Preparing Your Lawn for Grass Seed

In the event you’re overseeding an existing lawn you’ll want to mow your grass as short as possible. If you have any bare spots in your lawn you’ll want to loosen the soil to promote germination in those areas. Next you’ll want to remove any dead grass or debris that has collected. If you have any low spots or have water collecting now is a good time to level these spots with a grader or even fill with some dirt or sand depending on the situation.

Another excellent but not necessary step is to aerate the lawn. Spreading the seed with a broadcast spreader will promote the most even spread of grass seed, however any spreader will work. You’ll want to ensure you don’t allow more than about 16 seeds per square inch of soil. This will cause the seeds to fight for space and nutrients and will result in seedlings dying off and will produce thin spot in your lawn. Even seeding your bare spots by hand is acceptable.

A light application of starter fertilizer is recommended to promote the health of your lawn as it germinates. It is recommended to cover any bare spots to keep the seed from washing away. Just make absolutely certain if you cover your bare spots with hay that all the seed heads have been removed, otherwise you’ll have a hay field in your front lawn come the spring.

The most important step of the process is to ensure you keep the roots moist. You’ll want to water for shorter periods of time but more frequently. Keeping the seed and roots moist will enhance the germination of the grass seed.

Preparing Soil for Grass Seed

If you have a brand new lawn you’ll want to ensure that you’ve loosen 2-3 inches of soil. This will give you a chance to find and remove any debris including sticks, stones, wood. You’ll also want to make certain they are no large clumps of soil throughout the area you’ll be seeding.

This is also a great time to ensure your lawn is nice and level. Water should not stand more than 24 hours after a decent rainfall. If it does, it will be much easier to take care of this issue now before you have a pristine lawn.

When spreading grass seed across a large area is best to use a broadcast spreader, but any spreader will work. You’ll want to ensure you have approximately 16 seeds per square inch. Any more than that and the seedlings will be fighting from room and nutrients. This will cause your lawn to come in thin in areas where seeds are overcrowded.

Ideally, you’ll want to cover the seeds with ¼ of soil. Also covering the seed bed with a grass seed accelerator will keep the seeds in place and retain moisture. You could also use hay to cover a newly seeded lawn, just ensure the seed heads have been removed from the hay before bailing or you’ll grow a hay field in your front lawn. A light coat of a starter fertilizer will provide some slow release nutrients for your developing lawn.

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure you water your lawn often. Ideally you’d water less, but more frequently so no seed is washed away. You’re just looking to keep the soil moist to enhance the germination of the grass seed.

Buying the Best Grass Seed

After you’ve figured out which type of grass seed you need to buy you’ll want to do plenty of research. All plants, including grass, are made up of cultivars (specific type of plant that has characteristics which distinguish it from other plants of the same species). Knowing which types of cultivars are in the grass seed you’re buying gives you worthwhile information and more importantly is an indication of the quality of grass seed.

Believe it or not the bag of grass seed you end up buying will have some level of ‘weed seed’. Inspect the label carefully to find out just how many weeds you’ll be spreading across your lawn. This is also another good reason for spreading premergent herbicide. Anyway, you obviously want to find the grass seed with the least amount of weed seed. An acceptable level of weed seed is 0.3%.

Remember a few years ago when Budweiser released their “Born On Dating”? We are a culture inundated with freshness and expiration dates. Well it’s no different with grass seed. The fresher your bag of grass seed the greater rate of germination.