How to Seed a Lawn: Tips from the Professionals

Lawns are mainly used as recreational areas. They are soil-covered areas in which grasses and other grass-like plants are planted. You should consider having such an area around your house. If you already have one, maintain it to ensure that it is healthy and looks good.

How should you maintain your lawn? You should seed it often. That will help ensure that your lawn does not turn brown, patchy, and thin. In short, seeding will help ensure all the bare spots and gaps in the sod are filled.

Seeding will also help thicken your lawn’s grass. Thick grass can effectively hold surface water, preventing soil erosion. A lawn with thick, healthy grass also looks good. Below are more details on seeding a lawn.

The Best Time of Year for Seeding

The time you seed your lawn will determine whether you will end up with a lush-looking lawn or a patchy lawn. To ensure that you end up with a thick, lush lawn, seed your lawn during the best grass-planting periods. When are these periods? It all depends on the type of grass you grow on your lawn and the climate of the area you live in.

If you intend to plant cool-season grasses such as tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, and bluegrass, you should seed your lawn when the temperatures are low. For instance, you should seed the lawn in early fall or late summer. However, fall is the best season to plant these seeds. During the fall season, the soil is usually warm. Daytime temperatures are usually not so high, and evenings are usually cool. All this encourages grass seeds to germinate fast since cold-season plants’ seeds germinate when soil temperatures are between 50 and 60°F. Also, soil moisture levels are a bit high during the fall season. That helps ensure that the newly planted seeds do not dry out even if you fail to water them consistently.

If you intend to plant warm-weather grasses such as Bermudagrass, centipede grass, and Zoysia grass, you should seed your lawn when temperatures are a bit high. For instance, you should plant the seeds in early summer or late spring. Warm-season grass seeds germinate best when soil temperatures range between 70°F and 65°F. Soil temperatures reach this range in late spring and early summer. Also, seasonal rains are experienced in late spring and early summer. That helps keep the soil moisture levels high, ensuring that the planted seeds do not dry out.

How to Select the Best Grass Seed for Your Home

To have a lush and healthy lawn, you need to choose the best grass seed for your home. To know the grass seed that will be best for your lawn, you need to find out your soil’s PH. You can find this out by taking a soil sample and sending it to professionals for further testing. However, you should ensure that you gather soil samples from different spots.

After finding your soil’s PH, choose grass species that grow well in your soil. For instance, if the soil’s PH is less than 7.0, go for bermudagrass and centipede grass. Iron chlorosis will occur if you grow these grass species in high PH soils.

When selecting these seeds, you also need to think about how you will use your lawn. If people often use your lawn, you should choose grass species that can sustain high traffic levels. Bermuda Grass is an example of such grass.

You should also think about the appearance that you want your lawn to have when choosing these seeds. For instance, go for Zoysia grass seeds if you want to end up with a thick, dense lawn. If you want to have a dark green-colored lawn, go for Bermudagrass seeds.

To select the best grass seeds for your lawn, you also need to think about the level of maintenance that your lawn will receive. If you can water your lawn from time to time, you can choose grass species with a medium to high need for water. An example of such grasses is the Kentucky bluegrass. However, if you know that you will not be able to water your lawn grass frequently, go for drought-resistant grass species such as Bermuda, Bahia, and Buffalo grass seeds.

The climate condition of your area is another factor to consider when selecting lawn grass species. For instance, if you live in an area where the winter season is short, you should go for warm-season grass species. These species include Bahia, Bermuda, St. Augustine, Buffalo, and Zoysia grass species. If you live in an area where the winter season is usually long, go for cool-season grass species such as Kentucky bluegrass, Fine Fescue, Tall Fescue, and Perennial Ryegrass species.

Before selecting grass seeds, you must check whether your lawn area is shady or sunny. If the area is shady, you should choose grass species that can thrive well in shady areas. These grass species include St. Augustine, Zoysiagrass, and Kentucky bluegrass.

You also need to ask yourself whether you need grass species that grow rapidly or if you are okay with grass species associated with slow growth. If you want your lawn area to be covered with grass within a short time, go for grass species that grow rapidly. Bahiagrass is an example of such grass.

Steps to Seed Your Lawn Manually

Follow these steps when seeding your lawn:

1. Weed the area where you want to plant your grass seeds. You should use an herbicide to do this. You should also remove any debris that may be in this area.
2. Dig the area using a tiller after ensuring that the area is free of weeds and debris. Digging will help loosen the soil. You should remove any roots and rocks that you come across when tilling this area.
3. You should then prepare the soil. This kind of preparation involves amending the soil and covering the area with sand or soil. You should use a rotary tiller to spread this soil. You should also cover the area with compost.
4. Firm the soil using a weighted lawn roller. That will help ensure that your grass seeds are not blown away by the wind after planting them. It will also help ensure that your lawn area is flat and even.
5. After doing this, add peat moss, sulfur, or lime to your soil. These products help balance the soil’s PH. They also add nutrients to the soil.
6. Using a spreader, add starter fertilizer to your lawn area. This kind of fertilizer will help the planted grass seedling to grow rapidly. It usually contains nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Nitrogen is needed for green coloration and satisfactory root growth, whereas potassium is necessary for good disease resistance. Phosphorus, on the other hand, is necessary for root development. You should follow the manufacturer’s instructions when spreading the fertilizer.
7. Next, sow your grass seeds. However, you should ensure that your soil is not muddy or dry before sowing these seeds. If it is muddy, let it dry out. If it is dry, water it.
8. After you are done sowing the grass seeds, spread them using a spreader. The result should be 13 to 15 grass seeds per square inch of land.
9. Cover the previously planted seeds with a soil layer. A rake can help you do this. However, you should ensure that the seeds are not buried deep into the soil.
10. Pack down the soil after covering the previously planted seeds. A lawn roller can help you do this.
11. Finally, add mulch to the lawn area where you have planted your grass seeds.

Why You Should Consider a Professional Lawn Seeding Company Like Lawn Doctor

Hiring a professional lawn seeding company like Lawn Doctor will save you time that you would have otherwise spent planting grass seeds. It will also help you save money that you would have otherwise spent buying lawn care equipment. Professionals from this company will also plant grass seeds correctly, which in turn will help you have an aesthetically pleasing lawn.

You need to take care of your lawn if you have one. For instance, you need to seed it from time to time. However, you should ensure that you go for the right grass seeds. You should also let professionals from a good company such as Lawn Doctor help you seed your lawn.