Home » Misc » Plant new grass

Plant new grass


How to Plant Grass Seed in a New Lawn

Starting a new lawn from scratch may seem like a formidable task, especially if you're new to home ownership or working on your first lawn. But planting a lawn from seed is easier than it seems at first glance. All you need is the willpower to make it happen—and good information to guide your steps.

Homeowners and lawn professionals have been trusting Pennington Seed for more than three generations. When Pennington says you can do this, you can. Just follow these 10 steps to plant a lawn from grass seed, and you can enjoy a thick, lush green lawn you'll be proud of:

  1. Time your planting right
  2. Test your soil
  3. Amend and improve your soil
  4. Choose the best seed
  5. Prepare the soil for planting
  6. Fertilize your soil
  7. Plant your seed
  8. Water your seed
  9. Maintain your new lawn
  10. Enjoy your new lawn

Get your lawn started right by seeding at the best time to plant grass seed. For northern lawns, that time is fall and spring. For warm-season southern grasses, it's late spring and early summer.

Grasses peak in growth during these times, and moderate temperatures help seed germinate and take root. Working with nature to give grass an advantage gets your lawn started on the right foot.

Take time for a simple soil test and you'll save yourself guesswork and wasted effort. Conditions in your soil, such as its pH level or percentages of organic matter, influence how well your new seed will grow.

Soil sampling is simple—and you'll feel like a DIY lawn pro. Plus, results and recommendations that come back from the soil lab will tell you what you're working with and what you need to do. Your county extension agent can help with test kits and info to get you started.

With your soil test results in hand, you're ahead of the game. You can fix your soil "just right" for healthy seedling growth. When soil pH is gets out balance, your grass can't take up nutrients, even if your soil is packed with what grass needs. Amendments fix that.

If soil is overly acidic, so pH is too low, your lawn may need lime to restore proper pH balance and nutrient availability. If your soil's short on organic matter, adding soil amendments such as compost upfront improves seed and grass growth down the road.

Low-quality seed leads to a low-quality lawn. There's no way around that truth. Every bag of seed sold has a label attached that's known as the seed tag. The seed tag tells you the different grass varieties inside, along with important quality factors like germination rates and percentages of weed seeds.

That low-quality grass seed that seems like a great buy? You'll think differently when grass seed doesn't germinate, but weed seeds do. Buying quality grass seed produced by a trusted company is the most economical and satisfying choice in the end. With Pennington Seed, exclusive Penkoted seed technology also protects seed with a layer of fungicide and growth stimulant that ensures healthier, better growth from the start.

Your local retailer will generally have grass seed suited to where you live, so your lawn can handle your area's winter cold and summer heat. If your lawn has lots of shade and trees, look for labels that specific grass for shady lawns. With Pennington Smart Seed grass seed, you'll also improve your lawn's sustainability. Once established, Smart Seed saves you up to 30 percent more water than ordinary grasses, year after year.

Before you seed, take time to clear the area of anything that might interfere with seed growth. Remove rocks or debris left behind by construction or nature. Rake the area with a yard or garden rake to smooth the surface and eliminate dirt clods and high or low spots.

Avoid using any weed killer before or after seeding your new lawn. Residue can prevent seed from germinating or kill tender young grass plants. If weed killers have been used on your seeding spot, wait at least three weeks before you plant grass seed.

Newly germinated seed needs feeding, so have a fertilizer to meet that need. Pennington UltraGreen Starter Fertilizer 22-23-4, formulated especially to start new lawns, keep feeding your grass for up to three months. Spread fertilizer on your soil with a regular lawn spreader before you sow your seed. The product package will tell you what spreader settings and how much fertilizer to use.

Once your lawn gets rolling, a premium lawn fertilizer such as Pennington UltraGreen Lawn Fertilizer 34-0-4 takes over a regular fertilizer schedule. Both these fertilizers protect against nitrogen loss to the environment, so the nutrients you add stay available to your seed.

Use a lawn spreader to distribute seed uniformly across your new lawn area. Just follow the instructions on your seed bag label, and you'll get your spreader settings and seeding rates right.

Once your seed is down, rake the area again to work seed into the soil about 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep. Seed needs light to germinate so don't plant too deep—and don't worry about birds eating your seed. Pennington's green seed color camouflages seed so birds leave it alone.

Watering is the most crucial part of starting a new lawn. Water daily so the newly planted area stays moist—water twice daily, if needed. Water so the top 1/2 inch of soil remains consistently moist, but water doesn't stay puddled on the surface. Keep the area moist as seed germinates and your new grass grows to mowing height.

Depending on the type of grass you plant, germination can take between five and 21 days. Your product label will tell you what to expect. As the grass grow, gradually transition your watering to aregular lawn watering schedule. Established lawns generally need about 1 inch of water every week, from irrigation or from rainfall.


New seed can take a month or two before it's ready for mowing. Wait until all your seed sprouts and grass grows about 1 1/2 times the recommended mowing height for your grass.

Once you mow, following best mowing practices and never take off more than one-third of the grass's height in a single mowing. Taking off too much as once affects the grass's food and energy reserves. As a general rule, don't use any weed killers or weed & feed fertilizers on your new lawn areas until they've been mowed three or four times.

Once you've mowed your new lawn three or four times, the roots are ready for some traffic. Take it easy on new grass the first growing season, but don't hesitate to enjoy all the benefits your sustainable lawn brings. Grass helps purify the air and water around you, and a beautiful lawn kicks up your home's curb appeal. Perhaps most of all, a healthy, well-maintained lawn provides a beautiful green backdrop to reconnect with nature and with family and friends.

With these ten simple steps, you're on your way to experiencing the satisfaction and pride that comes from creating a beautiful, thick, lush lawn. At Pennington, we're here every step of the way—from the finest grass seed to premium lawn care products to help your lawn thrive—so you can grow a lawn you're proud to call your own.

How to Plant Grass Seed in Six Steps

If your spouse keeps telling you the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you might want to tackle the naked-earth lawn chore you’ve been dodging. We’ll show you how to plant grass seed in six steps. You’ll complete one of the most satisfying outdoor tasks a homeowner can accomplish (and maybe save your relationship).

Here’s how to plant grass seed in six simple steps:

Step 1: Remove the Existing Grass

Is your lawn happily surviving? If your grass is good, but could be better, you could overseed to plump up the existing lawn. For bare spots, use garden tools to roughen up the soil first. Then spread the grass seed over to fill in the bare patches.

If your yard is where feisty weeds go to party and half of your lawn lies naked, you should plan to renovate — remove the old vegetation. New baby grass seedlings cannot compete with that mess. If you’re starting from scratch with a new home build, and establishing a new lawn, you can skip to Step 2.

There are two ways to clean your lawn’s slate:

OR

Once the weeds and old sod are removed, loosen the soil bed so the new grass seeds’ roots can easily grow through. You can use hand tools (and your toughest friends), a tiller, or core aerator. You can find tillers and aerators at rental companies, as well. 

Fill low spots in your yard using a half-and-half mixture of sand and topsoil. If necessary, grade your yard to keep rain or water flowing away from your home.

Step 2: Do a Soil Test, then Add Amendments

Once you have renovated your lawn – exposed and leveled the planting surface – you’ll need to test your soil for the best grass germination and growth. Test the soil as soon as you can. There can be a wait of up to two weeks for results and you could miss your ideal planting window. 

At a minimum, you should test for pH. This is a measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of your soil. Most grasses like slightly acidic soil, with a pH of 6.2 to 7.

A simple moisture and pH tester can be found for $10. For about $20, you could test for the major nutrients in your soil. Your results will show the N, P, and K: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash.

The best soil tests include major and minor nutrients. Your state Extension service and private labs offer these services. Keep in mind your local Extension office can also provide great information and insight that private labs can’t, and usually at a lower cost.

Here are four very good soil tests you can buy on Amazon.

The test results should give you a plan and shopping list for your local garden shop. Follow application instructions carefully and add soil amendments to restore what it lacks. Again, use a tiller or hand tools to work the amendments in to a depth of 1-4 inches.

Step 3: Choose the Best Seed for Your Region

Your local seed expert will always give you the best advice when choosing your seed. Local Extension offices, seed stores, and agricultural suppliers are experienced and understand the microclimates of your area. 

In northern states, select cool-season grass, which grows best when temperatures are 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Cool-season grasses thrive in the late spring and early fall months in the northern two-thirds of the United States.  

People living in Southern states should select a warm-season grass seed. Warm-season grasses thrive from late spring through summer. 

Between the North and South is the transition zone where summers are hot and winters are cold. You’ll either need to find the most cold-tolerant warm-season grass available, or the most heat-tolerant cool-season grass.

Best Cool-Season Grasses for Northern States

Best Warm-Season Grasses for Southern States

Best Grasses for Transition Zone States

The transition zone is a blend of temperature highs and lows, humidity, summer deluges, and drought.

Single Variety, Blend, or Grass Seed Mix?

In addition to high-quality grass seed to match your climate, you also need to consider your lawn’s unique properties.

Knowing your terrain will help you home in on the formulation of seed you want. Seeds are sold as pure seeds of one variety, blends (multiple types of the same variety), and mixtures (seed blends of different varieties).

Pure seed will give you a unified look. Blends will be less uniform, but one variety may cover up for the weaknesses of another. Grass seed mixtures provide the most biologically diverse lawn: the grass plants won’t look identical, but your lawn has a better chance of surviving diseases and droughts.

Step 4: Best Time to Plant Grass Seed

For cool season grass seeds, either spring or fall are the preferred times, since these northern varieties of grass prefer warm soil and cool air.

In the South, warm-season grasses can be planted from late spring to mid-summer. Wait until the last chance of a late frost has passed, and the daytime temperature is in the 80s.

One of the biggest keys to success is picking a high-quality seed that is right for your climate.

Federal Seed Act Ensures Proper Labeling

When it comes to selecting seeds, the Federal Seed Act requires seed sellers to provide consumers with valuable information on the seed’s label.

Under the law, the label must tell you:

Pure Grass Seed or Fertilizer/Mulch Mix?

You have one final decision to make. Are you going to purchase a seed that incorporates fertilizer and mulch, or purchase fertilizer and mulch separately? The all-in-one products are more expensive but are convenient.

Measure your lawn area in square feet, and purchase enough seed to cover that area. Usually, seed bags are marked as the number of pounds needed per 1,000 square feet. If possible, buy a little more than needed in case you want to reseed some bare spots.

If you are fertilizing separately, broadcast the fertilizer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Plant your Grass Seed and Fertilizer

To plant grass seed in small areas, hand-seeding is fine. For larger areas, seeders and spreaders provide more precise coverage. You can find hand-cranked spreaders, chest-mounted, or push-from-behind seeders. Drop seeders drop seeds directly below the unit. There are more expensive commercial seeding options as well.

Follow the instructions on the seed bag. If the seeder’s lowest setting seems too generous with the seed, thin it out with sand or vermiculite.

“We call it ‘the seed-soil contact,’” said University of Illinois Extension office educator Richard Hentschel. “You want good seed-soil contact. If the seed and soil are not in intimate contact, the little root radicle may die out before it hits the soil.” The radicle is the first root to emerge from a seed.

If you have hilly areas, seeds will tend to wash away to a low point. One potential solution is hydroseeding: broadcasting seeds that are suspended in a fertilizer-mulch slurry. Professional landscapers often offer hydroseeding services, and there are some hose-end sprayers for the do-it-yourselfers.

Lawn-Starting Fertilizer: Watch the Phosphorus

You need to find out if your state restricts using fertilizers containing phosphorus. Most laws carve out an exception and allow limited application of phosphorus on new lawns, but turf experts say to let your soil test be your guide. If it says that your soil lacks phosphorus, then it’s acceptable.

Step 5: Aqua and Attention

Keep a careful eye on your new grass seeds. They only get one shot to germinate, so what you do now is critical. That means water. Keep in mind that different grass plants germinate at different times, so if you have a mixture of grass seeds, you’ll need to keep watering them until the slowest-germinating species emerges.

A misting attachment on your hose can cut down on the amount of force you use. Part of your lawn may be shadier, part may have more porous soil, or part may be sloped. Adjust your watering according to your lawn’s needs.

Grass Seed Germination Rates, by Grass Type

Even if you planted just one turfgrass variety, the grass seeds won’t all pop up at once. Some will be buried a bit deeper or have a different rate of water absorption. Stay with your watering regimen until you’re sure the seeds have germinated.

Keep foot traffic to a minimum. You could consider putting up “Please keep off the new grass” signs to discourage accidental trampling by your kids and neighbors (and their dogs).

Step 6: When to Give your New Lawn its First Mow

Hooray! Your new lawn is green and it’s growing well.

Here’s how tall your grass should be before you mow for the first time:

Treat your New Grass like a Baby

Take advice from the ‘70s band, The Eagles. Slow down and take it easy the first few times you mow your new turfgrass. The roots won’t be long or well-established, so it will be easy to accidentally rip up the young plants. 

Here are a few tips to ensure a successful first mow:

After the first mow, cut back on frequent shallow watering, and switch to watering a couple of times a week, deeply. Water six or eight inches deep to encourage your new lawn to root deeply. Once established the lawn will start spreading to cover any gaps.

After eight weeks, your lawn should be well-established. Hit it with a little more fertilizer to encourage deep roots, and take down your “Please keep off the new grass” signs; your new lawn is ready for fun.

FAQ

Does Grass Seed Grow if I Throw It on the Ground?

It’s unlikely that grass seeds will grow on top of flat, bare soil. The seeds may germinate but the roots won’t be strong enough to penetrate the soil. It’s best to rough up the soil before sowing for the best seed-to-soil contact.

Does Grass Seed Need to be Covered?

Don’t cover grass seed with topsoil. The seed needs light to germinate. To protect the seed from birds and washing away, use straw (weed-free) or an erosion-control blanket.

How Long Until My Grass Pops Up?

Expect to see tiny grass blades in 10-14 days. Other varieties of seed may take up to 30 days.

DIY or LSE (Let Someone Else)?

Some homeowners and renters love being weekend warriors, but some of the rest of us prefer anything else.

If you’re like me, and you would rather reap the rewards of great grass someone else sowed and mowed, consider hiring a lawn care pro. Give them a call early so they can begin testing and sowing seeds at the proper planting time for your area.

* Editorial Note: LawnStarter participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. LawnStarter may earn revenue from products promoted in this article.

LawnStarter writer Penny Warner updated this article.

Daniel Ray

Daniel Ray is LawnStarter.com's former editor in chief. He is an award-winning writer and editor who previously was editor in chief of the personal finance websites Bankrate.com and CreditCards.com, but with 30 years of gardening experience, he's well qualified to help consumers grow a different kind of green.

Posts by Daniel Ray

How to sow lawn grass on an old lawn

We planted potatoes - now you can take on the lawn with peace of mind. What to do if it evenly thins out or even forms frank bald spots? Do not worry, any lawn will thin out over time. You can do a transfer! We will tell you how to update the lawn grass without removing the old one.

Step 1. Understand the cause of the problem

Why do you want to sow the lawn on the old one? If bald spots appear, it is worth considering why this happened: lack or excess of moisture, diseases, mosses and lichens, frosts and other factors.

Look at the lawn:

Be sure to eliminate harmful factors so that bald spots do not reappear and your work is not wasted.

Step 2: Assess the size of the problem

If more than 40% of the lawn is damaged, seed from scratch with a new cover. Here, simply sowing on the old grass will not work. If bald spots occupy less than 40% of the lawn, then we add new seeds - we do re-seeding. This is just the topic of our article.

Stage 3. Choose the time

Reseeding is best done in summer, when there are no more frosts and the ground has warmed up to +10 °C. Make the first haircut of the seasons, let the grass turn green, start growing. So you will know exactly where there are bald spots or diseases.

Stage 4. Weeding

As we said above, the site must be treated for diseases, cut, assess the extent of the problems and be sure to weed the weeds.

Step 5. Make planting holes with the mower

Walk the mower all over the lawn, plunging the cultivator legs 5-10 mm into the soil - this will create holes for seeding. Collect garbage with a rake.

Step 6. Water and fertilize

Water the lawn properly, making sure it is evenly moistened. Apply nitrogen fertilizer after watering.

Step 7. Sow the seeds

You can spread the seeds over the lawn manually, or you can use a seeder - a centrifugal or connected to a scarifier. Buy the same mixture as you had. And if there is another, then the color of the lawn will be different.

Step 8. Dealing with bald spots

overlapping on a living lawn so that there are no “seams” left. From above, powder the seeds with that layer of fertile soil that you removed at the beginning. And water everything.

What to do next?

After reseeding, water the lawn every day: after 6 pm or in the morning until 10 pm. Until the grass sprouts and takes root (the first week - two weeks), do not let people and animals on the lawn. If it suddenly started to rain, then cover the area with spanbond or some kind of textile, burlap.

After sowing, the weed will definitely start to grow! You do not weed it, so as not to pull out a part of the thin lawn grass with a weed. Experienced ones advise simply cutting off strong weeds with scissors or pruners at the root - and then the grass itself, growing up, will clog this weed.

And if the lawn does not germinate well

Do not rush to conclusions and do not rush to sow. Lawn mixes are different grasses. Some are tender, their stems are not yet visible, plus herbs have different germination times. And even if only part of the crop sprouts, the lawn grows rapidly on its own - there would be young grass.

Wait about a month for germination, or even better - before the first haircut. Then it will become clear whether underseeding is needed.

Have a nice lawn!

How to sow grass on an already growing lawn?

Many owners of suburban areas who have lawns on their territory have encountered the problem of bald spots. And after all, how insulting, so much work was invested, everything turned out, the lawn has been pleased with its appearance for a long time, and now dry spots have appeared or even worse - its entire area has begun to dry out. What caused such a problem and how to sow grass on an already growing lawn?

Why does the lawn dry up?

No matter how sad it was to realize, but the dried patches that appeared on the lawns can be the first heralds that the grass surface is dying. Why is this happening?

  1. The most common reason is that top dressing was carried out not according to the rules and with negligence. It is possible that a large amount of fertilizer containing nitrogen and iron was introduced. But a rare top dressing also leads to such a result. Ideally, it is recommended to fertilize the lawn soil 3-4 times throughout the season.
  2. Another reason for lawn grass to dry out can be a lack of moisture. Anyone, even just a novice lawn owner, should be guided by the basic rule - the grass must be watered regularly. Watering should also be done correctly, not when you want, but during the low position of the sun in the sky, that is, in the morning or evening. If watered on a hot afternoon, it is fraught with an unpleasant "lens effect". Water drops remaining on the plants, like small lenses, will collect the rays of the sun at one point. Delicate grass stalks are damaged by this. When the summer is especially hot and dry, the lawn needs additional moisture, it is best to solve this problem by installing sprinklers.
  3. The bald spots may be caused by some grass diseases. The most common of all herbal sores is red thread. Most often, this disease occurs in the autumn, the grass begins to become covered with pink veins and turn yellow, and this happens massively. To avoid such a problem, preventive measures are needed: periodically feed the lawn with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, protect the grass from excess moisture.
  4. Mowing the turf too low can also affect the discoloration of the lawn. Set the lawnmower settings correctly so that it does not cut the grass so short. Thus, you will protect your green carpet from bald spots and give it a stunning look.
  5. Very often the cause of the problem is banal - the urine of pets. If the lawn is overfed and there is an excess of nitrogen in the soil, then the urine of the animal enters into a chemical reaction with it, as a result of which the grass burns out and a stain appears. In this case, first aid can be provided to the lawn by abundantly watering the drying area with water (thus, it will be possible to neutralize the effect of nitrogen). Well, then make sure that your animals do their business elsewhere. In the case when animals are alien (stray dogs and cats), you can install special ultrasonic repellers, you can buy them without problems.
  6. The lawn coating can also dry out under the influence of other external factors. For example, garbage. Treat the grass with care, any waste should not be there at all. When developing soil for a lawn cover, do not try to bury any remnants of construction debris in the soil. On already growing lawn grass, be careful not to spill or stain gasoline or machine oil when working with a lawn mower or aerator.

Don't despair if you find bald patches on your lawn. This does not mean that he is already hopelessly gone. You can try to save it by regular watering and mowing. After several procedures, the lawn can recover. If this does not help, the lawn should be overseeded.

If there are bald spots on the lawn

The best time to sow lawn grass seed is in autumn or early spring.

The ideal option would be to use the same grass mixture that was purchased when forming the lawn. If you no longer have these seeds and cannot find them on sale, then try to choose a mixture of herbs that is as close as possible in composition to what is growing on your lawn.

Special turf seed repair mixes are now sold, including fast growing varieties. But in this case, be prepared for the fact that the color, structure of stems and leaves, the intensity of grass growth in the sown area will differ markedly from the rest of the lawn.

It is up to turf owners to decide what is more important to them - the speed of recovery of a damaged turf or its uniformity and quality appearance.

If the turf in certain areas is severely damaged, the following measures must be taken:

Here is a general lawn rescue method. But there are situations when overseeding will not save, it is necessary to start by eliminating the causes of bald spots. For example, if the appearance of the lawn has deteriorated due to the fact that part of it is located in the shade, then only sowing shade-tolerant plants will be the only salvation.

Lawn renewal by overseeding

And now consider another option.

Despite regular feeding of the lawn, over time, the plants still slow down their growth. If the lawn is not oversown, the grass will become sparse, will weakly resist diseases and pests, and weeds will gradually displace it and take over the lawn space. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly and correctly sow the growing lawn.

The ideal time for such overseeding will be September, then the grass will have time to take root before the onset of frost. If for some reason you did not manage to do this on warm September days, then overseeding already with the onset of spring.

Mow the growing lawn to a height of 2.5 to 4 cm. Such a short cut will allow new seeds not to get lost among the tall grass, and young shoots will then receive a sufficient amount of sunlight.

All cut grass is removed from the lawn.

During the life of the lawn cover, a straw layer accumulates on the surface, its basis is dead organic matter. Such straw creates obstacles for the growth of new seeds, because they need to be in direct contact with the soil. Therefore, the soil from an unnecessary layer must be cleaned, for which a special rake is used.

The next step will be loosening the soil. Here you yourself must decide, based on how dense the soil on the lawn is. Either apply rotary cultivation to a depth of 2.5 to 5 cm, or work the soil with a heavy rake. You can choose the "golden mean" - aeration. Do this with special wide forks, carefully so as not to disturb the basic structure of the soil.

Determine the pH of your soil, ideally it should range from 6.0 to 6.8. For this procedure, special kits are sold, there are detailed instructions, so it will not be difficult to conduct such a test on your own. If necessary, apply lime to the lawn to balance the acidity of the soil.

In order for seeds to germinate well and young shoots to sprout, feed the soil with compost, it will give the plants additional nutrition. You don't need much, use a rake to spread the compost over the entire surface in a thin layer.

Fertilize your lawn with a fast acting nitrogen complex.

Using a rotary or manual planter, scatter the seeds over the lawn. So that they are well fixed in the soil, treat the area with a rake.

Water lawn area liberally.

Learn more