If you plan to plant tall fescue this fall decide which variety you want to grow and get your seed ordered right away. For information on the commercial varieties available and sources of seed visit http://www.grasslandrenewal.com
If you plan to plant tall fescue this fall and have not soil tested, get samples immediately and plan on liming and fertilizing before planting this fall. Follow your renovation calendar and apply glyphosate on the optimal date for your renovation strategy. If you plan to use “Spray-Smother-Spray-Plant” and have not planted your summer annual yet, consider switching to the “Spray-Wait-Spray-Plant” system.
By June, most tall fescue tillers that produced a seedhead have dropped mature seed. Any of these seeds could come up and contaminate a new seeding of tall fescue. If you planned on planting tall fescue this fall but didn’t control seedheads, continue with your plan but postpone planting fescue until next year and use a cool-season annual this winter and a warm season annual next summer.
If you are just now thinking you might renovate some toxic tall fescue pasture, use glyphosate to kill the existing stand now and plant a summer annual, or wait and kill it in late summer and plant a winter annual. Follow with cool- and warm-season annuals and plan for tall fescue planting next fall.
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal is a national organization focused on enhancing the appropriate adoption of novel endophyte tall fescue technology through education, incentives, self-regulation and promotion. For more resources or to learn more about the Alliance for Grassland Renewal, go to www.grasslandrenewal.org
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal 