Hi Everyone,

I am presently building a grass strip in the interior of BC, just north of Washington state. The strip will be at around 3200' elevation. Our climate is very dry and hot in summer and in winter we have usually 1'-2' of snow between November and March. Has anyone experience with sheep's fescue grass? I am looking for a low maintenance grass seed which grows slow and needs no or little irrigation. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Pusher, have no experiance with the grass you speak of, I have a strip just south of Trail in WA. 1900' elavation, 82WN, still trying to get the right grass, ?? I have tried a lot of differant grass's just whatch for any that grow in clumps, you don't want them!!
Good Luck!

Hey Pusher. I'm from up in north central Alberta. I just built a grass strip. I used creeping red fescue. Its really nice. Seeded it in late July and it is pretty much a solid mat already. If it rains lots and has a lot of fertilizer it will grow fast. If it doesn't rain as much it grows slower. I would recommend to fertilize it lots the first couple of years so you get a good root base. It will require more mowing, but will work out better in the long run.
I haven't heard of the sheep's fescue you mentioned, will have to look ot up.
David

A few years back when I had my new runway graded and it was bare dirt I started asking around for the correct grass to plant... 90% of the people suggested using Kentucky 31 Fescue... So I called the grass seed company in SLC and told them my application and my request for the 31 fescue...... He spend 20 minutes telling me I really want to use something called Sodar Streambank Wheatgrass... So. like an idiot I believed him and bought a grands worth of seed....The stuff sucks......... .........

It clumped pretty bad, didn't want to fill in like he said it would and basically not a good choice for a remote, unmowed runway... I should have bought the Fescue......... I really hate people from SLC now...

Kentucky 31 Fescue is a cool season grass that is heat/dry tolerant and doesn't clump. It is from Russia and is very tough. Before Fescue all you saw in July and August in Stone County Missouri was rocks. Now we look like the Emerald Isle. National Resources Conservation Service is pushing native grass here now. The rocks are showing back up. Orchard grass dies under heat/dry stress and clumps when growing well. Be sure you get a good crown, six inches if wide, on your runway if you get lots of rain during part of the year.

The triple tree aerodrome in South Carolina has a 7,000' runway down with Bermuda Bentgrass and it is the sweetest place I've ever landed.

Thanks everyone for the great tips.

David,

I have read about the creeping red fescue. Is it drought resistant? The University of Alaska had a project using it to seed gravel strips. I am in the Okanagan, so summers are hot and dry with hardly any rain.

http://www.wildflower.org/habiturf/

Another idea for you

Stol

You really got my attention with your bad experience with “Sodar Streambank Wheatgrass”. As a pilot and Landscape Contractor, I was asked to look into the feasibility of seeding the sides of a new runway here in Central Oregon. My local seed supplier, whom I’ve dealt with for years, also suggested Sodar Streambank Wheatgrass. Could I ask of you to share your prep, how you applied, rate, and time of year you seeded?

Thanks,

Jim

We have used creeping red fescue in our orchards for years, located below the BC border in Eastern WA. It is very hardy, grows well in moist conditions, goes dormant in hot dry weather, then comes back. We do have to mow it several times in the Spring and early Summer. I am also putting in a grass strip and will use it. We have had the best luck planting in the Fall.

A grass called "Companion" developed for orchards, is supposed to be low growing, seeding out early and thus need very little mowing. Found this on a quick search (Indiana Berry & Plant Company: companion grass) . I have not tried it but it was the rage a few years ago to eliminate costly mowing in orchards. Might check it out.

SBURG,

Are your orchards irrigated?

Jim 541 wrote:Stol

You really got my attention with your bad experience with “Sodar Streambank Wheatgrass”. As a pilot and Landscape Contractor, I was asked to look into the feasibility of seeding the sides of a new runway here in Central Oregon. My local seed supplier, whom I’ve dealt with for years, also suggested Sodar Streambank Wheatgrass. Could I ask of you to share your prep, how you applied, rate, and time of year you seeded?

Thanks,

Jim

That was the exact same sales pitch the seed guy in SLC used.... " Most guv agencies use Sodar for seeding the sides of highways and I sell a ton of it weekly to them" I expressed my concern to him that I would be LANDING on it , not just driving by it.... For erosion and dust control it is probably a good choice. Also ,animals do not like the taste of it, so lining roads or lining the sides of runways is a good reason to use it..


My runway is 100' wide and 3000' long so that is 300,000 sq ft.. I don't have the invoice close by but I do remember I requested to double the application rate so I would have great coverage and fill in.

Now, don't laugh.. but.. here is how I spread the seed. And it worked perfectly too.

In the middle or May, when the runway had about 3 feet of snow on it, I took my snowmobile and a broadcast spreader. I put chains on the spreader wheels cause they would just slide on the snow without chains. I made pass after pass up and down the runway and since the seed was alot darker then the snow I could see where the lightly applied spots were and filled them in better. This was early in the morning when the snow was still set up and hard. As the day got warmer the bottom dropped out of the snow and I quit spreading. This time of year there are no birds to eat the seeds and since they were dark, they actually melted into the snow. Also, since the ground /dirt is always alligator skin textured after each winter, I figured the seed would migrate into all those little cracks on the ground. The concept worked perfectly and as the snow melted over the next month, not only did it distribute the seed good, it also kept the seed moist and that helped germinate it. In June I slowly walked the runway looking for ungerminated seed and my guess is 90% were turning green and just a few didn't take. That first year the runway looked great and was filling in nicely. The second year was when it was apparent the Sodar was starting to thrive,, but in clumps, not a even layer of grass, like I had hoped.. YMMV

Thanks Stol,

Looks like you just saved me some hardship and embarrassment.

Jim

My runway has been in place over two years now. I used a mix of Kentucky 31 fescue and a Rye wheat grass. This has proven to be a good choice thus far. I have no clumps but, the lawn mower stays quite busy too say the least.

Pusher wrote:Thanks everyone for the great tips.

David,

I have read about the creeping red fescue. Is it drought resistant? The University of Alaska had a project using it to seed gravel strips. I am in the Okanagan, so summers are hot and dry with hardly any rain.

Hey Pusher. As sburg stated, the creeping red fescue goes dormant in very hot dry conditions. I really like it. Most lawns up around here are seeded with the stuff. Also, I have a thread on here about building my strip. May want to take a look at it if you are looking for ideas. I do need to update it, and will do that soon.
David

A few thoughts and observations:

1. To stimulate root growth in established turf rather than applying fertilizer you want to 1) cut the grass, and 2) water deeply and infrequently. When mowing, never removing more than 1/3 of the blade length. If possible, do not water until the grass show signs of stress. These two things will encourage deep roots, which improve drught tolerance and hold the soil. Roots on well established fescue turf will be 3-5 feet deep.
2. When fertilizing, particularly with new turf, avoid heavy applications of N. Too much N means you will get lots of blade growth, but not an equal amount of root growth. It's very easy to over fertilize, fall behind on the mowing, have to cut significantly more than 1/3 of the blade, stress the unestablished turf, and experience a big die-off. You probably want to fertilize lightly when you sew the seed (consider using slow release N) and again in the fall, once the heat of the summer has passed. You want all the N to be consumed before the hot and dry conditions arrive unless you have irrigation.
3. Before making a final selection on the seed type check with your local golf courses and athletic fields to find out what they use. They will be able to tell you which grasses are most drought tolerant.
4. My experience with K-31 is that it bunches or clumps. It is not really a turf grass the way other fescues are. It would not be my first choice for a runway.
5. If you can, amend the soil with organic matter. Lots of work, I know, but it really helps hold some moisture, and can pay dividends if you can't irrigate.