How to Apply Grass Seed to an Entire Lawn
There are many different opinions on the best time to seed your lawn in order to create a lush, green landscape. While some experts believe that the fall is the best time because new grass has time to establish itself before the first frost, others believe that the best time is in the spring to allow new grass ample time to grow before being scorched by the summer sun. There are just as many opinions about how to apply grass seed to your entire lawn. Yet, all will agree that aeration, even distribution and sufficient watering is of the utmost importance. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Rake
- Lawn mower w/bag
- Aerating spike or plug
- Grass seed spreader
- Straw
- Sprinkler
Instructions
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1
Rake up any debris that is on the lawn. This would include sticks, twigs, leaves and any trash or wrappers that may have accumulated on it. Dead grass and weeds should also be pulled out, removed at the root.
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Mow your existing lawn on the lowest setting and bag the clippings. Cutting the grass as short as possible will ensure that the new grass seed will make contact with the soil and not end up just laying on top of tall grass.
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Aerate your lawn. Since newly planted grass seed will need to compete with the existing grass for soil space, an aeration method that will give the new seed an opportunity to establish itself in the soil is suggested. This can be accomplished by using either a spike or plug aerator over the entire lawn. Remember, the more aeration, the better.
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Use a grass seed spreader to distribute the grass seed evenly over the entire lawn. Start at one end of your lawn and walk the spreader in a straight line until you get to the other side. Turn and continue spreading the grass seed evenly over the next section. Continue, until the lawn has been fully seeded. You can also sprinkle the grass seed by hand, but this method does not distribute the seed as evenly as a spreader.
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Cover your entire, newly seeded lawn with straw. Laying the straw over top of the grass seed will prevent the birds and other critters from eating it before it has had a chance to grow.
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Water the lawn regularly. A sprinkler is the best choice for watering because it will distribute the water evenly. The grass seed should be watered in the morning and at night, enough to saturate the grass, without puddling. You should begin to notice substantial grass growth within 3 to 4 weeks.
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Tips & Warnings
Peat is an alternative to straw that can be used to cover the grass seed. The peat can be lightly raked over the new seed and will be just as effective. But, peat will cost considerably more than a few bales of straw.
Make sure that you are using straw and not hay to cover your grass seed. Hay often has weed seeds attached to it that can infiltrate your lawn. You will not have this problem with straw. Straw can be purchased in bales and is less expensive then hay.
Resources
- Photo Credit Jonae Fredericks
