I would not recommend this Bahia seed from TS. I lost 60-70% of the grass I planted two years ago this year, it seems to be an inferior genetic strain of Bahia that is VERY highly susceptible to mole cricket damage. The grass I do have left (grass company begins with P) is still healthy, a little thin from the crickets but it will recover, not so for the Ground Works seed, it is completely dead to the soil. This product might be fine for feed for horses and what not but not for a country lawn. Thought I would save some money buying this compared to others but......, Caveat Emptor.

There's no need to pre-germinate, good soil preparation is the key. Although I stated in my initial review that it had not started growing yet in the yard, it actually did start within a few days of that review. It's growing so nicely now that I have torched the surrounding area of the initial planting where the vicious weeds were removed for a more uniform appearance. I don't believe tossing seed on top of existing grass is the most effective method to thicken the lawn. In my experience, I believe the best results will come from first cutting and bagging the lawn to about the 4" height and then raking the area to be treated in an effort to remove a good bit of debris from the ground surface for exposure of the soil, spreading the seed and then some top soil/peat moss over it, or perhaps spread the seed then cut the yard without bagging the clippings so that they can serve as covering for the seed to help keep moisture in. I've observed consistent results by clearing spots first, applying seed and covering with dried grass clippings, the rye mixed in sprouts like clock work within a week without a lot of watering due to the moisture preservation from the grass clippings. I've since learned that Argentine Bahia is a little wider bladed than Pensacola Bahia and apparently does a little better in shaded areas so a mix of the two may be a good idea. Just remember to prep before you plant, and make sure that you have not treated the yard with a maintenance item that will inhibit growth. Understand that there are two types of seed in the bag, the rye grows first apparently to help hold the turf against weeds until the Bahia starts to grow about 3 weeks later. I can't stress this enough prep, prep, prep. In the torched areas for additional planting in my pictures, I'm going to wait about a week to allow germination of remaining weed seeds and then I'll spray with weed/grass killer (budget specrtracide weed & grass killer has worked wonders for me here in Central FL) and then I'll plant the seed thick and cover with Peat Moss this time which hopefully will be even more effective than the grass clippings at holding moisture. Remember, prep, seed, cover and keep moist.

Was shocked at how good the results were. Bought two bags of the seed for ~500sqft backyard space. Located in North Central Florida. Didn’t use any fertilizer or top soil. The existing soil was very sandy. I’ve attached photos of the day the seed was spread and one week later. The results are incredible! I’ve been watering 10 minutes in the morning and afternoon.

It's still early considering it's not growing in the yard yet, but since I have seed growing in an experiment, I'm optimistic enough to go ahead with four stars in advance, using Scott's turf builder as a reference point, which started growing in the yard within the same 5 days the experiment did in its environment. I understand now as has been expressed that getting Bahia seed to grow readily in the intended environment (yard) is a real challenge. I decided to try pre-germination as an experiment. I soaked about two handfulls in water rinsing several times a day for 3 days (intended to do 24 hrs) until the water was pretty clear. I laid out two sheets of cardboard, on one I placed the pre-soaked seed and on the other I placed seed fresh from the bag and then covered all of the seed with about 1/2" of top soil, soaked both examples with water and covered each one with plastic. They were shielded from direct sunlight. On day 3 both panels showed growth, they were kept damp during that time. The plastic cover was removed and maintaining moisture was continued. On day 5 the pre-germinated seed had not only grown significantly more than the control seed planting, it was also much greener and thicker in appearance. The difficult in getting it to grow is that it must be continuously hydrated until it grows. When planted in the ground in most cases the water probably bathes it for a little while and the dries up until next watering. One customer post here describes easy success in 4-5 days, but note their seed was planted in an area that does not get much sunlight and the seed was covered, two actions that help maintain a continuously hydrated environment much the same as what I did in my experience. I also planted pre-germed seed on a bare spot freshly turned and free of plants and rocks in the yard about 4x5' on the same day as I started the experiment and so far nothing has grown, no doubt because the hydration is far short of the experiment. Going forward I believe I'll continue to pre-germ and then transplant where needed, or better yet setup the same scenario in the intended area of the yard by applying the seed, watering and covering to help reduce the evaporation rate. There's no need to create $XXX.xx water bills to get this stuff to grow, just take a scientific approach. Sift your soil with 1/4" hardware cloth for a good soil base and keep it wet and you should not have a problem. I used store bought top soil but the process of removing the weeded grass from a large patch in my yard allowed me to keep about 90% of the soil that was shoveled up in the rectangular squares I removed by shaking them out over the hardware cloth. Little pieces of wood and rock may seem harmless but they can cover a seedling and make it difficult to grow from my observation. I still have some weeds to remove but the lion's share have been taken care of.