Choosing to reseed or overseed your lawn could be a great choice to fill in bare areas, thicken up your lawn or starting a full lawn renovation project. Reseeding can be a tedious task so it is important to follow the steps to ensure your time and efforts are not wasted and that your newly seeded lawn thrives. We are going to go over the steps you should take when seeding your lawn. From properly prepping the soil to mastering the first mow, these best practices will help you master seeding your lawn.
Steps for Seeding a Lawn
Step 1: Prepare the Soil
Healthy soil is the foundation of a healthy lawn. Preparing the soil is the most important step when seeding a lawn, yet the most frequently skipped.
Remove Weeds and Undesirable GrassesIf you have a lawn full of weeds or invading grasses, they need to be removed or killed before seeding your new lawn. If not eliminated, weeds and invading grasses will compete with your new seed for resources such as nutrients, water, and sunlight. Completely removing unwanted grasses and weeds is essential for a successful newly seeded lawn that will thrive long term. Do a Soil Test
Your lawn is only as healthy as the soil it grows in. Balanced, fertile soil with high organic matter is the ultimate goal. A soil test can provide insight on any significant nutrient deficiencies or Ph imbalances that need to be corrected before seeding. If soil Ph is too high (alkaline) or too low (acidic), the lawn will not be able to absorb nutrients properly. Nutrient deficiencies should be corrected with fertilizer, and soil Ph should be balanced prior to seeding a new lawn. Loosen the Soil
Loosen and till the soil to encourage air and water movement. Compact soil provides a difficult environment for air and water movement and areas of standing water with poor drainage can lead to fungus and disease. If you have hard compact clay soil, then you may want to aerate prior. Check Out Liquid Soil Loosener for more information for a liquid aeration option. Level the Soil
Level your soil free from any depressions, slants, and unevenness that could cause future issues. Slope the soil away from any buildings to prevent any future water damage from water running off. Also, this is a great time to install irrigation. Remove Debris
Removing rocks, plastic or any trash buried in the lawn sounds like common knowledge, but this step is often violated, especially when it comes to new construction homes. The consequences of skipping this step may not appear instantly, but a lawn may have issues years after establishment. Debris buried in a lawn can cause problems that resemble disease or nutrient deficiency but are a result of the lawns shallow root system caused by the leftover trash. *Plan to Complete these tasks at least 2-4 weeks before planting grass seed.
Step 2: Select the best seed for your Lawn
Select the best seed for your lawn depending on your region and your individual property characteristics. After deciding what grass type is most appropriate then you can choose a quality seed from a reputable company.
Step 3: Add Nutrients & Seed
Apply Starter Fertilizer a day before Seeding
Phosphorus is the most important element during the first stages of seeding. Add a starter fertilizer to your soil right before laying your new seed. The starter fertilizer is recommended even after you correct any deficiencies in a soil test. * Growth Booster is a great product at this stage
Correct Nutrient Deficiencies
Fertilize to correct any nutrient deficiencies as soil on soil test. Correct unbalanced Ph if appropriate.
Apply Soil Treatment
Apply Soil Treatment such as Root Hume or Soil Hume to help aid the uptake of nutrients once newly seeded areas sprout and germinate.
Step 4: Irrigation
Proper Watering is essential to successful establishment of seed
- Seed germination is activated by water
- Watering correctly should be the main focus for the next 3 weeks.
- Top half inch of soil should constantly stay moist, but not overflowing or saturated.
- Once the lawn sprouts and roots, it is able to take moisture from deeper layers of the soil. Watering can be cut back at this stage, but still more watering is needed for the next few weeks, than an established lawn would need.
- Once the lawn is established go back to a regular watering schedule
Step 5: Add (N) Nitrogen fertilizer
When your new lawn reaches 1-2 inches in height it may show signs of a Nitrogen deficiency. Apply a nitrogen fertilizer at this time. This will give it a further push to full establishment.
Step 6: Master the First Mow & Enjoy Your New Lawn
No more than 1/3 of the tissue of the lawn should be removed during any single mowing. Mow 50% more than recommended mow height.
Enjoy your new lawn!
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22 Responses
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Sherry,
Thank you for your comment. Please send us an email with those details or head to this page to fill out our questionnaire so we can make some custom recommendations for you to help you get this figured out! https://simplelawnsolutions.com/pages/lawn-questionnaire
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Jerry,
Please send us an email so we can make some custom recommendations for your lawn. There could be a reason for those bare spots!
Jerry
I have a baron yard under big trees. I just trimmed he trees way back. I have mostly clay here. Very spotty grass. I have a big bottle of your humeric acid I just sprayed. When can put the seed down? And when should spray again after the seed takes off? Thank you
sherri edinger
Help me please! I paid a lawn company so I could get thick, green grass with no bare areas. I don’t know what they did but my grass looks horrible in spots. I found the liquid soil aerator on amazon and decided to give it a try(I live in south Carolina and have red clay) I applied this product and am seeing some growth in my bare spots. I’ve fired my lawn company and would love to purchase your products but I don’t know where to begin. I would like to overseed with some type of cool season grass as well as I’d love to keep a thick green yard year round. Can you advise me on what I need and when to apply? Thank you
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello John, We recommend the Ortho Dial N Spray for the application of Soil Loosener https://www.ortho.com/en-us/products/garden/ortho-dial-n-spray-hose-end-sprayer
John J Riewer
What brand hose end sprayer will work to properly distribute the product when using the Liquid Soil Loosener? Is there a certain way to set the sprayer to use the product and the proper rate?
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Juan.
Thanks for your comments. Please send us an email with any product-related questions to hello@simplelawnsolutions.com
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Steve,
We recommend using the products in the following order:
Soil loosener, 2 weeks later apply root hume and NPK.
If you have any questions please reach out to us by email!
Steve Kidd
Greetings,
I’m following Ryan Knorr’s fertilizer plan for this year which calls for Soil Loosener, Root Hume and Balanced NPK applications at this time. Is there an order/timing for these products?
Thanks!
Steve
Juan Carlos Vaca
Can I mix the lawn food 3-18-18, with blue colorant to know where I’m applying it?
Peter
Must say, totally pleased with your products. Awesome results.
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Jose,
Please email us at hello@simplelawnsolutions for a custom recommendation for your lawn.
Jose Hinojosa
hi just want to wen do I need to treat my lawn I just received my product and I would like to know wen do I need to start with my product I got all six simple lawn solutions
I really love to have a schedule on each lawn solution please.
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Hugo, aerating is best to be done after seeds have matured. If you have any additional questions, feel free to email us at hello@simplelawnsolutions.com
Hugo a
I just aerated and oversees my lawn a week ago and I put fertilizer yesterday, you recommend to try the liquid lossener now or I have to wait do it .
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Belinda, please email our customer service team at hello@simplelawnsolutions for a more detailed recommendation for your lawn care needs.
Simple Lawn Solutions
Hello Daryl,
You will want to use one type of fertilizer at a time, and wait four weeks before fertilizing again. Please email our customer service team at hello@simplelawnsolutions for a more detailed recommendation for your lawn care needs.
Darryl Gibson
Do I need both the 16-4-8 and the 15-0-15 for my lawn? I am in the Atlanta and I have Bermuda in the front emails zoysia in the back. I get a service done for my front Bermuda but it is super thin in some areas. The zoysia I put down this sod late last summer. Seems fine. I have a few weeds but knew I would because of how fast I had to prep the ground. And help or advice would be great
Belinda Johnson
I need help with my Bermuda sod in my front and side lawn and back yard patches
Surya Chinta
Thank you for all the hard work you do and impressive videos, it inspired me to maintain my lawn myself rather than hiring lawn care guys.
David Ramirez
I appreciate the steps and all the help and I hope I may call on you for guidance on getting my yard in shape for next year.
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