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Evergreen Sod Farm |
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How do I seed my lawn? |
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How do I seed my lawn? Prepare the site: Your lawn area should already be graded or tilled and the final level smooth surface should have been obtained. If not, now is the time to remove hills and depressions so that you have a nice smooth lawn for years to come. Planting: You can use a commercial turfgrass planter, sow the seeds by hand (although it's not recommended), or use a broadcast seeder/fertilizer spreader. Set the seeder for the correct seed application rate. We recommend a two-step planting process: Divide your seed into two equal quantities. Set your seeder rate so that you will cover the entire lawn with half of the total seed. You will need to determine how far the seeder is throwing the seed as you walk. Spread the seed in a pattern that allows overlapping coverage of all areas. Most seeders come with instructions that explain this planting principle. Plant the first half of the seed walking in one direction with your seeder. Then plant the second half of the seed walking in a direction perpendicular to the first pass. This double spreading provides for a more uniform broadcasting of your seeds and also insures that you get complete coverage. Always sow lawn seeds at the recommended rates. Good quality lawns require lots of seeds in order to achieve the correct plant density. You will save very little money by cutting back on the quantity of seed planted. We recommend coverage of six to eight pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet. (See "How Much Sod Do I Need?" for instructions on how to measure the area you wish to cover). Rake it in: Once your seeds are sowed, rake or drag the seeded area so that as many of the seeds as possible are lightly covered (1/4 inch is an ideal covering for grasses). You can drag the lawn with a harrow or a piece of chain link fencing behind a mower, ATV, tractor, or just by hand. This should cover your grass seed adequately. Not every seed will be covered by these methods, but a large quantity of them will. Over time, soil and wind action will help cover even more. It's also a good idea to apply a starter fertilizer to the newly seeded area at this time. Watering: Water the lawn area you have planted on a regular basis. Frequent light waterings throughout the day work best, unless it's raining. The key is to keep the soil moist (neither completely saturated nor under watered) at all times, especially once the seed begins to germinate. Once the seed sprouts, you must not allow the soil to dry out for more than about a day. Once you have your lawn planted and wet, there are still necessary procedures to observe until your lawn gets to the "adult" stage in its life cycle. Continue watering your newly seeded lawn daily. For the seeds to germinate, it takes water and time. Be patient. Most grass seeds take anywhere from 7 to 21 days to germinate if conditions are right. The right conditions are generally warm soil temperatures (even for cool season grasses) and adequate moisture. After about a week to two weeks, you should be able to get down on your hands and knees and see many of the little sprouting grass plants. They will be tiny, needle-like leaves sticking mostly straight up out of the soil. These little plants will be spread amongst the many weeds that also will have germinated. The vast majority of the weed seeds were already present in your soil and did not sprout from the seed you just planted. They were already in the soil you just tilled. Weeds are normal in newly seeded lawns. With proper care, grasses will crowd out the majority of those new weeds over time. It is necessary to limit traffic on your new lawn as much as possible, especially children and pets. The baby grass plants can't tolerate much disturbing while they are trying to establish. After about 60 to 90 days, these little plants will be big enough for you to carefully start running your mower over them. Mowing will help to keep the aggressive weeds from wiping out your tender new grass plants. Mowing helps the grasses to start spreading and filling, which is in their nature to do. We would recommend that you not water a day before mowing to allow the ground to be firm enough to support the mower and you. Be sure your lawn mower blade is sharp. Continue the frequent watering until about 45 to 60 days after planting; by that time, your grass plants should be big enough to start stretching the watering interval without harm. This is actually good as it makes the plants send their roots down deeper into the soil, instead of just staying in the top few inches. Consequently, the plant will tolerate drought conditions better. Once established, the best watering schedule is to water deeply, one to two times a week, under normal conditions. It's now time for a second application of fertilizer to your lawn. Evergreen Sod also has available for sale fescue seed, which comes in 50-pound quantities. Please call our office for a price quote. Evergreen Sod Farm
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