Seeding New Lawn Right The First Time: 6 Steps To Success
For new lawns, laying sod is expensive; a cheaper way to go is with grass seed.
Since the prep work for both is exactly the same, there isn't a big difference in the time you need to spend.
To get a great looking turf, be sure and follow these 6 steps to success at seeding new lawn.
Timing is everything: Warm weather grasses thrive in heat, so late spring is your go time.
Cool weather grasses will do better a little earlier in spring, or in the fall after the heat of summer has eased up.
Seeding new lawn in the right season is crucial to your success.
Work the soil: A tiller will get the ground broken up and loosened.
This is your only chance to work the soil, so get it fully aerated to provide the best bed possible.
Adding in a liquid aerator when seeding new lawn will help condition the ground even deeper than you can reach with the tiller.
Enrich the ground: A soil test will tell you exactly what you need to add now.
You'll want a pH level between 6 and 7.
5.
Top soil, compost, sand, peat moss, fertilizer, and soil conditioners are all important.
Work these in with the tiller, creating a nutrient-rich home for seeding new lawn.
Smooth moves: Here you want to rake and smooth.
The better you do this, the easier it will be to mow in the future.
Avoid hills that the mower will scalp later, and divots that will pool water.
Shape the soil to slope away from your house to get great drainage.
Follow this up with a roller to smooth the soil even more and finish up with a light watering.
Seed spreading and setting: Choose the right seed for the climate you live in, but also think about how much sun or shade your yard gets.
Read the package for how much to use for seeding new lawn, and put half of it in your spreader.
Work up and down the yard, then fill with the second half and walk back and forth for perfect coverage.
Using your rake gently, work in the seed so it has about ¼ inch of coverage, or cover lightly with topsoil.
Go back to your roller, but only fill it halfway, and go over the soil again.
By pulling the roller, instead of pushing, you'll avoid leaving footprints, too.
This will help to seat the seeds firmly in the soil.
Water with a light spray; you don't want to wash all your hard work away! Watering and tenderness: Never let the surface completely dry out; keep up the light spray watering as needed until growth begins.
Once the grass has sprouted, ease back on the watering gradually and be sure to fertilize with a liquid feed to keep it fed.
Stay off the area as completely as you can and wait to mow until it's at least 4 inches high.
With great preparation, timing, feeding and watering, you'll have done all the right things to be a success at seeding new lawn!
Since the prep work for both is exactly the same, there isn't a big difference in the time you need to spend.
To get a great looking turf, be sure and follow these 6 steps to success at seeding new lawn.
Timing is everything: Warm weather grasses thrive in heat, so late spring is your go time.
Cool weather grasses will do better a little earlier in spring, or in the fall after the heat of summer has eased up.
Seeding new lawn in the right season is crucial to your success.
Work the soil: A tiller will get the ground broken up and loosened.
This is your only chance to work the soil, so get it fully aerated to provide the best bed possible.
Adding in a liquid aerator when seeding new lawn will help condition the ground even deeper than you can reach with the tiller.
Enrich the ground: A soil test will tell you exactly what you need to add now.
You'll want a pH level between 6 and 7.
5.
Top soil, compost, sand, peat moss, fertilizer, and soil conditioners are all important.
Work these in with the tiller, creating a nutrient-rich home for seeding new lawn.
Smooth moves: Here you want to rake and smooth.
The better you do this, the easier it will be to mow in the future.
Avoid hills that the mower will scalp later, and divots that will pool water.
Shape the soil to slope away from your house to get great drainage.
Follow this up with a roller to smooth the soil even more and finish up with a light watering.
Seed spreading and setting: Choose the right seed for the climate you live in, but also think about how much sun or shade your yard gets.
Read the package for how much to use for seeding new lawn, and put half of it in your spreader.
Work up and down the yard, then fill with the second half and walk back and forth for perfect coverage.
Using your rake gently, work in the seed so it has about ¼ inch of coverage, or cover lightly with topsoil.
Go back to your roller, but only fill it halfway, and go over the soil again.
By pulling the roller, instead of pushing, you'll avoid leaving footprints, too.
This will help to seat the seeds firmly in the soil.
Water with a light spray; you don't want to wash all your hard work away! Watering and tenderness: Never let the surface completely dry out; keep up the light spray watering as needed until growth begins.
Once the grass has sprouted, ease back on the watering gradually and be sure to fertilize with a liquid feed to keep it fed.
Stay off the area as completely as you can and wait to mow until it's at least 4 inches high.
With great preparation, timing, feeding and watering, you'll have done all the right things to be a success at seeding new lawn!
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