Salt Lake City's water-saving grass seed is back — and it's selling out fast - Axios Salt Lake CityLog InLog InAxios Salt Lake City is an Axios company.

Salt Lake City' s water-saving grass seed is back — and selling out fast

Young grass grows from Salt Lake City's Turf Trade seed mix about two weeks after planting. Photo: Erin Alberty/Axios Salt Lake City's popular drought-tolerant grass seed is once again for sale at a big discount for residents who want to use less water.Yes, and: Bags are selling like hotcakes, suggesting there's massive demand for affordable landscaping solutions in our ongoing drought. Driving the news: City officials this week got another shipment of turf grass seed for people to replace their thirsty lawns.The fescue mix, developed by USU and the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance, requires 30% less water than the standard Kentucky bluegrass.A 5-pound bag costs $8.50 and covers about 1,000 square feet. Catch up quick: When the city offered the seed last month, all 400 bags sold out in about two weeks, officials told Axios.Now other cities in the state are calling USU for their own seed blends, FOX 13 last week. Scientists there are looking at making other blends for even hotter, drier parts of Utah. Yes, but: The water savings are generally even greater when turf grass is replaced with other drought-tolerant landscape plants.One in Nevada found residents used about a third less water when they converted fescue turf to xeriscape with drip irrigation.A mix of plants also creates a habitat for birds and bugs. Erin's thought bubble: Xeriscaping a whole lawn is too expensive for a lot of us, so that project is limited to my parking strip while I use the Turf Trade seed on the main lawn.That lets me save a bit of water on the grass until I can start installing xeriscape beds on the lawn.Replacing the irrigation system can make it hard to reduce a lawn in stages, so I'm hoping the less-thirsty turf grass will be a compromise while I save up for a total lawn renovation. How it works: Order the grass and follow the city's for planting.Grass is best planted by Oct. 1, so you'll want to get started soon. The latest: The city ordered 1,000 bags of the seed this time and began selling them Wednesday afternoon.Nearly half were sold in less than a day. Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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