Sowing Grass Seed
Summary: Fall is the best time most professionals agree to sow grass seed, sowing seed on a slope can present a problem and require special treatment.
When sowing grass seed every authority states unequivocally that fall is the best time to seed, preferably in September after the months of hottest weather and when there is a good moisture condition.
If you seed in the fall the grass will thrive, but, nevertheless, the heaviest sales of seed are in the spring.
If you do seed in spring, start as early as the weather permits so good root growth can start before hot weather sets in. May plantings usually suffer from competition with crab grass and other summer weeds as well as from heat and inadequate moisture.
Usually it is best to make a temporary lawn of rye grass where seedings are necessary in late May or during the summer, and then turn this cover under for permanent seeding in early fall.
Grass seed is relatively small and must not be planted deeply. Cover larger seeds such as rye grass and chewings fescue with soil to provide enough contact with the moist soil for germination and growth.
Small seeds such as the bent grasses need only partial covering in moist seasons. You will need roughly 4 pounds of seed for 1,000 square feet of lawn; heavier seeding will not make up for poor-quality seed or a poorly prepared seedbed as it merely causes an excess of competition between seedlings.
If possible, use a mechanical spreader. Whether by hand or spreader, sow by dividing the seed, spreading part in one direction, the rest crosswise to the first. This insures even coverage and lessens the chance of missed spots or wind rows.
Rake the seed lightly. Then roll lightly to firm the seed into the soil. Small lawns may be top-dressed with 1/8 inch or so of screened soil or compost.
Sowing Grass Seed On Slopes Require Special Treatment
Slopes require special treatment as new seedlings on them are likely to be washed by heavy rains. You can use straw to cover them, but it must be picked up as soon as the grass gets started. Or the new seeding can be promptly covered with open mesh burlap or cheesecloth or a special garden-supply stock of open mesh cloth that can be left in place to rot and become part of the soil.
This prevents soil erosion and keeps the soil surface moist, protecting the young seedlings from damage by exposure to the sun. Ordinary burlap should be removed when grass sprouts are 1/2 to 1/4 inch long.
Natural rainfall is best for new seeding, but if the weather is dry it is necessary to water for prompt germination. Do your watering in the morning, with a fine mist like spray to avoid puddling or crust formation.
Once the seed has started to sprout, the moisture supply must be constant or the plants may die. For level places use a sprinkler and get the soil wet at least 5 inches with each watering, but don’t keep watering until the soil is waterlogged and too compact.
For slopes use a drip hose so that the water will ooze out slowly in big drops and go off into the soil quickly.
Seed mixtures in new plantings develop unevenly. The “nurse” grasses (such as rye grass), and the semi-permanent types will grow rapidly.
To prevent their damaging the slower-starting permanent grasses, such as the bluegrasses, by their shade or competition for moisture and soil nutrients, begin mowing when the tallest grass is 2 inches. Do not mow shorter than 1-1/2 inches.
Sowing Grass Seed – Time and Method
A vast accumulation of evidence goes to prove that the best time for sowing a new lawn or repairing an old one for that matter is in late August or early September. If the lawn must be made in the spring, sowing should be done at the earliest possible moment.
Fall sowing enables the turf to get a good start and form a thick mat with less competition from weeds most of which do not germinate until fairly late in the spring. The obnoxious and dreaded crab grass for instance, does not start until late May or early June. Unless the grass plants are already well established, they stand little chance in competition with it.
Four pounds of a good lawn seed mixture is sufficient for a thousand square feet of lawn. (This will supply approximately two thousand seeds per square foot!) If the seed is to be sown by hand it is advisable to mark off the lawn surface with string or with a rake handle in squares approximately ten feet each way.
How to Distribute Grass Seed
Half of the seed is then distributed going over the ground in one direction and the other half going over it again at right angles to the first sowing. Early in the morning or just at dusk the air is much more likely to be perfectly still so the seed is not blown about. More even distribution can be had by using a seeding machine. After sowing, the seed is gently raked in and the whole area rolled.
After seeding, it is highly important that the surface never dries out even for a few hours until the seed has thoroughly germinated. This usually will require not more than ten days. If artificial watering must be resorted to, the utmost care is taken to apply it slowly and gently so that no “water channels” form on the surface and run off carrying some of the seed with them with the result that there will be thick bunches of grass in some spots and bare places in others. A very thorough soaking immediately after seeding, moistening the ground to a depth of several inches, will make it unnecessary to water heavily again until after the seed is well up.
The first mowing of the new lawn should not be made until the new grasses (some of which grow much more rapidly than others) are about two inches tall. The mower should be set to cut high – well over an inch – so that it will just clip off the top. It is advisable to have it newly sharpened and to do the cutting only when both soil and grass are dry. Otherwise many of the tiny grass plants may be pulled out by the roots. Where there is any tendency for this to happen, a light rolling will firm the soil again. It should be followed by a thorough watering if the weather is dry.
Lawn Seed Selection For Your Lawn
When you select seed for your lawn, the main consideration is the exposure to sun and shade your grounds afford. Most commercial blends are adapted to full sun or medium shade. A special blend should be used where there is less than three or four hours of sunlight a day, as under trees, or where soils are dry and poor. In general, heavy grass seed is most free from chaff and is most economical in the long run, while a cheaper, lighter seed germinates less rapidly.
Kentucky bluegrass is considered the best lawn grass, but there are years when it is in short supply, and it has the disadvantage of needing a resting period in midsummer and, also, of soiling light-colored clothes. It does form a thick turf and it will grow in alkaline or slightly acid soil, resisting weeds to an extent.
For putting-green lawns for a small area on a terrace or in a garden, bent grasses are used. Colonial bent is widely used in mixtures. thriving as it does under less favorable conditions than those required by creeping bent or velvet bent. The bent grasses are low-growing, fast-spreading grasses, needing frequent mowing and top-dress.
Redtop combines well with Kentucky bluegrass because it rests in fall after the bluegrass has recovered, and it does not stain.
Chewings fescue is a fine-textured shade grass. Maturing late in the season, the various fescues resist midsummer drought, grow well in acid soil and fight weeds.
For new lawns, rye grass, a perennial, is a tough, quick – growing grass which helps keep out weeds until the lawn is under way.
Bermuda grass is used in the South and the Southwest, where soil is sandy.
Whether or not clover is to be used with these grasses is a personal matter. With its white flower and its tendency to grow in patches, it spoils the continuity of the turf, but, on the other hand, it will grow in poor soil, edging out weeds that might grow in these areas.
A mixture of grasses gives better satisfaction than a single species as a rule, because the various grasses are active in development at different seasons. Mixtures stand up against disease and disorders that will attack one grass and leave another alone.
