The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.


I was shocked at the price of $5 dollars, because this grass seed was
selling at their store last year for like $16.99 for a 3 pound bag. I
asked the guy working there if $5 dollars was the correct price, and he
said it was, because they were discontinuing that brand, and were only
going to sell "Scotts" seed and fertilizer from now on.


Anyway, the grass seed is called "GreenView Fairway Formula Grass Seed",
and the bag states that "it's been used on golf courses for over 50
years".


They only had 3 bags left, and they were all 3 pound bags. Each bag was
a DIFFERENT blend as well. The had 1 bag of "Kentucky Bluegrass", 1 bag
of "Sunny Blend", and 1 bag of "Fall Seed Mixture".


Now here is the interesting part, when I looked on the back of the bag,
to see if there was any kind of expiration date, there was one on the
back label of all 3 bags:


The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".


The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".


And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".


So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date? Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?


Like I said, this grass seed was selling at the store for something like
$16.99 last year, and now its only $5 bucks, because they are only going
to carry "Scotts" seed and fertilizer now.


Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?


I have never tried the "GreenView" brand before, and always used either
"Scotts" or "Pennington" grass seed and/or fertilizer.

MICHELLE H. wrote:
....

So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date? Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?

....
A) No, as long as it hasn't been wet or otherwise stored where it was
actually damaged, at worst it'll have a _slightly_ low germination rate.

B) Depends on whether you have a suitable use for it and whether the
blend/varieties are suitable for your climate/soil.

--

MICHELLE H. wrote:
The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.


I was shocked at the price of $5 dollars, because this grass seed was
selling at their store last year for like $16.99 for a 3 pound bag. I
asked the guy working there if $5 dollars was the correct price, and he
said it was, because they were discontinuing that brand, and were only
going to sell "Scotts" seed and fertilizer from now on.


Anyway, the grass seed is called "GreenView Fairway Formula Grass Seed",
and the bag states that "it's been used on golf courses for over 50
years".


They only had 3 bags left, and they were all 3 pound bags. Each bag was
a DIFFERENT blend as well. The had 1 bag of "Kentucky Bluegrass", 1 bag
of "Sunny Blend", and 1 bag of "Fall Seed Mixture".


Now here is the interesting part, when I looked on the back of the bag,
to see if there was any kind of expiration date, there was one on the
back label of all 3 bags:


The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".


The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".


And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".


So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date? Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?


Like I said, this grass seed was selling at the store for something like
$16.99 last year, and now its only $5 bucks, because they are only going
to carry "Scotts" seed and fertilizer now.


Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?


I have never tried the "GreenView" brand before, and always used either
"Scotts" or "Pennington" grass seed and/or fertilizer.

I'd buy it if it were here. Like was said, slightly lower germination rate.

On Mar 1, 6:31�pm, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.

I was shocked at the price of $5 dollars, because this grass seed was
selling at their store last year for like $16.99 for a 3 pound bag. I
asked the guy working there if $5 dollars was the correct price, and he
said it was, because they were discontinuing that brand, and were only
going to sell "Scotts" seed and fertilizer from now on.

Anyway, the grass seed is called "GreenView Fairway Formula Grass Seed",
and the bag states that "it's been used on golf courses for over 50
years".

They only had 3 bags left, and they were all 3 pound bags. Each bag was
a DIFFERENT blend as well. The had 1 bag of "Kentucky Bluegrass", 1 bag
of "Sunny Blend", and 1 bag of "Fall Seed Mixture".

Now here is the interesting part, when I looked on the back of the bag,
to see if there was any kind of expiration date, there was one on the
back label of all 3 bags:

The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".

The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".

And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".

So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date? Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?

Like I said, this grass seed was selling at the store for something like
$16.99 last year, and now its only $5 bucks, because they are only going
to carry "Scotts" seed and fertilizer now.

Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?

I have never tried the "GreenView" brand before, and always used either
"Scotts" or "Pennington" grass seed and/or fertilizer.

It all depends on the storage, should be kept cool and DRY.. Smell
it, it should smell like hay & not a foul smell. The main reason for
"expiry dates" is so that stock gets used in rotation. Ie, you don't
get one left at the back of the shelf for ten years.

"MICHELLE H." wrote:

The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".

The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".

And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".

So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date?

Keep it dry and cool and grass seed will keep for years. Most seeds
(not just grass seed) lose a small percentage of germinating ability
over time, but most all seeds stay viable longer than people realize.

Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?

It will be a waste of money buying any of them if they're not the
right grass mixtures or blends for your area. You have to decide based
upon the conditions for the area you intend to seed. Pick a grass
mixture or blend that will do well in that area.
BTW, a blend is made up of two or more varieties of the same grass.
Example: a Kentucky bluegrass blend consisting of, say Excalibur
Kentucky bluegrass, Champagne Kentucky blue, and Bordeaux Kentucky
blue.
A mixture consists of two or more types of grasses. Example: a mixture
of Excalibur Kentucky blue, Primo Perennial ryegrass, Alliant fescue.
As a rule, mixtures are better for all-purpose lawns since the
different grasses will allow for better turf establishment under
varying conditions of soil, shade, care and wear.

Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?

Don't worry about the brand; it's meaningless. All that matters is the
variety name of the grasses inside the bag. You see, neither Scotts
nor GreenView nor any other company grow and harvest the seeds they
sell. They all buy them from the companies that do produce them, and
then package them under their own label. Reliant Kentucky bluegrass
from Scotts is the same seed as Reliant Kentucky bluegrass sold by
Schultz, or Sears, or anyone else. The only difference is the company
name and the price.

General tips for buying grass seed: it's usually least expensive to
get a quality grass seed, or blend, or mixture from a local farm &
garden or landscape company that sells it by the pound. They select
grasses that are known to perform well in your area, so it's less of a
gamble picking varieties.
Avoid grass mixtures containing _annual_ ryegrass - that is junk seed
used as filler in cheap mixtures.
Naturally, check the label to make sure the percentage of weed seed is
as low as possible - but also check for a listing for crop seed. Crop
seed are seeds from plants that are not normally grown for turfgrass
but are commercially raised as crops. In other words, that's more
undesirable seed since it won't make a good lawn, so you don't want
much of that in the mixture, either.

On Mar 1, 12:31*pm, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.

I was shocked at the price of $5 dollars, because this grass seed was
selling at their store last year for like $16.99 for a 3 pound bag. I
asked the guy working there if $5 dollars was the correct price, and he
said it was, because they were discontinuing that brand, and were only
going to sell "Scotts" seed and fertilizer from now on.

Anyway, the grass seed is called "GreenView Fairway Formula Grass Seed",
and the bag states that "it's been used on golf courses for over 50
years".

They only had 3 bags left, and they were all 3 pound bags. Each bag was
a DIFFERENT blend as well. The had 1 bag of "Kentucky Bluegrass", 1 bag
of "Sunny Blend", and 1 bag of "Fall Seed Mixture".

Now here is the interesting part, when I looked on the back of the bag,
to see if there was any kind of expiration date, there was one on the
back label of all 3 bags:

The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".

The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".

And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".

So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date? Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?

Like I said, this grass seed was selling at the store for something like
$16.99 last year, and now its only $5 bucks, because they are only going
to carry "Scotts" seed and fertilizer now.

Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?

I have never tried the "GreenView" brand before, and always used either
"Scotts" or "Pennington" grass seed and/or fertilizer.

Its last years grass seed, every year germination rates go down,
germination rates % can be found online. Its probably a good deal for
seed, but is it a quality low weeded seed. Scotts has few weeds.

Hi,


Thanks for the responses. Yeah there is probably nothing wrong with it,
the hardware store probably just made some kind of "sweetheart deal"
with a "Scotts" representative to only carry "Scotts" brand stuff, and
so they have to discontinue and get rid of all the other brands.
"Scotts" probably hooked them up to get the "Scotts" products at a good
buying price, so that they can turn around and sell it for a great
PROFIT price.


I have heard that "Scotts" is running scared, because they now have
serious competition from the company called "Pennington" grass seed and
fertilizer, which Home Depot and Lowes is now starting to carry more and
more of.

On Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:52:32 -0600, Hell Toupee
wrote:

"MICHELLE H." wrote:

The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".

The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".

And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".

So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date?

Keep it dry and cool and grass seed will keep for years. Most seeds
(not just grass seed) lose a small percentage of germinating ability
over time, but most all seeds stay viable longer than people realize.

Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?

It will be a waste of money buying any of them if they're not the
right grass mixtures or blends for your area. You have to decide based
upon the conditions for the area you intend to seed. Pick a grass
mixture or blend that will do well in that area.
BTW, a blend is made up of two or more varieties of the same grass.
Example: a Kentucky bluegrass blend consisting of, say Excalibur
Kentucky bluegrass, Champagne Kentucky blue, and Bordeaux Kentucky
blue.
A mixture consists of two or more types of grasses. Example: a mixture
of Excalibur Kentucky blue, Primo Perennial ryegrass, Alliant fescue.
As a rule, mixtures are better for all-purpose lawns since the
different grasses will allow for better turf establishment under
varying conditions of soil, shade, care and wear.

Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?

Don't worry about the brand; it's meaningless. All that matters is the
variety name of the grasses inside the bag. You see, neither Scotts
nor GreenView nor any other company grow and harvest the seeds they
sell. They all buy them from the companies that do produce them, and
then package them under their own label. Reliant Kentucky bluegrass
from Scotts is the same seed as Reliant Kentucky bluegrass sold by
Schultz, or Sears, or anyone else. The only difference is the company
name and the price.

General tips for buying grass seed: it's usually least expensive to
get a quality grass seed, or blend, or mixture from a local farm &
garden or landscape company that sells it by the pound. They select
grasses that are known to perform well in your area, so it's less of a
gamble picking varieties.
Avoid grass mixtures containing _annual_ ryegrass - that is junk seed
used as filler in cheap mixtures.
Naturally, check the label to make sure the percentage of weed seed is
as low as possible - but also check for a listing for crop seed. Crop
seed are seeds from plants that are not normally grown for turfgrass
but are commercially raised as crops. In other words, that's more
undesirable seed since it won't make a good lawn, so you don't want
much of that in the mixture, either.


A bit of annual ryegrass is not a bad option because it acts as a
"nurse crop" for the slower growing and more delicate higher quality
grasses.

wrote:

A bit of annual ryegrass is not a bad option because it acts as a
"nurse crop" for the slower growing and more delicate higher quality
grasses.

That's an old wive's tale that has been discredited by research.
Annual rye, because it sprouts and grows faster than perennial grass
varieties, successfully outcompetes the desirable grass plants for
food, water, and sunlight. In other words, it holds back the
development of the lawn. So avoid it for permanent plantings. It is
good for providing quick and temporary cover - say, if you've an area
you plan to landscape in the autumn, but don't want it bare or weedy
all summer.

"MICHELLE H." wrote

The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".
The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".
And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".

They will be fine. Chances are they are the right types for your area as
well or they wouldnt be selling them. I'd mix all 3 together then spread a
little heavier than normal.

On Mar 1, 1:31*pm, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.

I was shocked at the price of $5 dollars, because this grass seed was
selling at their store last year for like $16.99 for a 3 pound bag. I
asked the guy working there if $5 dollars was the correct price, and he
said it was, because they were discontinuing that brand, and were only
going to sell "Scotts" seed and fertilizer from now on.

Anyway, the grass seed is called "GreenView Fairway Formula Grass Seed",
and the bag states that "it's been used on golf courses for over 50
years".

They only had 3 bags left, and they were all 3 pound bags. Each bag was
a DIFFERENT blend as well. The had 1 bag of "Kentucky Bluegrass", 1 bag
of "Sunny Blend", and 1 bag of "Fall Seed Mixture".

Now here is the interesting part, when I looked on the back of the bag,
to see if there was any kind of expiration date, there was one on the
back label of all 3 bags:

The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".

The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".

And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".

So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date? Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?

Like I said, this grass seed was selling at the store for something like
$16.99 last year, and now its only $5 bucks, because they are only going
to carry "Scotts" seed and fertilizer now.

Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?

I have never tried the "GreenView" brand before, and always used either
"Scotts" or "Pennington" grass seed and/or fertilizer.

I put out seed that were out of date by 4 years and I thought they
came up pretty good.Think the brand was Dixie , Rebel, somethink like
that.


Jimmie

On Mar 1, 4:40*pm, Hell Toupee wrote:
wrote:

A bit of annual ryegrass is not a bad option because it acts as a
"nurse crop" for the slower growing and more delicate higher quality
grasses.

That's an old wive's tale that has been discredited by research.
Annual rye, because it sprouts and grows faster than perennial grass
varieties, successfully outcompetes the desirable grass plants for
food, water, and sunlight. In other words, it holds back the
development of the lawn. So avoid it for permanent plantings.

It is
good for providing quick and temporary cover - say, if you've an area
you plan to landscape in the autumn, but don't want it bare or weedy
all summer.

Or for seeding those areas out by the road that the town plow tears up
every winter. No way I'm using quality grass seed out there year after
year after year.

On Mar 1, 3:52*pm, Hell Toupee wrote:
"MICHELLE H." wrote:
The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".

The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".

And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".

So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date?

Keep it dry and cool and grass seed will keep for years. Most seeds
(not just grass seed) lose a small percentage of germinating ability
over time, but most all seeds stay viable longer than people realize. *

Besides the

"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?

It will be a waste of money buying any of them if they're not the
right grass mixtures or blends for your area. You have to decide based
upon the conditions for the area you intend to seed. Pick a grass
mixture or blend that will do well in that area.
BTW, a blend is made up of two or more varieties of the same grass.
Example: a Kentucky bluegrass blend consisting of, say Excalibur
Kentucky bluegrass, Champagne Kentucky blue, and Bordeaux Kentucky
blue.
A mixture consists of two or more types of grasses. Example: a mixture
of Excalibur Kentucky blue, Primo Perennial ryegrass, Alliant fescue.
As a rule, mixtures are better for all-purpose lawns since the
different grasses will allow for better turf establishment under
varying conditions of soil, shade, care and wear.

Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?

Don't worry about the brand; it's meaningless. All that matters is the
variety name of the grasses inside the bag. You see, neither Scotts
nor GreenView nor any other company grow and harvest the seeds they
sell. They all buy them from the companies that do produce them, and
then package them under their own label. Reliant Kentucky bluegrass
from Scotts is the same seed as Reliant Kentucky bluegrass sold by
Schultz, or Sears, or anyone else. The only difference is the company
name and the price.

General tips for buying grass seed: it's usually least expensive to
get a quality grass seed, or blend, or mixture from a local farm &
garden or landscape company that sells it by the pound. They select
grasses that are known to perform well in your area, so it's less of a
gamble picking varieties.
Avoid grass mixtures containing _annual_ ryegrass - that is junk seed
used as filler in cheap mixtures.
Naturally, check the label to make sure the percentage of weed seed is
as low as possible - but also check for a listing for crop seed. Crop
seed are seeds from plants that are not normally grown for turfgrass
but are commercially raised as crops. In other words, that's more
undesirable seed since it won't make a good lawn, so you don't want
much of that in the mixture, either.


All good advice that I agree with. As you say, grass seed
germination rates will drop slowly over the years, but this seed is
basicly fresh and as good as anything else available as far as date
goes, provided it's been stored in a reasonable environment. The
more important question is if any of those are the right choices for
the area based on sun/shade, location, does it have to blend in with
existing grass, what your goal is, etc

"MICHELLE H." wrote in message
...
The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.


I was shocked at the price of $5 dollars, because this grass seed was
selling at their store last year for like $16.99 for a 3 pound bag. I
asked the guy working there if $5 dollars was the correct price, and he
said it was, because they were discontinuing that brand, and were only
going to sell "Scotts" seed and fertilizer from now on.


Anyway, the grass seed is called "GreenView Fairway Formula Grass Seed",
and the bag states that "it's been used on golf courses for over 50
years".


They only had 3 bags left, and they were all 3 pound bags. Each bag was
a DIFFERENT blend as well. The had 1 bag of "Kentucky Bluegrass", 1 bag
of "Sunny Blend", and 1 bag of "Fall Seed Mixture".


Now here is the interesting part, when I looked on the back of the bag,
to see if there was any kind of expiration date, there was one on the
back label of all 3 bags:


The "Kentucky Bluegrass" said "sell by March 2010".


The "Fall Seed Mixture" said "sell by January 2009".


And the "Sunny Blend" said "sell by December 2009".


So does grass seed really go bad after its expiration date? Besides the
"Kentucky Bluegrass", which expires MArch 2010, would it be a waste of
money buying the other 2?


Like I said, this grass seed was selling at the store for something like
$16.99 last year, and now its only $5 bucks, because they are only going
to carry "Scotts" seed and fertilizer now.


Also, does anyone know anything about this brand, "GreenView Fairway
Formula", or has anyone tried it and used it before? If so, is it any
good?


I have never tried the "GreenView" brand before, and always used either
"Scotts" or "Pennington" grass seed and/or fertilizer.


For that savings, I'd buy it and toss it in the yard and see what happens.
I bet it grows.

Steve

On Mon, 1 Mar 2010 13:31:51 -0500, (MICHELLE H.)
wrote:

The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
....


Seed is sold for a specific year for germination. However, I have
used grass seed that is 2-3 years old. Test for germination rate by
placing 20 seeds between a moist paper towel covered with plastic and
wait 7 days. If 80% sprout or better your old seed is still good.

"MICHELLE H." wrote in message
...
The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.


I worked for the John Deere Landscapes. JD would sell irrigation
fittings/lighting etc at deep discounts, if the items didn't move. They
attempted to move some of their grass seed the same way. One of the
contractors complained to the state agriculture. They came in, cited JD for
selling expired grass seed. JD had to pay a huge fine, and every since
then, threw their seed away.

Doesn't answer your question, but I'm sure the hardware store is unaware
what they opened the door for. They would be better off giving it away,
then trying to make a couple bucks.

Phisherman wrote:
On Mon, 1 Mar 2010 13:31:51 -0500, (MICHELLE H.)
wrote:

The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
...


Seed is sold for a specific year for germination. However, I have
used grass seed that is 2-3 years old. Test for germination rate by
placing 20 seeds between a moist paper towel covered with plastic and
wait 7 days. If 80% sprout or better your old seed is still good.

So what if only 66% (say) sprout? Just increase the seeding density a
little. (BTW, really need well over 20 (more like 100) to get a decent
idea of a germination rate).

--

On Mar 2, 5:31*pm, "tom" wrote:
"MICHELLE H." wrote in message

...

The other day when I was at my local hardware store, they were already
starting to put out the grass seed, fertilizer, garden hoses, flower and
vegetable seeds, and other spring items. So anyway, when glancing
through the aisle, I happened to see a couple of bags of grass seed with
the stores RED ( discount item ) price ticket on it. The regular price
tickets are White, and the discount tickets are Red.

I worked for the John Deere Landscapes. JD would sell irrigation
fittings/lighting etc at deep discounts, if the items didn't move. *They
attempted to move some of their grass seed the same way. One of the
contractors complained to the state agriculture. They came in, cited JD for
selling expired grass seed. JD had to pay a huge fine, and every since
then, threw their seed away.

Doesn't answer your question, but I'm sure the hardware store is unaware
what they opened the door for. *They would be better off giving it away,
then trying to make a couple bucks.

Interesting point. Who knows what the various state laws are.
Reminds me of the time about 10 years ago here in NJ when a radio
station ran some kind of promo where they rolled back the price of
gasoline at a certain service station so that it was like half
price. In no time the state regulators were there to enforce some
law from 75 years ago that is on the books which says you can't sell
gas at less than cost.

On Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:20:11 -0600, wrote:

It's grow. I have planted grass seed that was 5 or 6 years old and it
grew. You might get 2 to 5% less germination, but at around 70% off
the original price. so what if a few seeds dont germinate. You can
always test plant some seeds in a plastic cup, but by the time it
grows, the store will lileky be sold out.



Here's the issue with old seed. Let's say you got some old seed that
tests 20% germination. You will need 5X the amount of new seed to
get the proper coverage. That's fine, but every seed has a percentage
of weed content which, unlike the grass seed, will stay closer to 100%
germination (crab grass seed will keep well for 20 years or more).

Phisherman wrote:
....

Here's the issue with old seed. Let's say you got some old seed that
tests 20% germination.


It would take being _VERY_ old indeed, to have a certified seed batch
have only 20% germination rate....the OP is talking about last year. If
it's down enough to be detectable I'd be surprised...

--

Someone .......................... wrote


It will be a waste of money buying any of them if they're not the
right grass mixtures or blends for your area. You have to decide
based
upon the conditions for the area you intend to seed. Pick a grass
mixture or blend that will do well in that area.
BTW, a blend is made up of two or more varieties of the same grass.
Example: a Kentucky bluegrass blend consisting of, say Excalibur
Kentucky bluegrass, Champagne Kentucky blue, and Bordeaux Kentucky
blue.

Yes here, for example, it has been observed, that Kentucky Blue is not
the best choice for our coolish climate. Also it is much more prone,
it has been reported on various phone in garden radio shows, to cinch
bug damage. Cinch bug itself was never native to this area but has
somehow come to be recognized as a problem in recent years during a
building boom!

And, it is suspected, developers, builders and residents using
inappropriate seeds! Possibly bought at a big box store without any
reference to its suitability! As always stick to plants/grass/trees
more native or at least 'suitable' for ones area/climate. And just
don't depend on a store clerk to say "Yes we sell lots of this to
local residents", as a recommendation!

On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:38:40 -0600, dpb wrote:

Phisherman wrote:
...

Here's the issue with old seed. Let's say you got some old seed that
tests 20% germination.


It would take being _VERY_ old indeed, to have a certified seed batch
have only 20% germination rate....the OP is talking about last year. If
it's down enough to be detectable I'd be surprised...


Depends if the grass seed had proper storage.