Should I Seed or Not Seed? What Are My Options?

November is here and traditionally late for seeding.  What are the consequences of seeding in November or later?

There may not be any, but some experts say that seeding in November gives the seed just enough time to sprout.  These young plants tend to be susceptible to winterkill, meaning they are not mature enough to withstand the long, cold winter.  You are left with wasted money and dead grass come springtime.  I don’t know that I have ever seen this occur in our area.  My opinion is this problem is more prevalent up north, even north of Indianapolis.

This Fall, I have changed my tune a bit.  Why?  Because it has been so dry and not ideal for reseeding, new seeding, sodding, etc..  I am a huge fan of September seeding, as I did mine this year, but this year did not work so well.  I lost some new grass, in particular around trees where they will always outcompete young seedlings in dry conditions.  So I have changed my tune for this Fall, seed now if you haven’t already and take a chance that it will germinate and survive for better spring weather.  I just reseeded my failed areas yesterday for the second time.

Second Option: Dormant seeding is a method that works better than most realize……seeding in the colds months of late November, December, January, February.  Many old timers swear by throwing seed on top of the frozen ground or snow and let the freeze and thaw cycle work the seed into the soil.  I believe it works, too.  In my most shady areas, after I get all the leaves picked up, i.e. mid-late November, I just go out and spread seed over the cold ground and let Mother Nature take it from there.  When spring arrives, the seed germinates and takes off quickly.  You might try dormant seeding this year, especially in leaf heavy areas.

Both ideas mentioned above are better than waiting until springtime to do your seeding chores.  Mother Nature controls a great deal of the success and failure when seeding.  All you can do is maximize your chances by timing your seedings better, cultivating the soil properly for seed take, and putting the right amounts of fertilizer down.  Please give us a call or go to Ask the Expert on our website for more details.  Good luck.