The Closing of the Seeding Window

Have you heard enough about seeding yet? If so, don’t stop reading just yet! This will clear up why we’ve been providing you with SO MUCH information.

Dropping Soil Temperatures

The seeding window is short, basically it’s the month of September. New seeds will germinate as long as the soil temp is around 55 degrees for a week at a time. If the temperatures drop below that, the seeds will not sprout.
During this time of year, soil temperatures are becoming cooler everyday.  The cooler the soil, the longer it takes for seed germination.  Seeding at the beginning of September in Kansas City will usually allow the seed to germinate in 10 days.  Compared to seeding done now that would take about 14 days. But if you wait a few weeks longer, it will take 21 days.

Do the Math

So think about this, if it takes 3 weeks for seed to germinate from about October 10 to October 31 (Halloween!). Then it takes another 4 weeks to mature and root. (Which is what gives your new seed the chance to survive the winter).  That brings you to the end of November (Thanksgiving!).  This means any seeding done later than October 15 has a slim chance of surviving.

Another Thing to Think About

Another major factor in seeding failure is desiccation due to frost heaving.  Frost heaving is the act of the ground freezing and expanding.  This creates ridges in bare soil and actually pulls the roots out of the ground.  Then they dry out and die.  New grass seedlings that are too young to have established roots are susceptible to heaving. This is why they require about 4 four weeks to properly root and mature.

So, if you’ve already missed the seeding window this year, it is better to wait and do a dormant seeding.  This is done between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The process is the same but the seed lays dormant until spring when the soil warms up.

If you have any questions about the seeding window or dormant seeding, call a Lawn Coach today!