Which grass seed brand to use...

I was just wondering if one brand grass seed is better than the other... Anyone have any recommendations?

i,ve always had good luck with the products from Scotts

I use the mix at the local farm supply. I used Pennington's in a pinch last fall and it did very well. I also don't use fertilizers, I just add a little compost to the area being seeded.

I second your local farm supply store, way cheaper than heading to a hardware/big box store and buying it. My area you can buy it by the pound, or even cheaper by the 50lb bag if you have a large area to seed out.

Usually ( but not always) the name brand or more expensive has a lower weed seed count.
(even weeds are green)

I find leftover seed used a year or two later has poor germination, so I never buy extra.
Plus the mice eat it like candy in my shed. !!

Nothing has come lose to Jonathan Green products for me. Usually your local garden center carries them or maybe agway. Use the finder on the site...

http://www.jonathangreen.com/index.cfm/category/1/

I use the Black Beauty but have not tried the Ultra. That seed is awesome - is incredibly green and does well in full sun and partial sun. Use the shade seed only in FULL shade. For partial shade, use the Black Beauty...

I hate grass. That being said I buy 2x as much of the no-name brand. Timing and seed to soil contact is more important than brand.

I look for the lowest price for a mix of fescue, blue grass, and perennial rye. I avoid "tall" fescue in favor of the "creeping and red" fescue stuff, best I can recall their names (not sure about the spelling of fescue either, the spell check doesn't like what I'm using). I have purchased Scott, and also whatever Walmart is selling. I'm about to buy another 20 pounds or so and recall something that looked to be below $3 a pound at Lowes. Walmart had some "improved" tall fescue closer to $2 a pound (as I recall, I have to take another look), but I know I don't like the Kentucky Tall Fescue (again going from memory on the type of seed). All brands I look at do provide a label with claims on % germination per type (if mixed types) and the % of the total each time type contributes.

If you are going to choose one, then yes - but given someone who will do it correctly, my Jonathan Green comments stand.

This is what I use:
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/arctic-gro-alaska-lawn-mix-18-lb-grass-seed-318426.html

I've planted acres and acres of grass.

I have made the mistake of buying K31 tall fescue, it is not attractive and is considered a wetland plant. Stupid stupid stupid. Wide blades that the deer were supposed to love but don't.

I now purchase only perrenial ryegrass and brand is not important. Freshness is important, cost is important, but most of all read the ingredients. Some grass seed is only 50% seed and the rest is some sort of coating or filler. That's bad. The ryegrass is very tolerant of traffic and conditions. It's a fine blade and dark green so it looks good.

My neighbor had some zoysia growing and she tried to dig, burn, whatever to get rid of it. She is 1/4 mile away and then I started getting it popping up. I gave up trying to dig it out and so what if it turns brown due to a frost, during the summer it needs little to no attention.

Once you have zoysia, you have it. The only way to get rid of it is to use total vegetation control and/or dig it out...and even then it can pop back up. We used to get rid of the very few weeds that pop up in zoysia by hitting them with glyphosate (RoundUp) because the zoysia was extremely tolerant to it.

To the OP,

The best grass seed will depend a lot on how much you need. If you only need 5 - 10 lbs I'd just get whatever the box stores sell. If you are seeding a larger area, farm stores (Rural King and TSC don't count, at least from what i've seen in my area...may vary by locality) or a real nursery will be your best option price-wise (and quality too).

Thanks for everyone's input. I ended up buying a 20lb bag of Pennington. I heard Scott's had more filler in it so it wasn't really 20lbs. @gpcollen1 thank you for the link. I heard jonathan green seeds were really great seeds, but I didn't think it was sold in my area. I guess I was wrong. I'll give it a try when I overseed this fall.

The weather has been great this past week. So I ended up seeding on a fresh layer of loam on Sunday. Last night and tonight the weather has dropped below freezing. I hope it doesn't cause any harm to the seeds.

That weather should not affect the seed. It will just wait until conditions are right to sprout. Ive seen grass grow up through snow before in late fall.

Often times the Scotts stuff has coatings on it to help get the seed started and yea, that adds weight. Look for a John Deere Landscapes (used to be Lesco) or other turf/landscape supply store for top quality, no BS grass seed if you need large quantities.

Seriously, as I warned you earlier, I have read labels that showed 50% of the "seed" was actually filler of some sort. Total profit move.

Hope your grass survives. I have found the best grass seed is a mixture that is formulated for your area. Around here, Black Beauty (another Jonathan Green type) is highly recommended because of the heavy clay in this part of the state. I have heard good things about Pennington, but from personal experience, I have found that Scott's EZ Seed is a huge waste of money, performs no better than any other. At $20 for a little can, it won't cover much of an area, and most folks aren't going to have much failure for that small a section. Also, most folks won't bother with a money back guarantee, thinking they did something wrong. Most grass seed instructions tell you to water several times a day until germination; if you are going to follow those instructions, you shouldn't have a problem, anyway. The rest of us have to buy the coated stuff and cover it with something. BTW, best time to seed is Fall rather than Spring.
Good luck with your lawn!

You won't have any problem with the seedlings. It takes 7 days for rye and 21 for bluegrass to germinate and that's when its warm.

If you are seeding in the Spring there's a starter fertilizer I see at Agway that has a pre-emergent weed killer that won't harm the seedlings. The active ingredient is Siduron, but sold/marketed as Tupersan etc, often as an ingredient in the fertilizer so you have to read it. Its the only thing I know of that will stop crabgrass while you seed. Not cheap but it works. If I was reseeding fresh loam in the Spring it would be worth it to me, but keep in mind its a barrier product so you don't want to stir it up once you apply (not that you'll be doing much on the new grass till it's established).

Great information guys! I'll keep you posted on the outcome.