How do I convert an existing lawn to a sustainable turf species?
You can change your lawn to a low maintenance fescue based turf without ripping up the old one. This is accomplished by over-seeding with a new grass species. Newer varieties of fescues are tougher, more vigorous, better-looking, drought tolerant, disease and insect resistant. Before seeding, mow the existing lawn as low as possible. Remove the weeds and ground clippings and compost them if possible. For small areas less than 1000 square feet, rake the lawn thoroughly to remove loose grass and rough up the soil. Sow one-and-a-half times the amount of seed recommended on the seed package by hand or with a drop spreader. Lightly rake the seeded area, and keep it moist with regular watering. For larger areas, you can rent an over-seeder that slices through the grass and soil to drop grass seed into slices in the soil. Over-seed in two directions, preferably on a diamond pattern.
