As I mentioned in a prior post, my approach to lawn care is decidedly low-tech: manual reel mowers, scythes, etc. This slavish desire to follow a Luddite path, however, does not mean that I hate new technology but rather am a firm believer in the credo, “less is more.” Following along those lines, I have decided to redo my lawn with a grass-seed mix that will hopefully lead to a no-mow or low-grow lawn. What this means is that if it works I will have to mow the lawn only once a month or five or six times every year. Sweet!
By the way, this reseeding is not so much an option but rather necessity as my septic system needs replacing and the better part of my lawn will be ripped up, graded, moved, dug, shoveled, pushed, torn, etc. so that I expect there will be little left of what is there now except for the ubiquitous plantain weed, with its seasonal seed spikes and large smothering rosettes.
I first discovered the possibilities of a no-mow lawn when I went to a lecture at a UConn Master Gardener conference a few years back that discussed how a combination of fine fescue grasses can be used to create a “no-mow” lawn. Further research into the topic led me to Stevie Daniels, who has written extensively on the topic here and here. The benefits seemed too good to be true:
- Grows slowly
- Doesn’t require a great deal of water
- Doesn’t require fertilizer (in fact reacts badly to it)
- Is a native American grass
Perhaps the only drawback to fescue is that most cultivars are not well suited for a heavy pounding as would occur in a playfield; however, among the cultivars the Wendy Jean creeping red fescue has very good wear capabilities so it should take the occasional pounding from our family Wiffle Ball matches.
Unfortunately, none of the local nurseries have no-mow seed blends. A few were close but had too much tall fescue as well as rye, which has allelopathic tendencies, which can slow fescue germination. So when I checked out the web for options, it seemed stupid to order 50 pounds of seed and have it mailed to me, though Prairie Nursery and a few other mail order companies have put together good no-mow mixes; Seedland has a great web site that lists lots of different fescues. But through a helpful seed representative I was able to find a wholesale seed dealer on Long Island near my mother that carried a wide-variety of fine fescues. I called up All-Pro Horticulture to see if I could have a 50-pound custom mix created for me. The person on the phone was very helpful and after I gave him my order (with one mixture change based on availability,) he said,” who are you?”
I told him that I was just a homeowner looking to seed a low-maintenance lawn. He replied, “This is a really great mix. This is what everyone should be planting.” We chatted and when I told him about my soil, topography, and intended use he said that it was great though was a bit concerned about the high percentage of Wendy Jean as it has a tendency to crowd out other cultivars. “This should work well for you. Early this year we sold a lot of Aurora Gold to Bethpage [for the rough at the U.S. Open] and it did really well.”
As I was driving to pick up the seed I thought about why it was so hard to find a mix like this and then the obvious occurred to me: it is in no one’s financial interest. A low-maintenance mix requires low maintenance. Less water. Less fertilizer. Less herbicides. Less mowing. Less people and money that gets dished out to cut, bag and trash grass cuttings. And given the fact that large seed distributors such as Scotts also sell fertilizer, it will be a long time before this type of mix becomes popular.
Unless you follow my lead. More to come.
