Your lawn can’t dodge general wear and tear caused by Mother Nature. Our latest shed is also a pavilion—and you can build it, too! Then carefully spread half of the seed by broadcasting it over the entire area. No matter the method you choose, it’s important to follow the seeding rate recommendations that come with your seed choice. The verdict is that the two lawn care tasks should be paired together, as aeration innately complements overseeding efforts. General yard maintenance helps. 2. Because of overseeding, your lawn looks fresh. Save Comp . You don't have to break up your lawn or soil. Then you need to scalp and thatch the lawn which helps the seeds to plant deep into the soil. Choose a calm day, as grass seed is very light, you don’t want it blowing into your flower beds. Overseeding A Lawn. Instead of spot-treating, an overall coat of overseeding can fill in spots you may not even see, leading to denser grass. When done correctly, aeration and overseeding can be beneficial to the well-being of your lawn. Lawn care is an integral part of exterior home maintenance, and a healthy, vibrant lawn can add beauty and value to any home. A lawn roller will help push the grass seed into the soil to create a good contact. Similarly, if you don’t use enough seed or don’t disperse it properly, you may still end up with a patchy lawn. Rake the lawn to remove and break up the layers of dead matted grass or thatch. Aerating your lawn and adding new seed are two such jobs that should be done at least annually. Seed at the label’s recommended rate. After these steps, you seed the lawn by using a spreader or throwing it out equally by hand. If more than 50 percent of the area is in poor condition, you will want to consider starting again with a new lawn installation. The verdict is that the two lawn care tasks should be paired together, as aeration innately complements overseeding efforts. Use a hand rake or cultivator or even just a … Lawn grasses like that. Alternatively, you can choose another seed that is similar enough to the existing seed that it will be able to survive alongside it. Do it at the wrong time and you may not see the results you’re hoping for. Should I apply fertilizer before or after overseeding my lawn? If overseeding lawns by hand, you should first divide the amount of seed you want to spread in half. Yet it still remains one of the most overlooked disciplines by homeowners. Sowing new lawn seed into your existing lawn rejuvenates it and improves it's colour. This technique can expose the soil which will beneficial to the growth of your new seed. However, not every warm-season grass excels in summer heat, so it is best that they are mature before the summer sun beats down on them. Before we can get to the main topic at hand, i.e. Similarly, harsh winter weather can make it hard on young grass, so planting too close to winter weather can be inefficient as well. It’s the perfect way to show-off to neighbors, a great place for a picnic, and a safe place for children to land if they fall in the yard. HOW TO OVERSEED YOUR LAWN. In this article, we will focus on renovating your lawn by over seeding. When compared to reseeding, overseeding requires about half as much seed. Overseeding after a summer’s worth of stress and abuse will pay dividends, keeping your lawn looking and performing its best once the snow melts next spring. Yes, it is possible to use too much seed when overseeding your lawn. Overseeding Lawn Grass Without Aeration Overseeding Basics. Otherwise, you’ll need to set out a sprinkler or water smaller areas by hand. To properly seed smaller areas of the lawn it is best to spread by hand to personally certify that a proper amount of seed will fall into the desired location. Sowing new seed into an existing lawn, a technique used by professional groundsmen and known as overseeding, is a natural way to thicken your lawn and crowd out undesirable weeds, and one of the most important tasks involved in growing a healthy, lush lawn. Overseeding a lawn means planting grass seed directly into your existing grass. Causes of patchiness or uneven growth include: Both too much and not enough water can be reasons why some parts of your yard don’t grow evenly. This helps to ensure that the seeds are hydrated properly and the soil is able to accept them for germination. Once you have your preferred solution, load it into the fertilizer spreader and disperse it evenly throughout your yard. Cool-season grasses should be planted towards the tail-end of summer or early fall, when the temperature is starting to lower and the harsh sunlight weakens. If you know the type of grass that is currently on your lawn, you can match those seeds and use them for the overseeding to thicken the coat. Aeration and overseeding are often spoken about hand-in-hand — so much so that there tends to be a question of whether you can have one without the other. If you spend a good amount of time in your garden each day, chances are your lawn registers high foot traffic on a daily basis. To do that, the first step is to mow the lawn. Which type of grass seed you choose depends on your existing grass type. Overseeding intensifies the tone of your lawn. Before overseeding your thin lawn, cut your grass shorter than normal and bag the clippings. After the soil has been prepared and your lawn is ready to be seeded, it’s time to spread the seeds. This made moving the sand so much easier. Let's dive further into what these two services are, and how they benefit your lawn. Whether a pool killed your grass, your pet soiled it, or the grass just doesn’t grow how you want it to, you can use overseeding to patch it. However, a mild warm and mild cool seed combination can help keep your lawn thick throughout the year. How to Maintain Your Lawn After Overseeding, We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer), 9 Ways to Keep Your Dog Active Inside During the Winter, Family Handyman’s Vintage Projects and Tips From the ’60s, Do Not Sell My Personal Information – CA Residents. Instead, the right time to overseed your lawn depends on the type of grass you’re overseeding. Keeping your lawn looking lush and green all year is a demanding task. After everything is down on the lawn, give the entire lawn a healthy watering (up to about an inch of water). His lawn is the envy of the neighborhood and, in his free time, he enjoys kicking back on the Northshore of Lake Superior. But, if you time it correctly, you can enjoy the restorative benefits for the rest of the season (and hopefully the whole year). You’re preparing it to be ready to take the seed and soil you’re adding later on. Type of dethatcher. Then you need to scalp and thatch the lawn which helps the seeds to plant deep into the soil. Consider using a fertilizer (or adding fertilized soil) to areas that lack nutrients and aerate your lawn to get air flowing and keep your grass fed. So that the seeds can settle in comfortably and the soil has enough internal moisture to impart nutrients to the new seeds. Weed competition is virtually nonexistent and predictable rains fall softly with few “gully washers” that could wipe out your efforts in 15 minutes. The goal of overseeding a lawn is to get the grass seed in contact with the soil. Keep reading to discover what you need to know to help your lawn look its best. Just be sure that the new soil doesn’t blanket the existing grass enough to cause damage – that’s the opposite of our goal. But to get rid of the insects first, use a systemic insecticide labeled to treat them before overseeding so that they don’t eat the new grass as well. Old lawns contain obsolete seed varieties. If more than 40 per cent of the grass in your lawn is damaged, you should go with the latter, but if you’re looking at less than 40 per cent of the lawn being damaged or covered with weeds, a good over seeding – that is adding more seeds to your existing grass plants – will be sufficient. And if you have kids or pets, your lawn may be worn to shreds, exposing the soil beneath. These little seedlings need to be nurtured during their first eight weeks of existence. Without a mature root system they can dry out quickly and die. You’ll need to keep your lawn moist during this time to trigger germination. Overseeding is not an option; it is a necessity. Plus, it’ll create a unique color combination for your yard. But, the hot-season Bermuda grass and the cool-season Kentucky bluegrass have different needs that likely won’t cohabitate. Overseeding Basics. Topic Author. If you use too much seed, you can cause grass to fight over resources which won’t lead to the full, lush, and green grass you’re looking for. Plus, it will help activate the fertilizer and keep it all from blowing away. The churned up soil allows the seeds and soil to have better contact, which encourages the seeds to germinate. Overseeding does not require a total restart. Lawns need to be restored occasionally and choosing the right grass seed for the job is critical. You can find soil that is made specifically for this purpose, which includes extra fertilizer and other ingredients to make it easier for grass to grow. Perhaps just as important as how to overseed is when to overseed. Scalping your lawn super short beforehand is key. Just like people, the grass in your lawn needs the right amount of sunlight. It is even a much better remedy if your lawn has bare spots due to damage from pests such as grubs and chinch bugs. Otherwise, you’ll need to set out a sprinkler or water smaller areas by hand. The key to a beautiful lawn is a strong root system, and the best way to get there is by regular Core Aeration and Overseeding. Overseeding in Spring will rejuvenate your lawn after winter. Since your trees are starting to shed their leaves, there's plenty of sunlight. Using too much seed can cause grass to fight over resources to grow, which can waste seed and stifle nearby healthy grass roots. If you choose to overseed in autumn, do so before the first frost, as the germination temperature of grass seeds is between 15-25 C°. Step 1 – Mow Your Lawn. If the grass is long and unmanaged, it can be hard to get seeds into the ground to germinate. He likes to spend his spare time with his family, and doing DIY projects in the home and garden. Applying a starter fertilizer at the time of overseeding is not necessary. Mow low. One way homeowners can improve the look and health of their grass is by overseeding a weedy lawn. For larger areas of grass to overseed, a hand spreader or a push style lawn spreader will generally disperse the proper seed numbers. Aerating lawn grass is not important as long as you can loosen your soil in another way. Scalping your lawn super short beforehand is key. Choose the right seeding product. By Peter Ashton August 28, 2020 September 11, 2020. Most grass types aren’t native to the Mid-Atlantic United States , so keeping your lawn thriving through our humid summers and icy winters is a battle against nature. Then spread the other half of the seed at a right angle to the first direction you walked in. Soil temperatures are ideal, too, resulting in quicker seed germination. If it is the first time for mowing, then you must be assured that it has appropriately grown and the roots are strong enough or not. Overseeding is a great way of making your lawn grow thick and full. Grass seed takes seven to 21 days to germinate. I would budget more hours/days than you think if you are planning to tackle a similar project. The dethatchers that are mentioned above are two examples of tools that can simplify the process. Post by xvrickh » Thu May 07, 2020 1:21 am. So what do you do if your lawn gets spotty or you have a construction project and the yard gets damaged. Ready to learn how to work smarter, not harder? For smaller lawns (like mine), a lawn level tool worked really well and made the job a lot easier. Here are the other benefits: Reduce Erosion – Grasses have compact root systems that provide a binding effect. Many older lawns can also benefit from overseeding. Remove any rubbish from the surface of the lawn before mowing. Then, take your lawn to rid it of any grass or debris. Hand holding grass seed. This is especially helpful when you’re using a seed spreader that simply drops seeds onto the grass, which allows long grass to interfere and mess up your dispersal. Depending on how thick your lawn is depends on how many pounds of seed per 1,000 ft. 2. Depending on where you live, overseeding can be done all the way through September and into early October. While overseeding will help bring your lawn back to its best, if there are underlying problems causing bare spots or poor growth, it’s only bandaging the wound. For example: a mild cool-season seed and a mild warm-season seed can fit together nicely. Alternatively, if you’re willing to buy or rent a slit seeder, slit seeding can be another effective way of dispersing seeds. Continue to water 2 times per day for the first 2 weeks while the majority of germination occurs, and slowly reduce the amount over the next week before returning to your standard maintenance schedule. Every year, the battle against patchy, thinning lawns continues. Even if your new soil has fertilizer in it, it may still be worthwhile to fertilize your lawn with a fertilizer spreader. If you don’t have a good spreader, mix your seed with sand and spread it with your hand especially if your lawn is small. Essential Home and Garden provides trustworthy reviews, guides and tips for anything and everything to do with the home and garden. These 3 nutrients help to create green, healthy, and resilient grass by aiding germination and growth. In this post, you'll get answers to common questions, including If you choose, you can also use a slice seeder, or a slit slice seeder. This very thin layer should include an enriched soil that nourishes your existing soil and provides a positive growing environment for new seed. Joe's client base includes professional turf managers serving the lawn care, sports turf and golf course industries. Overseeding by hand uglifide. Aeration and overseeding are great courses of action for thinning grassy areas because they help introduce new grass seed and foster germination throughout the lawn. They are generally inexpensive and are more precise than spreading by hand. Alternatively, if there is a part of your yard that isn’t reached by your sprinkler system or hose, the lack of water can cause patchiness or discoloration as well. Regardless of how much time you spend in your yard, your grass can begin to look thin and brown as it ages, and the best way to restore its appearance and vitality is with overseeding. 3 posts • Page 1 of 1. Overseeding makes your lawn more green. Overseeding Lawns. Overseeding a lawn in fall is ideal if you’re growing cool season grasses. Hands down, early fall is the best time to overseed your lawn. A healthy lawn is green and lush and doesn’t have any unsightly dead or bare patches. Also, … Spreading grass seed and fertiliser is pretty easy to do by hand if you only have a small lawn. Filling in the thin spots will give you a fuller, more complete, and uniform lawn that will make neighbors jealous. All these factors create the perfect late summer/early fall window for overseeding your lawn. Maybe you used your garden a lot, and there was foot traffic, or dry patches appeared both from the sun and uneven irrigation. If you have an irrigation system, this is easy to do. The clippings can be saved for later or used on a piece of lawn that isn’t being overseeded. To give your grass new life, you might consider aeration and overseeding, or making holes in the soil to plant new seedlings. Here are great tips for overseeding your lawn without aerating: Make sure there’s good good seed-to-soil contact. Lawn thatch is the layer of dead stems, leaves, and roots that sits directly atop your soil. This way, you can ensure that the weather conditions are suitable for growth. Then carefully spread half of the seed by broadcasting it over the entire area. It will do more to provide you with a thick, healthy, and weed-free lawn than just about anything else you can do. When there is existing turf, there are less resources (space, nutrients, water, and oxygen) available to each blade of grass. Fertilizer is an important part of fostering healthy growth for your new grass. Lawns sometimes experience damage due to fungal diseases, dogs, burrowing animals such as moles, human activity, and drought. Whenever you decide to begin the process of overseeding, you have to stop watering the lawn. If you have an irrigation system, this is easy to do. Everyone wants a beautiful green lawn, but after harsh winters or summers, your lawn can look a little patchy, thin, and dull. It contains nutrients that help the seeds to germinate, and enriches the soil the grass will grow in (plus the soil below it after watering). If overseeding lawns by hand, you should first divide the amount of seed you want to spread in half. Choose a single direction to walk while spreading the seed. Warm-season grass becomes dormant during the winter so many people opt to overseed with a cool-season grass seed so that their lawn experiences growth all year. Outside of requiring more watering than normal, you must allow up to 2 weeks for the seeds to begin germinating. Moving it by hand is a grind. As of the 3rd week, you should be able to resume normal activities and maintenance on your newer, thicker, and fuller lawn. If you are only doing small patches of your lawn, hand-spreading the seeds is also viable as long as you ensure it is evenly dispersed. 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