Radio Transcript
September 14th, 2026
Tanner Collier

Hello, this is Tanner Collier, the Horticulture Agent with Burke County Cooperative Extension. It is that time of the year again so we are going to talk about "seeding your lawn in the fall.”

September is an important month when it comes to your lawn. This is the perfect time to reseed your lawn with any cool season grass of your choosing. Before you can seed, you will first have to prepare your yard. To do this, you will want to control all weeds that are within the lawn with a herbicide, make sure your soil is exposed to achieve good seed to soil contact, and take a soil sample to identify how much lime and fertilizer is needed. After this is completed, it is time to start seeding.

The big three grasses that are used across the Foothills are Tall Fescue, Fine Fescue, and Kentucky Bluegrass. Each has their own benefits and grows differently. You can either have a full stand of Tall Fescue, full stand of Kentucky Bluegrass, or a mix of all three. When planting just Tall Fescue, you will need six pounds of seed per thousand square feet. For only Kentucky Bluegrass lawns, you will need two pounds of seed per thousand square feet. If you want to do a mix of Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue, you will need one pound of Kentucky Bluegrass and five pounds of Tall Fescue. For a Tall Fescue, Fine Fescue, and Kentucky Bluegrass mix, you will need five pounds of Tall Fescue, one pound of Fine Fescue, and one pound of Kentucky Bluegrass. For each of these grasses, the optimum planting date will be before the beginning of October.

This has been Tanner Collier, with Burke County Cooperative Extension. If you have any questions or want more information you can contact us at (828) 764-9480.