Growing A Lawn From Seed - In just five weeks
you can grow a luscious green lawn.
 Preparing
Your Seedbed - The first step is to remove any large clumps of soil and
rubbish from the yard. Anything larger than a base ball must removed or broken
down.
Apply fertilizer over your entire yard, and then till. The
objective is to get your fertilizer mixed down to the root region.
Mix any topsoil that you have added to your
yard with soil beneath. If you do not mix these two layers, you can end up with
a layer of soil that will stop healthy roots from growing.
If
you plan to put in an automatic sprinkler water system, this is when you should
install it.
Bring the area to a finished grade. Use a garden rake for this. Level your soil
to insure there are no low spots where water can sit, or high spots that can be
cut too short by a lawn mower.
At this point roll the soil with a roller to compact it, and then spray gently
with water to settle the soil.
Seeding – You are now ready to fertilize and seed. It does not matter what you
do first, just do not mix the fertilizer with the seed.
Spread the fertilizer and seed using a spreader to get an even spread.
Mix the fertilizer and seed into the top quarter inch of soil using a light
rake. Do not go any deeper then a quarter of an inch, or you may inhibit the
seeds from germinating.
To get the seeds pressed firmly into the soil use a roller.
Mulching is not necessary but may be essential if you have to control weeds,
prevent soil erosion, or conserve moisture. Straw is the most common type of
mulch used. Do not mulch more than a quarter of an inch deep.
Watering - Water the area lightly. The top quarter inch of the area must remain moist
during the germination process.
Start by applying smaller amounts
of water on a regular basis, two or three times a day. Water your grass if more
often if the weather is very dry and hot. As the grass grows, reduce the rate of
the watering but increase the amount of water so that it penetrates deeper.
You can begin cutting you lawn when two-three inches tall. Cutting will improve
the growth and cut down on the number of weeds.
You should expect a few weeds to come up. Weeds grow faster than grass and come
from weed seeds in the soil. With repeated mowing, most of the weeds will be
eliminated.
If you seed in the spring or early summer, a chemical weed controller should be
used the following September. If you seed in the late summer or fall, do not use
any weed controller until next spring.
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