Seeding

Follow these key steps when doing any seeding and the whole street will be asking for you to come over and take a look at their lawn:

Ground Preparation

Solving any underlying issues is essential for a thriving lawn each year. Removing excess thatch (dead layer of material in between the grass and the soil), aerating to reduce compaction and improve drainage, top dressing to improve soil composition and drainage, and pest, moss and weed removal are all key to achieving a great lawn.

Overseeding

Choose Your Weapon

First make sure you choose the correct seed. Generally people want a hard-wearing and strong lawn to cope with general usage and ryegrass strains are perfect for this. If you are looking for a bowls or golfing green then you will want to look at fescues which are much finer but harder to maintain.

Mow Short

Mow your lawn short (ideally to around an inch) before seeding as you don’t want to be mowing while your new seedlings are establishing as it can damage them.

Spread Seed

Spread seed using a handheld spreader or by hand and make sure there is an even coverage. Each seed will have recommended application rates for overseeding and seeding from scratch. 

Apply seed with topdressing or topsoil to increase seed to soil contact. Soil contact is CRUCIAL for germination. If you aren’t using a topdressing or topsoil then rake the seed in gently to make sure it has access to the soil. 

You can go over the freshly seeded lawn with a roller or tread it in to improve soil contact.

Constant Moisture

Now all you must do is stop the lawn from drying out. 

Week 1 - 2 

Water with a very fine spray, twice a day if possible. Large droplets or heavy watering will move or puddle the seed destroying the even distribution. 

Week 3 - 4 

Water once a day or every other day. If things start drying out, increase the frequency. 

Week 5 - 8 

Water more heavily and less frequently; twice a week will do. 

Week 9 and beyond 

Water once a week and keep watering if things get dry. New grass is prone to drying in the first six months. 

Other Points To Consider:

• Try to avoid watering at night regularly as it promotes disease and pests. 
• If the lawn is moist from rainfall you do not have to stick to these recommendations. 
• In warmer periods and during the summer, you will have to increase the amount that you water. At a minimum make sure that you keep the soil constantly moist for the first few weeks or your new grass will not germinate.
• You can seed at any point during the growing season (late March to early October depending on the weather) but be aware seed only germinates at around 8-12C soil temperature. Soil temperature stays fairly consistent once it gets up to those numbers so don’t worry about outside temperature fluctuations (British weather!) but you can always use a soil probe to check.
• Try to wait until the new grass hits 5cm before mowing. When you mow, be very careful, make sure the grass is dry and your mower is sharp. Cut on the highest setting possible. 
• Avoid using the lawn for the first 4 weeks so you don’t damage the new grass and keep activity light until 8 weeks after seeding.