Is GCI Turf Seed An Issue? // Do You Even Pre Germinate Seed Bro?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 18 окт 2024
- Thanks for checking out the video! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Use the links if you want to check out mentioned products in the video today. God bless!
Become a channel member! Check out Lawn Freak or Super Freak options here - / @mrfergusonlawn
GCI Turf Type Tall Fescue Seed: bit.ly/3WYCl7h
GCI Turf Cool Blue Seed: bit.ly/3pEpZCQ
GCI Turf Spreader Elite Seed: bit.ly/3BmrB6Q
12-12-12 Starter Fertilizer: shrsl.com/4mwuw
Protene Performance Starter Fertilizer: bit.ly/3Q34Tcg
Protene Performance Fertilizer 19-0-19: bit.ly/41QzHj7
JG Black Beauty Heavy Traffic Seed: shrsl.com/4lg0v
JG Black Beauty® Dense Shade Grass Seed: shrsl.com/4lg10
JG Black Beauty® Heat and Drought Resistant Grass Seed: shrsl.com/4lg15
JG Black Beauty® Original Grass Seed: shrsl.com/4lg1d
JG Black Beauty® Sun & Shade Grass Seed: shrsl.com/4lg1m
JG Black Beauty® Ultra Grass Seed: shrsl.com/4lg1o
Gunner 14.3 Fungicide (32 oz)(Propiconazole): amzn.to/3RYv9Vr
RGS Root Growth Bio-Stimulant: shrsl.com/4nj23
Since I seem to have a touched a nerve with the pro pre germination crowd for some reason, please understand I simply asked questions and voiced my thoughts on it. As I stated, I've never dove deep into learning the details of this type of seeding. I get asked about it a lot, and simply talked about it on video. That's its.Thanks to those bringing up the point of saving water in this method. That's very appealing and a great pro for this type of seeding. We might try this soon, being I do have seed that was just delivered yesterday! Comment below with easiest/best pre germination instructional vid that I can check out. Might just have to put the channel name, as links might get auto erased by YT. Thanks!
The Lawn Tools - Grow Grass Seed in ONE DAY - Pre Germinate it in a Bucket , Turf Culture - EASY Pre Germinating Grass Seed for FAST Establishment! , Roz Weston - Pregerminating Grass Seed / Step-by-Step / IT WORKS!
I've saved several of these to make sure I was doing it right and I always have to do a ton of research on projects 🤣.
Heh Mr. Ferguson 👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾. I followed your over seed process in August and am having WONDERFUL results. In Ohio, we have had a few days of slow continuous rain and cooler temperatures. The bare spots in the lawn filled in and my lawn is much thicker. Thank you, thank you for your guidance! You are truly a blessing!!!! Now the deer population is camping out on my soft grass 😭. I will share my lawn with them.
That's what I love to hear! Thank you for sharing my friend. Glad it's working well for you this go around! God bless
In the drain are I would be tempted to cut out the grass and put down some sort of gravel or river rock it’s a PITA to mow. It’s always been my go to for area that I have problems as far as growing grass
Really? It's not a problem for me to mow, at all.
@@MrFergusonLawnI take it he’s referring to mowing around gravel.
Well you could use border stones.
Mr. Ferguson I tried pre germination in the spring and spread it with a compost spreader. It did work but getting the right mixture of is the toughest part.
This year, I pre-germinated for efficiency and used Milo at 2.75 lbs per 1 lb of dry grass seed (GCI TTTF). One key reason for doing this, which wasn’t mentioned, is the watering process. While I might need to change-out or wet the seed twice a day at 12-hour intervals (depending on whether it's kept submerged), that’s far easier than moving sprinklers around multiple times a day for weeks. It also significantly lowers my water bill (since I already use Milo, you could argue that it offsets the water cost) since it germinates so much faster after it is down on the lawn.
I only pre-germinated the seed for 3 days to avoid full germination. This allowed me to apply Tenacity and Etho 4SC during seeding to prevent weeds and POA. I saw germination after 3 days, whereas it typically takes about 1.5 weeks for the first signs of germination.
Distribution of the seed did not seem to be effected by using 'wet seed'. I think using Milo as the base kept it even distributed. I use the EarthWay 2600 spreader as a reference.
Garden weasel is your friend in these spots
Yes Garden weasel is great for spots
Man, how did I forget my weasel tool already! Thanks for the reminder.
As soon as the temperatures went lower, I seeded this was the worst year for grass for fungus poa and die off
Hey Mr Ferguson, on embankments, I used a garden weasel tore the ground up pretty well and used a tamper to hold the send in place. It's a great method to use on wash out spots.
Used GCI Turf Alpha Bermuda and it was amazing, 95+ and dry in Texas with no rain and water restrictions. I watered 5 mins a zone in mornings and evenings and after 6-8 days i had about 85% germination rate. I will hit it again next summer to really fill my back yard out.
@@timborski1210
I have been in LCN probably since the beginning I over seated with Gci cool blue for a couple years and I ended up with a lot of shallow rooted looked like poa I’m in nj An acre of highly maintained lawn very little shade soil testing every year moved over to the Jonathan Green stuff. I much more happy love the new LCN fertilizers I do miss carbon x I literally just found about 12 bags of ax soil in one of our sheds. I’d loved that stuff.
I pre germinated my tall fescue then after 8 days I mixed it with granule Humic acid, and it spread the seed to half of my lawn with no trouble. Then spread the other half of the lawn with the same seed but did not pre germinate. The side I put down the pre germinate seed I had to cut two weeks than the other side. Plus, the pre germinate side was a lot thicker of grass than the other side. I did dethatch and aerated my lawn before putting down the seed. I did this in 2023 but this year I did not need to do anything. My lawn is thick and healthy. It is all about watering. I have an underground watering system, and it is the best, water directly to the roots. But is much easier to just spread the seed.
Pre-germinating seated is easy. And no you don’t change the water every 12hours. You soak the seed a. Little bit every 24 hours. The seeds need to be wet not drowning. The Milorganite just asked as a carrier for the wet seed since the seed stick to it. The Milorganite wet seed mix in a seed spreader spreads pretty easy. I don’t think pre-germinating makes it that much faster but it definitely conserves water.
I agree and I have had same results and actually doing it right now with 10 Pounds of GCI TTF. I watched LCN video too because I wanted to see what he thought and I get the initial concerns, but if professional turf fields do this to ensure maximum germination without having to waste a bunch of water I am all for it for my lawn.
24 hour soak initially then dumping that water, after that making sure seed is moist every 12 hours (not keeping it in water but filling bucket real quick, then dumping right away). Have never had an issue with it clumping with milorganite and I just make sure its good and mixed in a wheel barrow then spreading with my scotts broadcast spreader.
I don't have irrigation so it really helps out with saving water and me going out multiple times a day to setup sprinklers. I did this with KBG in the spring and had amazing results and I believe it made sure that most of the seed did germinate (I saw the roots starting to grow). Also would not do this with PRG since it germinates so quick already.
Good to hear other points of view on it. Again, I'm not knocking it, I just don't fully understand all the methods and have no real use for it. Yet, I get asked about it all the time. Thanks for your comment!
@@jayroy26 Thanks for sharing Jay!
@@MrFergusonLawn Any time! Keep up the great work :)
I also think it's a great way to overseed. When overseeding a lawn , especially with Kentucky bluegrass, you're going to have to wait quite a while before you can mow. With all the water coming down to ensure germination to the overseed, that existing grass is going to grow quick and in some cases could shade the new grass. Pre-Germinating helps with this
Just some advice ove had good success in some of these bad areas ive got the same at my house and i used 200lb of gci every year..garden weasel and absolutely dump the humic acid on it. The humic and water will work..better if its not coming up.
I did a lawn renovation this year in the summer, probably the worst time of year to do it. I pre germinated Kentucky bluegrass blend for 5 days and used a bad of Milorganite to 4 lbs of grass seed and put it in the spreader and put it down with no problem. I had germination it 4 days on grass seed that takes 21 days! There’s a reason why all Professional turf supervisors use this method it saves time and water. Watch the lawn tools video on pre germinating it might help you understand it a little more about the pros and cons.
@@randyharris4066 thank you Randy! I appreciate your comment. I’ll try to do just that.
Pregerminating saves water and time. Throwing it down can be difficult yet if you go the route of adding a carrier ours fine. You can also use a slit seeder and that'll get it down with more efficiency. It really comes from the superintendents on these pro fields that need to have grass seed ready at all times. Nothing wrong with the old school way of just throwing it down either. God bless
I pre germinated about 10 lbs of seed to seed bare spots and then broadcast dry seed over the rest of the yard. I fill a 5 gallon bucket with seed, poke small holes in the bottom, then fill with water a couple times a day. Then garden weasel and Pete moss the bare spots. Allows me to see quicker recovery in the worst spots while overseed I the rest. -DIYer
I've used GCI TTTF seed for years. I used the Spreader Elite and my front lawn is THICK!!!! This is the first year where I didn't have any die off from fungus etc. GCI seed is top notch.
I would agree!
@@nealwhite1474 do you think it’s the fact that it’s the fescue because this year I had massive trouble with Rye
@@MrFergusonLawn Wish I had the same result. I put down GCI TTTF last year that did fantastic. Fertilized and treated it all year long and it looked AMAZING... until.... we had that dry spell a couple months ago and it completely destroyed it. Watered it to no avail. Back-to-back years of this in my yard. I don't think it can handle the heat that well. And I'm just south of Greensboro by the way.
Pregerminating allegedly takes 1/3 of the time to germinate. I literally just tried this on a 1000sqft section of the GCI tttf for the first time. I did it for a few days. Didn't wait for it to show roots. Mixed with milo at a 4 milo to 1 seed ratio per pound. Zero issues spreading. Worked like a charm. Just played it down yesterday so still waiting for results. I literally just watched that lawn care nut episode right before this video 😅 anyways fingers crossed.
@@PGDiesel06Fescue suffers with long periods of drought and heat. I don’t care what brand you use. It’s a difference in degree.
Hey where’s that groundskeeper rake?? Seems like it would be helpful in the cleanup for seeding in that area.
Does anyone in your area ever hardscape the bottom of the drainage area instead of trying to grow grass in there?
Thanks for sharing. Always fun.
Got to hear you got little baby grass!! How did that spot you racked up by the driveway about a month ago or 3 weeks ago? Did weeds come up or are you good to go in that spot still? I did everything you did this week but didn't put the fert down yet. I heard you say some people asked why you didn't wait a few days so the old grass doesn't grow before the baby grass and shad it so i thought that sounded like a good idea. I was thinking 3 days then throw her down. We in SE KS got in the low 90s again after i over seeded so I was going out giving her some extra water to keep moist. I like you started about a month earlier then past times because I never got to the 2nd mow before it got cold. Thanks again for your help and God bless you and your family. Someday in heaven I'm coming over to your house and we will have some laughs about what we did on earth to our yard and such.
Great to hear red. Hope it comes up thick and beautiful for you!! I'll hopefully show the lawn again next week and you can see the good and bad spots I still have.
Pre-germinating is wayyy more efficient, especially if your lawn is over s few thousand sq feet. You spread it BEFORE it germinates (‘pre’-germ) and then you water it until it germinates. Also, the malorganite dries the seed in a matter of minutes and it spreads great.
I urge you to do a test on this (maybe on your channel?)
With preterm, more seeds will germinate and and with way less water/time.
I just pregerminated 50,000ft with gci blue heat. It germinated in 6ish days after I soaked 50lbs of seed in buckets for 4.5 days and carried it with only 6 bags of milo.. it’s even lol.
Cheers!
Tried the pregermination this past spring. Didn’t turn out as good as I hoped. Did traditional method on another area this fall, way better results
Yea, the "new way" isn't always a better way. The old fashion methods are old fashion for a reason huh? lol. I'm not knocking it, I just don't see the point. Thanks for sharing!
I pre-germinated last year, except for a small spot around a tree where I just threw down seed from the bag. The pre germinated seed did come up maybe a day or two sooner but it wasn’t worth the effort at all. No way to know if it affected germination rate, but I suspect it did negatively affect it.
Pregermination... they're are a few methods or there. I'm sure they all work. The one I use came from Milorganite. Go to their site for detail but... here's the bullet points.
1. place the seed in paint strainer bags. 2. Soak in 5 gallon bucket. 3. Change the water every 12 hours.
I soak TTF for 7 days and KBG FOR 10 TO 14
4. Drain and dry , i usually spread it in a tattoo for about an hour. Then mix with milorganite, which acts as a carrier for the damp seed.
5. Spread
I've found I get germination in the Fescue in 3 days and the KBG in about 5 to 6
I agree with "no need to pre-germinate". I can tell that pre-germination of seeds might be 100% successful but spreading and putting it down to the ground might be 10% successful! HAHAHA! That is a crazy technique! Will never do it for grass seeds. If I am doing it on perennial plants or annual plants, I'll consider pre-germination.
@@neilfpv Everyone has their way, this one is just really new to me. I’m down for new, but need to test it out and learn a little more.
Yeah, the heck with all that pregermanation. Like another product says-Simple Lawn Solutions. That's how I like to roll because I'm getting too old and have too much else to do. Wish I had known about the Ethofumasate being put down when seeding. I have a whole jug laying around just waiting to be used.
Hey Fergy.. what did I tell ya? I knew you just needed a little patience! Congrats to you all will be nice and green with GCI👍🏼
I like Triple Threat seed. Worked better for me than GCI last season.
There was a research correction on Pre Germinating seed from the original person I saw do it. And at the longest It only takes a week to pre germinate seed.
@@nomargins depends on grass type and cultivars actually. I don’t doubt seed germinates faster, I just don’t care to do it and then deal with mixing wet seed. That’s all. To each his own!
I'll be trying pre-germination as I sprained my ankle and running 2 weeks behind. I did a test with 2 samples of fine fescue mix and 2 samples of tall fescue. got the white tuffs and roots in 4 days. This was inside where temps are more controlled. I plan to go for it when I can walk better. My understanding and this is from Milorganite's site, is the ratio of fertilizer needed (4x) to seed will be enough to absorb the moisture from the seed and dry it out enough for spreading in a spreader.
@@trinisan awesome! Let us know how it turns out and if it works for you!
I feel some are jumping the gun this season on overseeding. I only consider it if the 5 day average soil temp is below 70. I also wouldn't consider pre germinating seed unless it was KBG.
I do too, and I tried my best to explain over and over that I was doing it early on purpose. Keyword: early. I typically wait til mid September here, but I can say doing this test taught me things.
@@MrFergusonLawn yeah, you have but I am simply saying I notice it more this season that more are overseeding earlier than usual. It's all about location obviously. I am anxious myself to overseed but have some more hot days ahead.
Pregerminating saves water and time. Throwing it down can be difficult yet if you go the route of adding a carrier ours fine. You can also use a slit seeder and that'll get it down with more efficiency. It really comes from the superintendents on these pro fields that need to have grass seed ready at all times. Nothing wrong with the old school way of just throwing it down either. God bless
Nice video.
I have always thought the same thing about the pre germination. How do you spread wet seed?
Watch t he videos. Mix with a carrier.
You don't change water for 3 weeks. You do it for 6 or 7 even with KBG. It is quicker when you soak it. You spread it before the sprouts come out. It is easy. The point is you don't water the grass for up to 3 weeks before it germinates.
With such a tough area why wouldn't you make a live edge on both sides and fill in the drainage area with a river rock or if you are staying there for a long time get permission to out in a full pile and fill in the cover.
Ferg, it's coming up on 7 days for me and the GCI is finally showing... I still see some dried out seed aka bird food. I think it's looking like 70% germination.
Nice! You're so kind to feed the birds like that
Luv your channel @MrFerguson but you wrong about pregerminating seed.
1. The point of pregermination is that instead of fescue coming up in 10-14 days, will cut it down to like 5.
2. You save a ton of water, so instead of watering everyday, for an hour, which is like 500-1000+ gallons, you just using 25 gallons for the 3-5 days of pregermination.
3. You spread the wet seed with mixing with a carrier like milorganite, inwhich milo has a chart on the ratio depending on which seed. It attaches with the milo, dries it up enough so that it can be spread by a regular spreader.
If you watch any of the vids that pregerminate seed, they show all this. @Lawngineer has one, being a lil more specific.
@@farquadshmoogle9120 Thanks for the comment. If anyone wants to do things that way, by all means do it. I don’t. I simply voiced my questions and thoughts. Thanks!
I need that HAT!!!
haha, well I'm not sure really how to get into the merch arena. I need to speak with a experienced person about all that my friend.
@@MrFergusonLawn I have a hat guy if you want to get in the merch game.
@@MrFergusonLawn Its the next Step brother, U may as well try a lil merch. You give honest down to earth content , details etc. Im in!!!
@@b.hunter3560 I may use that brother. I think there may be a way to not order a "batch" of hats, but just partner with a company, people order, then they make it and ship it. I don't know though. I could always go old fashion, but this way would be less money up front possibly...not sure.
Soaking my grass seed before throwing down... Na ain't happenen. Have a good weekend.
Thanks David!
I'm going to start overseeding probably every quarter, no matter if it pops up or not, until my chit thickens up. If half of it dies, who cares, I will just overseed, thatch.. Wait three months, do it again.. Fall seeding is the main period of time to do it, but I don't see any harm in seeding all year, not only to thicken the lawn, but to fight weeds
Sure. Try it out for a year and see if it's helping or not. Then you'll know whether your wasting seed or not. I've learned soil temps absolutely matter in germination time.
Good point !!
You can definitely do it in spring and fall...I wouldn't recommend doing every three months. You're not giving the roots enough time to grow deep before ripping it out when you dethatch.
@@MrFergusonLawn there will be some seed waste, but around those times I will be sure to water a lot and put down some propy with it.. Summer seeding will probably be the most challenging. Just a experiment I will try in the coming years.. See if it is a viable option to keep the fescue running tougher!
You really beat down the pre-germinate but yet have never done it. Maybe test like you do others things and understand it first before saying it's not worth it or doesn't seem like a good option. Is it needed, no. Does it help in certain times, yes. Certainly it helps save watering and creating issues to existing turf if overseeding. Sports turf complexes often keep pre-germinated seed on hand all the time. This allows them to reduce the time to fill bare spots or address areas quickly. After you spend the time germinating the seeds in water, you simply let it drain/dry for a few hours. Mix with something like a biosolid or humic acid granular and spread. Typically I measure out my seed by weight in advance into smaller amounts and mix with measure biosolid. For example, 2 lbs KBG seed for X amount of square feet with 15 lbs of biosolid. It's so easy to spread.
Lol, I didn't beat anything down Ryan. I expressed my questions on the topic, and asked questions, as well as stating the opinion of other individuals like LCN. Clearly some are offended I have a different opinion on this, and that's just fine. I never said it's a waste of time or bad practice, I just have no desire to do it. However, hearing how much it can save on water is appealing, and I may educate myself with other peoples encounters. I appreciate your comment sir, thanks for checking out the video.
Pre - Germinate 👎like u said , whos got time for that!!
🤷♀
It save watering time.
Let's see. About 3 minutes to drain and refill the buckets to keep seeds moist at twice intervals. And saving a whole lot of water in the process. Don't knock it until you try it and don't take others' word as gospel, unless if it's from The Bible.
@@seannoh672 I just asked questions and opinions lol