How to Cut Shallow Grass Seed Furrows in Existing Turf
There are two ways to cut shallow grass seed furrows in existing turf, by machine and manually by hand. Grass seed needs a shallow layer of moist soil covering it to create optimum germination conditions. Cutting shallow furrows and sowing the seed in them allows the gardener to cover the seeds easily. At the same time, cutting and sowing in shallow furrows prevents the seed from running off or washing out from hand watering and rain. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Lawn with existing turf
- Grass seed
- Verticutter, sharp garden hoe or sharp flat-head shovel
- Gasoline
Instructions
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Mow the existing turf grass, as long grass presents a greater risk than short of catching the new grass seed and preventing it from reaching the soil to germinate.
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Rake and bag any yard debris the mower leaves behind to get the debris out of the way.
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Cut shallow furrows in the existing turf with a garden hoe or flat-head shovel in very small areas. Position the blade of the hoe or shovel on the turf where the furrow is intended and step on the head of the hoe or shovel to push the blade into the ground, to a depth of 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch. Withdraw the blade and reposition it at the end of the first cut and make a second cut. Repeat this process until the entire area is cut with shallow furrows that are approximately 1/2 inch apart.
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Rent a verti-cutter from a lawn and garden or hardware store, if a machine is the gardener's chosen means of cutting shallow furrows into existing turf. A verti-cutter is a gasoline powered machine made specifically to cut shallow furrows in existing turf grass for the re-sowing of grass seed. It has approximately five circular blades at its front that cut straight furrows in the turf as it is pushed across the lawn.
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Set the verti-cutter's blade depth to 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch, if the verti-cutter is adjustable and not already set within this depth range.
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Check the gasoline level in the verti-cutter and add unleaded gasoline if necessary.
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Flag anything in the lawn that could damage the verti-cutter, or that could be damaged by the verti-cutter, such as sprinkler heads. Avoid the flagged items when verti-cutting the turf.
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Turn the verticutter on and push it slowly back and forth across the lawn, just as with a lawn mower. Verti-cut the turf in either direction unless there is a slope on the property to be verti-cut. Slopes must be verti-cut at a 90-degree angle to the slope to avoid the shallow furrows from turning in to water slides for grass seed and fertilizer during rainstorms and hand watering.
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