As you develop an Organic Turf Care Program, there are so many things to consider. When do I apply fertilizer? How will I fit in soil amendments? When should I overseed and what varieties should I use? WHAT ABOUT MANAGING WEEDS?? When constructing custom programs, I always lead with the importance of grass seed.

Lead With Seed

Our goal is to grow healthy lawns and athletic fields, and the only way to do that is to get desirable turf grass growing. While some cool season turf grasses have rhizomatous spreading habits, it’s unlikely that they will be aggressive enough to out compete weeds and/or establish a dense turf stand on their own. 

Lawn care professionals are in the business of mowing natural turf. As a result, turf grass doesn’t reproduce by seed. Therefore, it’s critical to include an effective overseed strategy when looking at your seasonal program.

Grass Seed Applications

Organic lawn care professionals have a unique advantage in that they can overseed during typical application windows. This means added germination and establishment benefit compared to their synthetic competitors. Whether you are overseeding in spring/early summer or late summer and fall—PJC products like Boost+S3 and Charge-S3 aid with seed germination and establishment. In addition, our soil amendments also add long term benefits to your soil. 

Synthetic programs utilize herbicides and pre-emergents that linger in the soil for weeks and are non-selective in attacking the seeds in the soil that are preparing to germinate. This dramatically decreases overseed windows and limits germination efficacy for desirable turf grass species.

When selling your programs to clients, explain to them the importance of grass seed to grow a more resilient lawn. Accordingly, the expense should simply be considered as an alternative to costly and environmentally damaging herbicides – which ultimately, don’t get more grass into the turf stand.