Water New Grass ?

[Randy Dandy]

I have new KY31 coming up on a half acre. First Id like to thank all of you that helped me through this process.
My question is how many days is too many with out water ?
I have the option of buying some garden hose's and watering if necessary.
I will continue to keep an eye on the weather and would not water prior to a rain forecast but would like to know how long is too long.
Some kind of rule of thumb mantenance...so to speak .
Water in the morning or afternoon ?
Thanks

[agmantoo]

Check the moisture in the soil. IF the soil is damp do not water. IF you water the roots will not penetrate as deeply and when it does turn dry the fescue will perish.

[Randy Dandy]

Thanks agmantoo.
If I understand you then your saying if it turns too dry and I don't water then Ill loose the grass. And if I water too much then the roots will NOT establish themselves very deep. That sounds good.
With the grass being new I was wondering if it would be alright to water the grass when I get home maybe in the late evening just before dark when conditions are dry.
I just didn't know if I would be making a mistake by watering every evening when the ground is dry. I certainly didn't want the grass to go too many dry days without water and then it be too late to start watering and loose it all. I guess if the ground is dry for a couple of days then nothing to worry about...right ?
Or I didn't know if I should try to maintain constant moisture in the soil.
Thank you very much.

Randy

[agmantoo]

You should be experiencing Spring rains in Tn. This being the situation leave the watering off. The plants will attempt to establish a root system that will support them during a dry period. A thorough watering once per week is preferable over a shallow more frequent watering. The shallow frequent water will create too much top rooting. If we have typical zone 7 rain this summer and you do not graze the fescue all should be OK. If it turns DRY, anticipate replanting in the fall. Once the grass reaches a height of 4+ inches a mowing will benefit the plants. You will want to keep the ratio of top growth to root growth in proportion. You are aware that since fescue is a cool season grass it will go dormant come July?

[Randy Dandy]

That was exactly the answer I was looking for.
No I didn't know that it would go dormant in July.
Even though it goes dormant that time of year then does KY31 also turn brown like some other grasses do in the fall/winter ?
Either way thank you very much for giving me the answer I was looking for

[agmantoo]

In September with the returning rains of fall plus the cooling temperatures the fescue will become active and start growing again provided the July/August period was not too dry killing the roots. The fescue will remain green and will grow until late December with in tapering off as the season turns cold. Here is the sequence that I enjoy with the fescue. On my established Ky31 fescue, starting mid March the grass will start turning green and will grow on the warmer sunny days. This is time to fertilize. By April the pasture is growing faster than the herd of commercial beef cattle can consume the grass. Late April and in May and June, depending on the rains, hay can be harvested from the surplus. As mentioned earlier, in July and August the fescue will go dormant. In late August,regardless of the weather, I fertilizer again. As the weather cools and with rain the fescue will get a kick start from the fertilizer and start a rapid growth and will again exceed the immediate needs of the herd. The cattle are cycled frequently from one small paddock area to another up until late December. Portions of the pastures are not grazed. The non grazed area is allowed to mature and the cattle are withheld from those paddocks until Jan. From Jan. through mid March these stockpiled previously non grazed pastures provide grazing on a rotational basis.
The weather cooperated and I have just finished the 04/05 winter without having to feed any baled hay. Using the above system has been a major benefit in my feeder calf operation and I strongly suggest anyone feeding grass to consider rotational grazing using Fescue.
Wishing you even better success with your fescue.