Well fescue is a bunching grass and really does not spread. The ones that claim to spread just dont spread like *** or others.

k_g_b will spread so might be ok.
Essentially it would be like little sod.
I think you could try it if you have spare time. I would love to hear if it worked and helped.

 

Essentially it would be like little sod.

Good observation. So wouldn't it make more sense to just buy some commercial sod in the springtime and either put the sod rolls down or pull plugs from the sod rolls and plant those? That would be a lot easier than trying to grow your own plugs over winter.

@Grover

 

It sure would but this is a hobby, right? Just trying new things.

 

@Grover I'm thinking of trying to do the same this winter in peat pots. I have a nice spot for it in the basement so I think it will be a relatively light effort. I might consider pulling plugs from sod as well, but I want to grow the Mazama and see how far into the shade I can plug it and still get spread. Hoping I can use the learnings to help plan next fall overseed/reno.

 

It wouldn't be worth it. A piece of sod at my local farm last time I bought was like $6 a roll. Not sure what the stats are on your grow lights, but my guess is electricity costs alone you are in the red by spring time, but once you factor in time and aggravation, its no contest. If you want to do it for fun and something to do, that's a whole different story and i say go for it.

 

The lights are cfls so they don’t use much juice. Not like the high powered ones for growing “other plants”.
My biggest curiousity is weather I need to harden them off or not.

 

This is a great idea! I’ve got a larger spot from my reno that was washed out. I already have some grow lights for the flowers I do each year as well. I’m thinking I’ll start mid January.

 

I'm actually planning to do that exact approach in the spring - take TTTF plugs from sod and fill in some thinner areas from my overseed. Question, will adding Prodiamine shortly after plugging interfere with the rooting? Or is it safe since the roots are already developed?

 

I was wondering that about the Prodiamine as well.

 

Same here. If you do a split app of proddiamine, and put it down like March 15, plug April 1, then reapply May 15th that provides 6 weeks which should be fine, right?

 

If I could get my hands on some scotts provista kbg seed I would love to do this.

 

You apparently have the internet given that your responding on here. You could probably find said seed using it.

 

A split app is for spring and fall. Not just a few months apart. I skipped the fall because I put some plugs in and did some seeding this fall, but I’m not skipping the spring. We’ll see how it works with the plugs.

 

I’ve grown kbg plugs in my basement using grow lamps. It was helpful to fill in a few small dead spots in the yard but if you had easy access to kbg sod that you liked I would suggest doing that instead. It was fun as a winter project though.

My method was to use cheap plastic pots arranged in a plastic tray. Seed was planted in sand and fertilized every 2 weeks with a liquid balanced fertilizer. The tray was filled to the brim to nearly submerge the seed until germination and then slowly reduced as the roots went deeper into the sand. I planted the plugs in my yard ~90 days later and it seemed like all of them survived. It takes a lot fewer kbg seeds than what I had originally expected for a single plug.

 

it’s not dumb but it’s not as effective or efficient; cause planting for large areas requires you to have a larger plot of land; using planters is ok for for patching holes

it all works and kbg plugs are fine and actually works better than throwing seed and hoping to water for over a month

i did tttf plugs cause i don’t really have sod cutter and i have tons of seed starter so you have to plant each by hand when you transplant which is not great and most likely not ideal for the grass cause of root depth

high traffic areas and dog prone areas are the best practices where seed will never stay and your only choice is mature grass if it is ever to survive

but you need lots of supplemental light; at least 4-6 hours a day; i can barely transfer tttf inside to a windowsill to test low light performance before it starts to get fragile

but grass is just like any other kind of ornamental plant so just on a much mass produced area; you generally harden a few days to weeks to get the roots to extend but depends on your setup; you need to have really loamy or sandy soil i don’t think you want water to saturate all the time and then freeze which will damage plant tissue

create planter boxes about 3 inch deep at least and don’t go full 8lb/1000sqft rate; it gets too crowded in planters just spread by hand or use peat moss in a slurry and it will mix consistently over time and spread that over your given area

 

it’s not dumb but it’s not as effective or efficient; cause planting for large areas requires you to have a larger plot of land; using planters is ok for for patching holes

that’s pretty much what they’re going to be for. Not trying to grow an entire lawn with them. My lawn is primarily tttf prg with some creeping fescue in shady areas. I’d like to incorporate some kbg in there and patching some areas that took winter damage seems like a way to do that.

 

Even with grow lamps, the light from artificial lighting is no match for natural sunlight.

I have been growing grass plugs under lights for a couple years. What I did was go to the local big box store and bought a couple of LED tube lights with the highest lumen output I could find.

Like this one:

https://www.menards.com/main/lighting-ceiling-fans/indoor-lighting/shop-lights/smart-electrician-reg-5000-lumen-45-led-shop-light/gt-sl5000-link/p-1521873022724-c-1472133557086.htm

Grow lights arent needed. The lights have to be mounted close to the plants. They're still not as intense as real sunlight though.

Mounted them about 10 inches above the surface of the pots. I use seed starting trays like this.

https://www.menards.com/main/seed-starting-grow-kits/mckenzie-pro-hex-trade-seed-starting-tray-72-cell/phex-5mc/p-1444450817667-c-3289655539443630.htm?tid=2226897891259439902&ipos=2

Two of the trays fit nicely under the LED lamps.

Starting in early March I plant my seeds using the included clear plastic humidity lids to keep moisture in. The seeds sprout in a few days. Then its just a matter of keeping things moist and mowing the plugs. I use a scissors and a shop vac to suck up the trimmings. A bit of MiracleGro fertilizer helps too. They're ready for planting when the roots hold the soil together when pulled from the pots.

 

I grow in half gallon planters over winter and use scissors to cut them. Usually either some samples from SSS to see how various cultivars or mixes work or to see how amendments might impact the same cultivar. I move from front of house to back of house to maximize the sun exposure. I have plugged a few with the pro plugger and it was fine for the most part. First attempt took more effort since the planters were all topsoil and not even remotely compacted enough to pull a good plug, but digging some soil from my wood line, compacting, and adding topsoil on top helped a good bit....though still not a perfect plug compared to what I can pull in the yard. Debating whether I want to do this again this year since working from home will be less often and they wont get moved as much.

 

This approach is not stupid at all. I do this every year using tall fescue grass seeds. I typically do so in the spring, maybe one month before the expected last frost. Here is my approach using toilet paper rolls:

1: I go to the dollar store to buy the aluminum food trays with a clear lid
2: I save all of my toilet paper and paper towel tubes
3: Purchase bag of vermiculite from big box store
4: Purchase long handled stand-up bulb planter
5: Purchase a cheap stapler from dollar store
6: Put a staple across the top and bottom spiral seams of the toilet paper tubes to prevent them from unraveling
7: Close off the bottom of the toilet paper roll by collapsing it and securing it with a single staple
8: Pack the aluminum trays with the toilet paper roles standing vertically with the collapsed end facing down.
9: Fill each toilet paper role with vermiculite and water to get the vermiculite to settle
10: Plant seeds on top of vermiculite and keep moist. Vermiculite absorbs water so you can water from below
11: Cover with the clear lid that comes with the aluminum and wait for the grass to grow

The key for me was to get the timing right so that I was ready to plant when the grass blades reached about 4 inches or when I saw the roots peeking out of the bottom of the toilet paper tubes. I used a grow light but only for a short period of time. When I'm ready to plant, I find a small bare spot in the yard, remove a plug with my stand-up bulb planter and just drop the seeded toilet paper tube into the hole and back-fill with a little extra vermiculite. I never hardened before planting. The toilet paper roll will degrade in a few weeks. Technically you have just aerated that spot by filling it with the vermiculite filled tube.

 

This sounds like a great idea. The ground just collapses in on the vermeculite and it all becomes one?

 

Ok so sounds like the cfls won’t be powerful enough. I suppose I’ll just get them started indoors a little bit early and use the bulbs I have to keep them alive for a short spell before taking them outside.

Im confident a proper grow setup would work, ive grown plants from seed to harvest indoors with a 400w hps/mh but that cost me like $60 a month in electricity so it’s not worth the electricity cost just for some grass plugs.