By Denny McKeown
Grass, like any other living plant, will thrive when planted properly in the right location. Many of us think grass seed will grow by simply throwing it on the lawn and walking away. For winter seeding, this is mostly true. But for fall or spring seeding, not so. Here is a step-by-step way to successfully reseed your lawn.
SPOT SEEDING BARE SPOTS
1. Take a steel rake and loosen soil.
2. Apply seed with applicator or by hand at the rate of 4/5 seeds per inch (freeze grass seed overnight for faster germination). Not necessary for winter seeding.
3. Dampen down daily until seed germinates (a light application of straw is optional).
SEEDING NEW OR RESEEDING EXISTING LAWN
Let's discuss some "Dont's" before we cover the "Do's."
- Don't rototill the soil. This process causes the soil to settle unevenly, wakes up thousands of weed seeds that will compete with the new grass, (and it's a lot of unnecessary work).
- Don't apply topsoil to overall area unless you spread it to a depth of 4 to 6 inches to entire area. Use topsoil to fill in any low areas. Settle the new topsoil with irrigation or rain before putting down your seed. Re-loosen the top soil with a steel rake to break up the crust. Then put down your seed.
- Don't even read any further unless you can keep new seed dampened down daily ‘till germination (assuming no rain on a given day). Try the winter seed method if this seems like too much trouble!
Now the "Do's" - please read carefully...
- Do kill all existing vegetation in area to be reseeded. Weeds and other vegetation should be watered well prior to application of herbicide. Healthy weeds die faster. In the fall, allow 3 to 4 weeks to retreat some weeds that regrow after initial treatment. Old lawn should be between 2 to 3" tall when treating, especially true with nut grass. Great vegetation killers that are safe to use are Round-up™ and Kilz-All. September is the best month of the year to plant grass seed. Mow dead grass low to the ground and collect the clippings.
- Do rent a seed slitter with a seed box. Set the blade to cut a 1/2" to 1" slit. Assuming you are seeding with a variety of turf fescue, set the seed box to 2 1/2" lbs per 1m sq. ft. Make 4 passes east to west and north to south and two criss cross passes putting down a total of 10lbs of seed per 1m sq. feet.
- Do freeze your seed overnight. It can even stay frozen until you're ready to apply. Do now before you forget.
- Do fertilize with a starter type fertilizer (example: 9-18-18). Do not mix seed and fertilizer together in the same applicator hopper. Apply fertilizer first.
- Do lightly water grass seed daily (assuming rainless days) to keep seed moist until germination. Then water once weekly the equivalent of 1 inch of water and/or rain. Continue to water as above during dry and hot weather.
- Do mow your grass as soon as it reaches 2 1/4." Mow at 2" and mow often. The more cuttings, the quicker the new grass matures. You will get a few new weeds. Do not apply weed killer till you've given the new grass 3 cuttings.
- Do use good grass seed. If you're going to do all the above steps, don't mess everything up with so-called bargain seeds. Check the seed label for purity, weed seed content, and inert ingredients.
LAWN NOTES
1. The best feedings for your lawn (all types); early September - high nitrogen
late November - high nitrogen
spring feeding - 1/2 rate
2. Leave grass clippings. They continue to feed lawn. (Exception: tall clippings due to rainy periods). Collect those that would clump and smother grass plants.
3. Choose grass varieties that fit your maintenance schedule;
Bluegrass high maintenance
Perennial grass medium maintenance
Turf-type fescue low maintenance
4. Winter seeding is a great way to go of you can't fall seed. In late January or early February, go out and remove any fallen leaves and twigs from areas to be reseeded. Apply your seed to those areas (4/5 per inch) and go back and watch T. V. Freezing and thawing occurs, causing the seed to have natural seed bed. Seed will germinate in spring when soil warms to proper germination temperature.
5. For spring and fall seedings, straw helps to hold moisture around seed, but straw does not replace moisture. You will have to water daily. If you decide on straw, a bale should cover 2,000 square feet. This is a very light application. If done according to above, no straw removal is necessary as straw will decompose by itself.