When to overseed lawn

by Fate
(Fergus, Ontario,Canada)

Riddle me this. The fall has always been the season of choice for overseeding the lawn. However , there now seems to be a conflict as this is the time to put down corn gluten which is a seed inhibitor. What is the answer to this riddle please?

Doug says there is no riddle. :-) Grass seed goes down in the fall because it germinates well then. Corn gluten goes down in the spring because that's when most of the weed seeds are germinating.

For example, crab grass is an annual grass that germinates in the spring. So putting corn gluten on in the fall is pretty much useless to control that. "Some" dandelions will germinate in summer and fall but the majority of them kick into germination after a cold dormancy. So you might miss a few in the fall but you'll get the main crop of them in the spring.

There's always a few weeds here and there - but if you're seeding every fall to thicken up the turf you'll find that a thick lawn is your primary defense against weed seed germination.