Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: A low mow, no mow grass choice
Lawn mowing season is coming… yay! Kinda…
if mowing isn’t your bag or you have a slope you’d rather not deal with, then consider Eco Grass.
Prairie Moon Nursery offers a blend of fine-leaved fescue grasses as an alternative to an energy-intensive conventional turf lawn. I’m not getting paid to talk about Eco-Grass, but want to share with you this option for a low mow, no mow grass.
It’s also an excellent choice for solid border areas or footpaths adjacent to native plantings. This versatile grass blend of cultivar fescues is reported to establish quickly and grows into a flowing green carpet.
If you choose to mow it, leave it at 3 inches. Eco-Grass grows in most soil types and sun conditions, thriving in all but the darkest and wettest settings in clay or heavy soils. Now THAT’s unusual.
Prairie Moon says that the thin blades of the fescues and their relatively deep root systems (4-9”) make it drought resistant. Most grass blends we buy have shallow root systems and that’s why they get so crispy during August.
When Eco-Grass reaches about eight inches and begins to form seed heads, it tends to bow or flop over, which can add an attractive naturalistic flow to landscapes.
Once established, it is durable under moderate foot traffic if mowed as a path or lawn. That means, if you run a daycare, don’t bother!
It resists invasion by filling in well but will not encroach on neighboring plantings. I have talked with many folks who have ordered from and worked with Prairie Moon Nursery and have heard nothing but good things.
Here’s another thing about the Eco Grass blend, the slow growing fescues establish even in light or low-nutrient soils and hold no attraction for lawn grubs, one of those being Japanese Beetle larva!
Further information from Prairie Moon Nursery below:
Eco-Grass yields big savings as a lawn alternative by eliminating or reducing the need for pesticides, fertilizers and frequent watering or mowing. These slow-growing fescues establish even in light or low-nutrient soils and hold no attraction for lawn grubs, the problematic larvae that thrive in shorter-rooted turf grasses.
A cool-season grass blend, Eco-Grass is best planted Spring or early-Fall, on a prepared site from which all weeds or competing species, and the weed seed bank in the soil, have been removed prior to planting. Early-Fall plantings have the advantage of moderate temperatures and fewer competing weeds, while Spring plantings have the advantage of early-season soil moisture. Seeds can be hand-broadcast or distributed with a grass-seed spreader and should be lightly raked in and then watered well for the first month or two, if needed. Depending upon conditions, germination can be expected in one to two weeks. Its cool-season nature shows in its bright-green luster in late-fall, followed by browning in dormancy and an early spring green-up.
Eco-Grass does not need to over-winter to break germination inhibitors. Seeds sown in late fall or winter will lie dormant until spring. Even sandy soils can suit it but frequent watering may be necessary on very dry sites or in dry seasons until the plants are established. Once it fills in, Eco-Grass is a low-maintenance, attractive choice for many specific landscaping needs for home and garden.