Planting grass seed is not as difficult as some may fear, but it’s not as easy as sprinkling seeds across bare ground and hoping they will grow. A lawn grown from grass seed has the potential to be attractive, lush, and healthy, but only if you educate yourself about planting and preparation methods.
The first thing you should do, before opening that bag of seed, is to examine the soil in your yard. Good soil will go a long way in keeping your lawn healthy, so improving your soil well before planting can’t be overemphasized. A well-structured soil will have enough spaces to let water, nutrients, and air easily reaches the roots, but not so many that the soil can’t hold water for long periods of time (in case of drought). Observe whether your soil is more loose and sandy (bigger spaces), or whether it is more compact and clay-like (smaller spaces).
After you have removed all weeds, you should rototill the top six inches of the soil bed. This will help to add oxygen to the soil, and create bigger spaces if the soil is compacted. Then you should add appropriate organic materials to improve your soil structure, depending on whether the soil needs to be looser or more compact. A professional soil test can be an enormous help in knowing which nutrients your soil is lacking. Some examples of organic amendments are compost, topsoil, shredded leaves, grass clippings, or a slow-release organic fertilizer.
Once you have improved the soil structure, you can install your sprinkler system. Once the system is installed, you should make the soil level with a rake and remove any large rocks or other debris that could limit germination. Use a lawn roller to lightly firm the soil—not to compact it. Try filling the roller only halfway with water.
You can spread the grass seed by hand, but a drop spreader will do it more efficiently. Figure out how many square feet of yard you need to plant, and at what rate you should applying seed, according what grass species you are planting (there should be a recommendation on the bag). Take half of the total seed, put it in the drop spreader, and then spread the seed evenly across the lawn in a horizontal direction. Then take the second half of the seed and do the same thing in a vertical direction. The seeds should only be ¼ deep in the soil. Seeds planted any deeper than that have less of a chance of germinating.
Once you have planted all the grass seed, your job is to keep the ground moist until the seeds germinate. Never soak the soil, but do water it frequently and lightly several times a day. You should start to see green shoots within a month, and gradually your lawn will fill in and be strong enough to walk on. Once the seeds have germinated, watering as infrequently and deeply as possible will be more beneficial to your lawn.
Tony Allen is a natural landscape designer who writes for naturesfinestseed.com. Check their site for lawn choices and supplies, from Buffalo grass seed to information about Zoysia grass seed.
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