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Creating a custom KBG grass seed blend

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4.4K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  bernstem  
#1 ·
I have no experience creating a grass seed blend so I'm looking for a little help.

I haven't found a local supplier that has a premade blend that sells in small quantities (I'm only doing 1500sqft or so). But I found one that will do a small quantity custom blend. I predominantly want KBG (at least 75%) but I'm open to a bit of other varieties if there's a good reason for it. I see a lot of KBG blends have 25% PRG.

I have no idea what I'm doing but took a stab at a blend. What do you think:

  • 25% Award
  • 25% Midnight
  • 25% Skye
  • 25% CSI Perennial Ryegrass

My hopes and dreams for this lawn:

  • Darkest possible colour
  • Full sun (don't need shade tolerance)
  • Decent performance in pH 7.6 soil
  • Works well cut at 1.5-2" but can be low mowed in the future if I get into reel mowing
  • Stripes well
  • Decent drought & disease resistance
  • Decent overwintering
  • Wear tolerance not critical
  • Don't care about low input/maintenance
  • Spring greenup not critical. Summer performance is king

Here's what's available:

http://allturf.ca/bluegrass
http://allturf.ca/ryegrass

How does it work with the seeding rate? Do I take an average of the seeding rate given for each individual type? So if all the above are 2lb/M then the blend would also be 2lb/M?
 
#2 ·
Hi guys I really want to get this right because a reno is a lot of work and I want to be happy with it.

Is there a guide somewhere I missed for seed selection?

Lots of people here have done one or more renos - can you guys share what was your decision making process?

I was looking through NTEP data but then I saw a post from @Oregonseed suggesting it's kind of useless (or a "joke" at least) so not sure if I should base much on it.

Through searching I learned there is compact and non-compact KBG varieties, and some people suggesting it's good to have a blend of these, not all compact for example. Is this true? Are there any other suggestions like this I should know about?

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
#4 ·
Budstl said:
Bluebank or midnight, bewitched, mazama would be a nice 3 way kbg mix. I don't know anything about prg. You can get all those at seedsuperstore.com
Click to expand...
Thanks. Will be tough to get seed from them since they don't ship to Canada. I could maybe look into parcel forwarding but am hoping to source domestically or somewhere that will ship direct. SSS definitely has superior selection to everything I've found domestic.
 
B
#5 ·
@davegravy I wish I could help more. However I'm sure you will be happy with any of those cultivars. When I chose my Tall fescue lawn seed, Seed Superstore had a shade blend ready made so it was an easy choice.
Looking out on the lawn now, I only tell the differences in that some blades are wider then others. The colours and growth pattern are identical.

My back lawn is a mix of Scott's sunny mix, which I believe is Jumpstart KBG and not sure of the PRG cultivar, a local "Canada No.1" PRG blend and Pangea PRG. With my Imputs this lawn too has a nearly identical growth rate and colour. The only difference is I can identify the KBG vs PRG up close.

I think you'll be happy with any elite cultivars you choose. A high maintanace program probably doesn't scare you, but is exactly what you're after.
 
#6 ·
Another option for seed is brettyoung.ca i know some are saying they are only taking orders over $500 but get in contact with your area rep.
I still continue to order from then and never spent $500. My rep throws my order on a golf course order then delivers to me.

They have a nice 4 way blend of kbg (T88)
Or could go with a mono.
They don't do custom blends anymore unless 400lbs+
They are 50lb bags and cost around $220.
I'm extremely happy with my blend so far.

https://www.brettyoung.ca/professional-turf-and-reclamation/seed/turf-seed/stock-blends
 
#7 ·
Justmatson said:
Another option for seed is brettyoung.ca i know some are saying they are only taking orders over $500 but get in contact with your area rep.
I still continue to order from then and never spent $500. My rep throws my order on a golf course order then delivers to me.

They have a nice 4 way blend of kbg (T88)
Or could go with a mono.
They don't do custom blends anymore unless 400lbs+
They are 50lb bags and cost around $220.
I'm extremely happy with my blend so far.

https://www.brettyoung.ca/professional-turf-and-reclamation/seed/turf-seed/stock-blends
Click to expand...
Great info, I'll see if I can get my rep to do something like that. Thanks also @Bug pumper for weighing in. I'm really hoping pretty well any new elite varieties blow away my ancient nomix.
 
#8 ·
Those three are all good choices. The only critique I would have is they are all Compact Midnights. Of all the classes of Bluegrass, the Compact Midnights are the least genetically diverse so you don't gain much over just one of them. If you can, a bled of different classes will get you more genetic diversity. I would stick with the compact classes. That will get you more diversity, but more variation in appearance than staying with one class. If you want to stay in the Compact Midnight class, then you might as well just pick one cultivar and make your life easier.
 
#9 ·
bernstem said:
Those three are all good choices. The only critique I would have is they are all Compact Midnights. Of all the classes of Bluegrass, the Compact Midnights are the least genetically diverse so you don't gain much over just one of them. If you can, a bled of different classes will get you more genetic diversity. I would stick with the compact classes. That will get you more diversity, but more variation in appearance than staying with one class. If you want to stay in the Compact Midnight class, then you might as well just pick one cultivar and make your life easier.
Click to expand...
Thanks. To be clear are you referring to the varieties I listed or the ones @Budstl listed?
 
#10 ·
I was referring to your three. The ones @Budstl listed are a blend of three classes (and would be a very nice blend):

Midnight/Bluebank - compact midnight
Bewitched - Compact
Mazama - Compact America

I used to be very pro blend, but not so much any more. I never liked mixes. What do you want from your lawn? Uniformity trumps pretty much everything else when it comes to lawn appearance. A monostand of just about anything will look better than a patchy blend, though a monostand will hide weeds the least. If you are willing to spend the time and effort for a top tier lawn, I don't think the downsides of a monostand should be an issue. If you just want green, then you wouldn't be custom blending seeds so... consider a monostand of either PRG or KBG? If you really want killer stripes, PRG will stripe better than anything, though KBG may hit more of your other points.
 
#11 ·
bernstem said:
I was referring to your three. The ones @Budstl listed are a blend of three classes (and would be a very nice blend):

Midnight/Bluebank - compact midnight
Bewitched - Compact
Mazama - Compact America
Click to expand...
I've been re-looking at seed mixes with this in mind but having difficulty in a lot of cases identifying which class varieties fall under. Is there a good resource for this?

EDIT: I found this http://www.sroseed.com/Files/Files/SRO_USA/Brochure_Etc/SRO_KB_classifications-Jan-2018_Final.pdf
 
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