Dormant Seeding

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the estimated first frost time for the Flathead Valley is mid-September. So, should you be planting grass seed right now? The answer is probably not. To plant grass seed in the fall, it should be planted about 45 days before the first estimated frost. Many of the grasses that do best in the Flathead Valley are cold-season grasses, such as fescue, that flourish in the spring and fall when temperatures are slightly lower. However, if these grass seeds are planted too late in the fall, they will just begin to germinate when the seasons change, effectively killing the young grasses. This close to the estimated first frost, it’s actually best to wait just a bit longer to seed.

The best time to apply grass seed this fall will be after the first hard frost or even after the fist snow fall. This way, the seeds will remain inactive and dormant through the winter, but germinate early in spring when soils are moist and soft. This practice of seeding grass during cold months is referred to as dormant seeding and it can give your grass a leg up in the spring.