Question 1

Can this seed be used to overseed?

Accepted Answer

Filling in bare spots is doable, but trying to fill in thin spots that have some coverage is not good.  Most of the seed will fail and not germinate from too little sunlight in the early germination phase.  If you have existing Zoysia, it will spread and fill in over time.  If you do not and you want Zoysia, I strongly recommend getting a soil test (including micro-nutrients) and letting the grass grow a little taller than normal, then spray the entire area you wish to plant with Glyphosate, wait 10-14 days, mow the dead grass and bag it, then spray Glyphosate on the entire area a second time to kill any plants that were missed.  I would also recommend doing this after the spring weeds have germinated as by the time you see these spring annual weeds, most warm season annual weeds will have germinated and by spraying everything with Glyphosate, you'll have some time before many annual weeds start to germinate again.  Till the soil, the top 2-3 inches is enough, then level out the lawn with a rake for the larger rough spots, roll the lawn (you can rent one from the local Lowe's or Home Depot, or local landscaping store perhaps) the best you can with a rake or a drag mat which is much faster/easier if you have one available.  Next, rough up the very top 1/4 inch of soil using a stiff rake, then using a hand held spreader (I used an electric Scott's Wizz spreader for better control), spread half your seed in one direction, then put down the other half at 90 degrees, then do the same with your starter fertilizer.  You can roll the lawn again to give good seed to soil contact, or I found that just after seeding and fertilizing, applying water for 5-10 minutes using an oscillating sprinkler and this will wet the soil enough to level it out and cover your seed.  Water enough to keep the top of the soil moist for the duration.  I say an oscillating sprinkler because these work better than the impact sprinklers by far.  Get a timer you can attach to your water spigot so you can automate the watering schedule as if you allow the soil to dry out, you'll likely kill the seed.  I had this problem because I bought cheap oscillating sprinklers and one died, and the one I used to replace it died  so I had a patch dry out and most of that area did not germinate successfully, so I came back and seeded that spot again the following spring.  I also added some Milorganite for organic matter, but it isn't required.  I think most of the negative reviews are from people that didn't keep the seed bed moist properly because seed needs to stay in moist soil (ANY seed) to properly germinate.  Treat weeds while they are very young for the best chance of killing them and before they reach a mature stage and start dropping seeds.

Question 2

I'm in north texas and currently have bermudagrass, st. augustine, and some patches with other grasses. do i need to remove existing grass for this?

Accepted Answer

If you really want a Zoysia lawn, you should get rid of any existing grasses.  I'm not familiar with St. Augustine, but I know Bermudagrass is tenacious and will fight against the Zoysia.  Zoysia may take over, but if you have other turf grasses, then the new Zoysia will be competing for the water and nutrients in the soil and take much longer to grow and fill in.  And once you have the Zoysia going WITH these other grasses, you then lose the ability to spray a total vegetation killer like Glyphosate because you'll take out the Zoysia along with the unwanted grasses.  The less competition the Zoysia has, the faster it will spread and fill in and the healthier it will be.  Just be sure to plant 120-150 days before the first frost to give the Zoysia plenty of time to germinate, establish and start spreading.  If you don't have the Zoysia down long enough to mow it at least 4-5 times before fall hits, it will be too young to use pre-emergent herbicides and once the Zoysia goes dormant, with no pre-emergent, you'll end up with a lawn full of winter weeds while the Zoysia is napping.  That is what happened to me.  Mother Nature screwed me over.  I killed everything in my lawn, mowed it once it all was dead, then sprayed again to kill any lingering grass/weeds.  Then I rented a sod cutter and removed the top 2 inches of soil from my yard and tilled the soil.  I did a soil test in there as well, which is one of the MOST important steps.  Then we had massive amounts of rain and I had to wait to use the drag mat to level out my lawn.  Then I was ready to throw my seed down and the weather called for bad thunderstorms and massive amounts of heavy rain, so I postponed seeding.  These same weather reports persisted for pretty much a month.  I wish I'd put my seed down at that first rain because that one month of rain was 100% soft, slow and gentle rain which would have been perfect for new seed, but that month delay put me about 60 days from the first frost, but I had no choice then as I'd cleared the soil.  My Zoysia is just now starting to come out of winter dormancy, and it is full of winter weeds because I planted late and could not use any pre-emergent herbicides.  No worries though.  The seller of this seed is quick to respond to questions and recommended just mowing low and frequently to keep the weeds trimmed back and to minimize any seeds, and bag the clippings to remove unwanted weed seed, and once the weather gets warmer, most of those weeds will die off and the Zoysia will fill in and crowd out most of the other weeds.  I don't know what height I'm mowing at, but I'm guessing it is around 1.25 to 1.5 inches, so as the Zoysia starts coming back, it will already be trained for that height and cutting most weeds that low will keep them weakened so when the time comes, I may be able to just spot spray herbicides to kill specific weeds, and when fall comes I'll be able to put down pre-emergent herbicides and get ahead of winter weed germination and stop the weeds before they emerge.  That's why I say to get the seed down 120+ days before the first frost, so you'll have time to get well established, and be able to put down a per-emergent to stop the weeds from taking over your lawn over the winter.  Many people plant an annual ryegrass in the fall (I think, I've not done this), so they have green cool season grass over the winter, and the annual ryegrass will die off the following spring or summer, allowing you to have green grass year round, and the awesome Zoysia turf.

Question 3

I understand that the seed life can have a huge effect.  Is there a way to find out how old this seed is?

Accepted Answer

It’s from this season. Stock on things like this goes in and out of availability all the time right now.

Question 4

When should I fertilize after laying down the seed?  Also what fertilizer should I use?

Accepted Answer

Most people start with a 10-10-10 starter fertilizer and apply it at the time of seeding, but as the seller stated, a soil test is key. If you have not done much to take care of the soil over the years, you may want to get an in depth soil test. The basic test provides your soil pH, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are the macro-nutrients. The in depth report also provides the broad scale of micro-nutrients such as boron, iron, manganese, magnesium, copper, calcium and so on. There is plenty of information online on how to take soil for a soil test. I think you take your soil sample from 6 inches deep (please double check). If you're going after a fine lawn, you'll probably want a soil plugger as you'll have a few spots that may fill in thin, or something will happen and you'll want to fill in a damaged spot with plugs to speed up recovery, etc. So I recommend a soil plugger for this, but also for doing your soil test. Copy and paste the text below into the Amazon search bar and you'll see the one I found. You can take plugs from 2", 4" and 6" deep, so as the years go on and you want to do follow up soil tests, you can simply take a 6" deep plug (from multiple locations around the lawn), cut off the bottom inch, put about an inch of soil in the bottom of the plug hole, then return the original plug back to the hole and all is well. This will avoid making a much larger hole using a small shovel, and since the plug is a perfect fit, it really should not damage your pre-emergent protection barrier. This plugging tool is made in the USA out of carbon steel. Just keep it clean to avoid rust as rust will alter the results of your soil test.

ProPlugger 5-IN-1 Lawn Tool and Garden Tool, Bulb Planter, Weeder, Sod Plugger, Annual Planter, Soil Test

ASIN	B006RSDM8G
Best Sellers Rank	#1,075,710 in Patio, Lawn & Garden ( See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden ) #2,000 in Grass Seed
Brand Name	Patten Seed Company
Color	Green
Customer Reviews	3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars (161)
Expected Blooming Period	Year Round
Expected Plant Height	65 centimeters
Expected Planting Period	Spring
Manufacturer	Patten Seed Company
Manufacturer Part Number	721104100709
Material Features	Natural
Model Number	721104100709
Number of Items	1
Other Special Features of the Product	Drought Tolerant
Plant or Animal Product Type	grass seed
Product Care Instructions	Water
Soil Type	Sandy Soil
Sunlight Exposure	Full Sun
UPC	721104100709
Unit Count	96 Ounce

Zenith Zoysia Grass Seed (6 Lb.) 100% Pure Seed

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