
go. This will help get the seed down in contact with the soil, which is
very important. Vertical mowing will help provide better seed to soil
contact, but again this is not easy for homeoweners to do.

Apply a starter fertilizer when you apply the seed. As soon as the seed
is planted, start watering. Water lightly a couple of times per day
until the seed start to germinate and grow.

James McAfee, Turfgrass Specialist for the Texas Cooperative Extension
in Dallas

OVERSEEDING A GOLF COURSE

Question: Where can I find out about the best way to care for Rye Grass on putting greens? I belong to a golf club in the Bexar County area and every year it seems that we don't get much out of planting Rye for the winter. Specifically, how should the grass be cut? We seem to have a high density of rye in the holes that were put in the green for aeration. However, where there is no hole, our Rye is not there.

Answer: Outlined below are the keys to achieving a successful overseeding with ryegrass on golf greens. First, aerify the greens a month prior to overseeding. The reason yousee the ryegrass coming up in the holes is because you are probably overseeding too soon after aerifying and the holes have not filled in yet. Second, the ideal time to overseed in the San Antonio area will be around mid-October to early November. Overseeding too soon will increase the chance of disease problems and overseeding too late will increase the chance of the young ryegrass seedlings being killed by an early freeze. The greens should be vertically mowed right before you overseed to insure good seed-to-soil contact. Apply the perennial ryegrass on the greens at 12 to 15 pounds of seed per 1,000 sq.ft. I would also apply a starter fertilizer at the time of overseeding such as a 10-10-10 or 10-20-10. Topdressing lightly with a good quality sand at 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch will also be beneficial. Then drag the sand and seed into the green with a screen drag mat. Once you start watering the greens after overseeding, continue to maintain moisture around the seed until they have started to germinate and grow. Improper watering following overseeding is one of the major reasons for poor establishment. Once the seed reach the desired mowing height, start mowing the greens. The perennial ryegrass should be mowed around 3/16 to 1/4 of an inch initially. Once fully established, you can slightly lower the cutting height if you want to increase ball roll speed. It is very important to sharpen the mower blades before you start mowing the overseeded greens. A dull reel mower blade will pull the young ryegrass seedlings out of the ground. This is also a very common problem. If you follow these steps, your overseeding should be successful. James McAfee Extension Turfgrass Specialist