Tips for Best Lawn Seeding Practices
Whether you are spot seeding a worn-out part of your lawn, or all of your grass needs some love, even the best maintained lawns will need to be reseeded at some point. Harsh weather, excessive use, or insect damage can wreak havoc on your grass and thin out your lawn. Before you take on the lawn as your next DIY project, be sure to read up on our tips and best practices on how to seed a lawn.
Spot Seeding
The first step to successfully seeding a lawn is deciding how to seed a lawn in the first place. Depending on the state of the grass and the amount of area that needs to be seeded, there are different options available. For small patches of grass, it is best to spot seed the area. Take a rake or hoe and work over the dirt, then apply seed and gently tamp down.
Overseeding
For grass that does not have extensive damage or a large amount of thicket preventing the seed from penetrating in the ground, overseeding a great option. This is a technique that spreads the seed over the entire area of the lawn, and is perfect for when you want to improve the overall density of the grass. Overseeding can be done with or without aeration.
Lawn Renovation
This technique is required for lawns that need a complete rebuild. Once you remove the old sod and dethatch the lawn, there are two options for lawn renovation. For the first, you simply spread the seed over the exposed lawn. However, it is more effective to slice-seed, which deposits the seed into the soil without as much dethatching.
Seeding Season
Although lawn seeding can be successful any time of the year, it’s important to know when to seed a lawn. Certain times of year do not require as much work to make it grow. If you seed your lawn in spring or summer, it will require a lot more water to properly germinate, and your grass seed may have to compete with weeds that flourish during this time of year. Ideally, seed your lawn in early fall, when there is typically more natural rainfall and the soil is still warm.
No matter which time of year you choose to start seeding, make sure the ground stays consistently moist to allow the seed to properly germinate. Also, do not use any weed control product on your newly seeded lawn until you have mowed it a handful of times. This ensures that the grass is well established. With these tips and tricks, your lawn is sure to be looking great in no time!
