For home gardeners, finding seeds you can trust is hard. The look and feel of your lawn depend on your grass seed, but you can’t know how grass seed will perform before it grows. Or can you?
Once you have the seed, fertilizers, and tools you’ll need, you can start seeding your lawn to create the lush green grass you want. These six keys to a successful seeding project can help you take the guesswork out of a beautiful home landscape.
Prepare the seedbed
There are a few things you need to do to prepare the soil for your grass seeds. First, remove all the weeds. You don’t want your new grass to have any competition for water or nutrients. Next, remove any rocks or other vegetation and consider filling any low spots with more soil. Use a rake to create a level surface for the germs to take root.
Soil depth is your next significant concern. Grass seeds won’t survive if planted more than an inch deep. Conversely, these picky kernels can’t just sit on the surface either. For best results, your seeds need to settle into the soil at about ¼ to ½ -inch deep, depending on the species.
Choose the right seed
The proper seed species for your lawn will depend on two factors: your geographic location and the amount of sunlight your property receives.
There are two primary varieties of grass seed: cool-season and warm-season grasses. If you pick the wrong type of grass seed for your conditions, you risk seeing dead or dormant grass for much of the year.
When you’re shopping for seed, you can look for single species or blends. Single species seed bags will offer the best chance at a uniform appearance. Combinations won’t look uniform, but they offer a better diversity of species, so you’ll have the best chance of surviving changing conditions, like drought, disease, or shade.
If you’re unsure what seed is best for your specific climate, you should check with resources in your state for their recommendations. Nationally, you can also find more information about particular grass seeds, seeding rates, and general grass seeding guidelines from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Verify seed quality
When purchasing your grass seed, make sure you’re looking past the cheap products. Spending a few extra dollars for the highest-priced seed can ensure you won’t be paying through the nose for a professional landscape fixer-upper later on.
Compare the label on a cheaper bag of seed to a more expensive one. You’ll quickly notice that the more inexpensive bag has a lower germination rate, more filler content, more weeds, and unnamed grass mixed in with the germs. On the other end of the spectrum, trusted retailers like Nature’s Seed can provide you with high-quality, durable grass seed for any yard’s needs.
Don’t waste your time, money, and effort to reseed your lawn using cheap grass seed. Doing so will leave you regretting your choice and chasing weeds, as you’ll end up spending even more in the long run. Invest a little extra to ensure you’re seeing the results you want the first time.
Seed at the right time
Seeding your lawn at the correct time of year is essential for optimum germination and growth.
A quick comparison should help you figure out what’s best for your seeding practices.
Warm-season grasses perform best when seeded in late spring. You can also plant in late fall, but you won’t have the same germination. Seeding warm-season grasses in late summer is not a good practice, as the decreasing day length and cooling temperatures will negatively impact your yield.
Cool-season grasses can be planted in the middle of spring and again in late summer. You can seed your cool-season lawn once more in late fall. But be aware this cycle of seeding will be dormant, and the seeds will begin germinating in early spring.
Plant at the correct depth and rate
Grass seed needs planting at the correct depth. As a general rule of thumb, larger seeds can be planted at depths of up to one inch, while smaller seeds need to lay closer to the surface.
You also need to account for the reasonable rate of spreading your grass seed. Your bag or bags of grain should have pretty detailed instructions for how much seed to use in a given area. Using a seed spreader to get a consistent and uniform rate is an excellent idea, especially if your lawn area is oversized.
If you’re only seeding a small patch, spreading by hand is fine, but you might want to experiment a bit to figure out the best technique for tossing a consistent amount of seed each time. Consider using a tarp to practice a couple of times before you start seeding for real. Otherwise, you could end up with clumps or bare patches, wasting seed as you go.
Even though you have already prepared your seedbed to receive the grass seed, you should ensure that your seeding equipment is ready to do its job correctly. For most home seeders, that means setting the dial on your spreader to the correct rate.
For those seeding and growing vast grass fields, that might mean adjusting your machinery to calibrate the seeding rate. Some machines have pickers to grab a variety of grass seeds from large bins at a predetermined rate, helping to spread a custom blend. These heavy-duty machines also have depth bands and teeth or drills to ensure the proper planting depth.
Whichever method you use, make sure you’re following the instructions on your particular bag of seed for the best results.
Cover and water liberally
Grass seed needs moisture to germinate. Consider lightly covering the seeds with a layer of soil to help lock that moisture in and protect the seeds from critters and wind. You could also use a straw, sawdust, or peat moss as a mulch to protect your seedbed. If you choose to use a straw, try finding a kiln-dried variety, as doing so will minimize the number of potential weeds.
This step may be unnecessary if you get lucky and there isn’t much wind, there aren’t many birds and critters to pick through your seed, and the moisture level remains consistent. But even the most drought-tolerant grasses will not germinate without adequate moisture.
At some point, your tiny seeds will start to germinate into the slender green shoots of grass you are waiting for. One of the main reasons your new lawn may fail is the unchecked growth of invasive weeds, so you’ll want to trim and mow regularly. Regular mowing will also help your grass thrive and help minimize unwanted pests.
Separate from weeds, your lawn needs nutrients to survive. Consider applying a lawn fertilizer to bolster your lawn’s growth and health.
Successful grass seeding bottom line
Planting a seed always requires a leap of faith, but by following these six key steps, you can land feet-first in luscious green grass.
