Saturday, March 23, 2024
HomeExclusiveWhen To Seed The Lawn

When To Seed The Lawn

When Can I Use Weed Control On My New Grass

How To Seed a Lawn – Complete Step By Step Guide

When youre growing new grass, you want to create an ideal environment for seed to germinate. Naturally, weeds may want to join the party. But they arent invited!

In your quest for a weed-free lawn, its important that you dont use any preventive or curative weed control products until youve mowed your newly planted grass about two to three times or approximately four to six weeks after seeding. This ensures you give your seeds the chance to germinate and the lawn to establish itself.

How To Overseed In Spring & Autumn

Whether youre doing it in Spring or Autumn, the method is by and large the same both times. It just depends on how bad the lawn is at your starting point.

For example, in the past, Ive scarified twice in March and April, prior to over seeding and then used a 70/30 sand to soil top dressing before overseeding. But, all that isnt essential if your lawn is already in a half decent shape.


Here are the key steps to take when overseeding the ground in Spring.

Preparing the ground

How Do You Choose The Correct Grass Seed For Your Lawn

The best grass seed for your lawn comes down to a few factors: local climate, expected usage, and the aesthetic. First determine whether your lawn is best suited for warm-season grasses or cool-season grasses.

Then, consider foot traffic. Do you plan to entertain or play on your new lawn? Decide if the grass will endure the shenanigans. Look at your existing lawn and landscaping and note the amount of shade your yard is getting. Finally, think about how you want the lawn to look. Outlining these considerations is especially helpful when asking for recommendations when you head to a local nursery or garden store.

Don’t Miss: Does Aluminum Patio Furniture Get Hot In The Sun


Select The Best Grass Seeds

Your lawn or garden can be no healthier than the grass seeds you plant in them, so to achieve the best planting results, purchase only the best grass seeds. Seeds that have been rated by the National Turf Evaluation Program, are the best you can ever find. Grass seeds with NTEP rating are known for their genetic modifications and enhanced bloom over ordinary varieties.

What To Put On Top Of Newly Planted Grass Seed

Seasonal Lawn Seeding Tips

After the seeds are sown, cover them immediately to protect them from birds, keep them moist, and prevent them from washing away in a heavy rain. There are several different mulches you can use for the job. In my experience, straw , screened compost, or mushroom soil are prime choices. These products also act as soil amendments when they break down and can improve your soils fertility and structure. All three of these options are available from your local garden store or landscape supply center. Erosion mats are another option. They can easily be unrolled over the area with little mess and are biodegradable, though theyre also a good bit more expensive than the previous choices. Peat moss is not a good idea because it can repel water once it has dried out.

No matter what you choose to use to cover grass seed, more is definitely not better. One-quarter of an inch is about as thick as you should go. Compost and mushroom soil are great for covering fall-seeded lawns. Their dark color absorbs the suns heat and keeps the soil warm all night long. This speeds germination and encourages rapid lawn establishment prior to winters arrival.

Recommended Reading: Backyard Guest House With Bathroom

Should I Seed Before Or After Weed And Feed

Many of our clients ask us if they should plant grass seed or kill the weeds first. The answer is that the weeds should be killed first. Before any grass seeds can grow, the weeds and poor looking grass around the lawn should be killed. If you have a large lawn, you may want to consider using a lawn mower to cut down on weeds.


However, if your lawn is small and you dont have the time to mow it every day, it may be a good idea to use a weed killer such as Roundup® Weed Killer. This herbicide will kill most weeds, but it will not kill all of them. If you are concerned about the safety of Roundup®, you can purchase it at your local garden center or online at www.RoundUp.com.

Comparing Cool Season And Warm Season Grasses

Cool-season Warm-season

Turf-type tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue

Zoysiagrass and bermudagrass
Depending on rainfall may remain green throughout the year. Can go dormant in summer droughts Goes dormant from mid-October through mid-May. Turns a tannish-brown color after the first frost
Higher maintenance required, although tall fescue requires less maintenance than Kentucky bluegrass Zoysiagrass requires less nitrogen fertilizer compared to cool-season turf However, periodic dethatching is necessary
Best time to establish is later summer or early fall. Start from seed or sod Establish in late spring. Start by planting plugs or sod

Recommended Reading: How Much Is Alumawood Patio Cover

Over Seed An Existing Lawn

When overseeding an existing lawn to thicken up some patches or repair some areas then you can choose a lower seeding rate, any where between 35 -70 grams per square meter.

If you are new to lawn care I would suggest using the upper range as this can help with any errors during aftercare and application but anywhere between in this range is going to give you results.


In order to really thicken up the lawn you can also lean towards the higher application rates but generally sticking within those two boundaries is going to give you the best results.

Anywhere above that is likely going to waste your money and potentially cause other issues with over crowding.

If you need some help working out how much lawn seed that you need to put down theres a calculator ->

Choosing The Wrong Equipment

Growing Grass – Seeding A Lawn In Fall Fertilizer with Results || No Machines Required

In many ways, your results will only be as good as the equipment you use. One common example is attempting to avoid buying or renting an aeration machine to prepare your lawn and going with a spike aerator vs a plug aerator.

Cheap alternatives include using a pitchfork or buying cleats with spikes on the bottom of them .


Neither of these options does the job well, and could even make the soil worse by compacting your soil further.

Do yourself a favor and rent a core aerator for 4 hours or for a day. Its less than $100 and its money well spent.

Donât Miss: How To Sell Lawn Care Services

Recommended Reading: Oakmont Gazebo Replacement Canopy

Plant Your Grass Seed

Prepare the lawn further after aerating by tilling the topsoil with a stone rake. Apply a starter fertilizer to the soil.


Sow the grass seeds by hand or use a seed spreader or slit seeder. Apply the seed to the edges of the prepared area first. Apply half of the rest of your grass seed walking in one direction, and then spread the other half walking in a perpendicular direction.

  • Make an initial pass over the lawn with the aerator, and then make a second pass in the opposite direction.
  • Sow the grass seeds by hand or use a seed spreader or slit seeder.

Rake the seeds gently into the soil using a leaf rake. Add extra seeds to bare spots, and then cover the seeded area lightly with a combination of topsoil and compost. Top off your lawn with more grass seed.

Press down the seeded area using a roller, which will encourage seed germination with good seed-to-soil contact.

Water the lawn two to three times every day for the first three to four weeks. Apply the starter fertilizer once again after the first two to three weeks. The grass will fully sprout in four to eight weeks.

  • Rake the seeds gently into the soil using a leaf rake.
  • Press down the seeded area using a roller, which will encourage seed germination with good seed-to-soil contact.

Be sure to use an aerator that doesnt just poke holes in your lawn. Use an aerator that cuts and removes a plug of sod from the lawn.


To save money, rent an aerator from your local garden or home improvement store instead of purchasing one.

Sowing Lawn Seed In Summer: Pros & Cons

Its possible to sow grass seed in the summer months, but its not recommended for those who live in areas with frequent droughts or hosepipe bans. Seeds and seedlings need a lot of moisture to germinate and grow. If left without water for even just a day, youll need to reseed once autumn comes around.

Pros:

  • The soil is nice and warm for germination.
  • Theres plenty of light.

Cons:

  • Depending on your climate and area, summer brings hosepipe bans and droughts. Seedlings left without moisture even for just a few hours usually dont make it.
  • Seedlings get scorched in the hot sun.
  • Birds and other wildlife tend to make a snack out of your seeds or newly sprouted seedlings.
  • Weeds grow faster than grass seedlings. The weeds might outcompete your seedlings if left unattended.

Don’t Miss: Which Is Better Gazebo Or Pergola

How To Prepare Lawn For Seeding

Good preparation is the most important aspect of learning how to plant grass seed. Luckily, getting it right is easy.

To prepare your soil before planting grass seed, simply till and loosen the soil to create the best growing conditions you dont need to put down topsoil, says Jeremy Yamaguchi, CEO of Lawn Love.

To till the soil, Hedges Gower recommends using a fork to lightly dig it over to a depth of about 2-3 inches. This will allow new seedlings to take root, he says.

Remove any rocks and weeds as you go, but dont apply weed killer as this will hinder growth.

If you are applying seed to cover patches in a large lawn, itâs a good idea to use an aerator to punch holes into the ground and pull up small plugs of turf and soil.

âDoing this has two benefits. The first is that some seed will fall into the holes and improve germination. The second is that aerating the soil reduces soil compaction and improves water infiltration, says Landscape Tutor Brian Walker. You can .

To give your grass seed a helping hand, itâs important to feed it. Depending on the product, you can apply pre-seeding fertilizer at the preparation stage, or you can wait until after you have sown the seed to use starter fertilizer.

Rake the soil level before planting the grass seed.

Donât Miss: How Much For Yard Work

Planting Grass Seed In Spring

Sowing lawn seed to strip of earth

Spring is another great time to seed the lawn. Its particularly good if you live where springs are long and cool. For spring planting, its absolutely essential that you continue to regularly water the seed and the sprouted grass through the remainder of the spring, summer, and well into the fall. Establishment failures are often connected to improper watering. Early summer is another possible time, but youll need to water more often.

Also Check: How To Prevent Patio Umbrella From Blowing Away

Preparing The Ground For Over Seeding A Lawn

If youre looking to overseed your lawn preparation is just as key.

Some things to pay attention to is the amount of thatch in the lawn, you can take a sample of the lawn by cutting a little section out or get into the seed bed and take a look.

If you have a lot of thatch in your lawn, think about the grass blade standing up and layer of thatch in between the soil.

With that thatch layer barrier sitting on top whenever you drop seeds into your lawn for over seeding if theyre going to sit on that thatch layer theyre going to struggle to germinate as well as they would if theyre sitting into the soil bed.

So, preparation by scarification of the lawn to remove debris and thatch is a great process to use before overseeding. Ive actually made a full video step by step on all the steps you can take to do a lawn renovation and ill link that below if youre interested.

The other thing scarification is really interesting to do before overseeding is it creates little furrows especially if you do two passes one in each direction.

These little channels can help the seed sit in and promote a better seed to soil contact and giving the seed somewhere safe to grow.

The last step which is often overlooked is around rolling or treading in the seed, if you think of the seed it wants to be in contact with soil so after youve dropped the seed down rolling the lawn or treading in the lawn is going to help compress that seed into the soil bed and give it a better seed to soil.

Why Overseed A Lawn

Turf can be overseeded for various reasons, which include:

  • To repair any weak or thin areas on the lawn caused by the stresses of the summer months. Grass coverage can suffer during times of drought, constant close mowing and following weed control. Whatever the reason, overseeding during favorable conditions will help return the lawn back tip top condition with full grass coverage.
  • To help the lawn recover from scarification or raking. Turf is regularly scarified to remove dead moss or thatch and this often leaves the lawn looking ragged and thin afterwards. Overseeding enables the sward to recover quickly, as the the new seedlings establish and thicken up the weak areas.
  • Improve the turf characteristics. Turf health is often influenced by varying ground, weather conditions etc. E.g. Extended periods of hot, dry weather , excessive rainfall resulting in constant waterlogging or buildings and vegetation causing shade problems. Overseeding with a suitable grass seed mixture can help the lawn perform better in these situations.
  • Overseeding can also be employed to create resilient turf that will withstand wear and tear, which is great if you have children or the lawn receives alot of traffic.
  • When used in conjunction with other turf care practices such as aeration, scarifying and top dressing, overseeding plays a major role in creating a luxury lawn, often desired by many keen gardeners.

You May Like: How To Clean Powder Coated Aluminum Patio Furniture

Why Fall Is Best For Cool

Several distinct advantages make fall the best time to plant cool-season grass seed. In early autumn, the soil is still warm from months of summer sun. This combination of warm soil, moderate daytime temperatures and cool evenings encourages fast germination and establishment of newly sown cool-season grass seed.

Cool-season grass seed germinates best when soil temperatures reach 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This roughly corresponds to daytime air temperatures in the 60°F to 75°F range. An inexpensive soil thermometer, available at garden stores and online retailers, can help eliminate the guesswork.

The farther north you live, the earlier cool fall temperatures and ideal planting times come. For example, Minnesotans in the Upper Midwest seed cool-season lawns from mid-August to mid-September.1 For transition-zone lawn owners in central and northern Arkansas, September and October are the best time for seeding cool-season lawns.2

Fall seeding complements the natural growth cycles of cool-season grasses.

As a general rule, plant cool-season grass seed at least 45 days before the estimated date of your first fall frost, before soil and air temperatures drop to less favorable levels. Your grasses will enjoy a full fall season, plus a second cool growing season come spring. Your local county extension agent can help with advice on average frost dates and optimal timing for seeding lawns in your area.

When Is The Best Time To Overseed A Lawn

How To Seed And Repair Bare Spots in the Lawn

Fall is the best choice. The warm soil will cause the seed to grow faster. Your new grass wont have to compete for sunshine, water, and nutrients when the weed growth stops after the summer. The next best option is over seeding in the spring. The best way to tell if your grass has been overseeded is to check the soil moisture level.

If its too dry, the grass may not be ready to be seeded. On the other hand, if it is too wet, you may want to wait until it dries out a bit before starting your seedlings. This is especially true if you have a lot of weeds growing in your yard. These can be a sign that you need to start a new lawn.

Also Check: Closed In Front Porch Ideas

Seeding Your Lawn From Scratch: Complete Step

This article was co-authored by Keith Souza. Keith Souza is a Home Improvement Specialist and the Owner of Vaulted Hammer Handyman Services. He specializes in home repair, home automation, and yard maintenance. Keith holds an AAS in Electronics Technology from Heald College. This article has been viewed 75,342 times.

Starting a lawn from seed is not only the most economical method, but it also allows you to choose your grass from a larger selection of varieties. It is important to remember, though, that seeding a new lawn takes a longer than the alternative method of laying sod before you have hearty grass cover.

When To Seed Your Lawn

Early fall is typically the best time to seed your lawn with our cool-season grass seeds. The soil is warm, air temperatures are cooler, autumn rains are more plentiful, and weeds are less active, creating an excellent environment for seed germination before leaves start falling and the winter cold arrives.

With the right amount of moisture, fertilizer, and sunlight, your new grass seedlings will have the benefit of two cool growing cycles before the heat of summer sets in. The newly planted grass will be able to grow and develop roots right up to Christmas if conditions are right.

Also Check: Hot Tub With Pergola Ideas


RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular