It now almost too late to seed this fall to expect the seedlings to form a good stand before winter, especially with the dry conditions that remain in the forecast. The optimum time to seed cool-season turfgrasses is between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15 in central IN, a week earlier in northern IN, and a week or so later in southern IN. As a very, very general rule, seedings made between Aug. 15 and Sep. 15 should be ready for use by Memorial Day. For every day you wait to seed after Labor Day, it’ll take two to four days longer for it to mature. So if you seed today (Sep. 23) (two weeks after Labor Day, the stand won’t be ready to use until at least the fourth week of June (4 weeks later). At best, seeding much after Oct. 1 will produce a thin stand by winter, which will probably become infested with crabgrass next summer. With a lot of patience and input, you may have an adequate stand of grass by the end of next summer. At worst, seeding much after Oct. 1 will allow the seeds to germinate, but not mature which may result in seedlings dying from winter-kill. This is especially true with species susceptible to winter-kill such as perennial ryegrass or tall fescue. If you can’t seed in the next few weeks, you may save time and money by waiting until this winter or next spring to seed. More information is available in AY-20, “Seeding a Turf Area in the Spring”.