Reseed Lawn
How to Reseed Your Lawn
If you want it to grow in nice and green, then you should probably reseed your lawn once a year. Depending on how bad your lawn has become during the course of the year, you may either reseed the entire lawn or only part of it. Though it is more work to reseed the entire lawn, reseeding only part of it is a little bit more difficult. So if your lawn is pretty torn up or faded, you might consider just redoing the whole thing.
When to Reseed Your Lawn
There are two times of year when it is the best time to reseed you lawn, the early part of winter or the early part of spring. Many people live by winter reseeding but the rationale for spring reseeding seems more logical to me so long as you do it conscientiously. Be careful, however. Young leaves of grass have special difficulty in intense heat. If you do not get adequate growth by the time the warm days roll in, you may find that many of your younger stalks don’t survive.
Preparing the Lawn
Before you begin to reseed your lawn, you will want to prepare it properly. Begin by removing any debris so that you do not have any extra barriers holding back the growth of your grass. Even a few leaves can inhibit the even growth of your lawn so be sure to remove them. (Especially if it is in the spring near the time when expect the growth to begin.) You will next have to remove any weeds that may have crept into your lawn. If you have bad patches and weeds in areas where grass has died, these two facts may be related.
Next, you want to turn up the ground of your lawn with a rake. You want to mix up the rich lower layers with the dried out upper layers to create a better environment for you seeds. If you are only going to redo patches of your lawn, then you should probably rake not only up to the healthy part of your lawn, but perhaps rake up a margin of the good grass as well.
Sowing your Seeds
Now you are ready to reseed your lawn. Although some fussy planters recommend a seed spreader, you can simply use your hand. Just try to toss the seeds out in a relatively even single layer over the upturned turf. Even if some of them pile up a bit, this is not that big of a deal. If you are only doing patches of your lawn be sure you get them all the way up to the edge of the patch and don’t leave a gap that might lead to ugly grassless lines when your lawn grows in.
In addition, if you are only seeding part of your lawn, then you want to be sure that you find seeds that match those that you have already grown in your lawn. If you don’t, you will have two different types of grasses on your lawn, which rarely makes for an aesthetically pleasing experience.
Run your rake over the seeds covering them up in a thin layer of turf. If you notice any patches where seeds have piled, be sure to break these up, and try to spread them more evenly. The idea is to give the seeds a thin blanket of earth, but not to cover them too deeply. You don't want their stalks to struggle to push through to the surface. Remember that they are just grass stalks not trees or vegetables.
Watering after Reseeding
As soon as you finish reseeding, you will want to water your lawn and then continue to re-water it every morning and afternoon until your lawn has fully grown in. Also, look to avoid walking on your lawn while it is still germinating, as this may damage your lawn. For a bit of extra support for your growing stalks (especially on problem lawns) be sure to use fertilizer as needed.