Sowing Grass Seed

  Overview

The first consideration when starting a new lawn, or just beefing up an old lawn, is to choose the right type of grass for the situation. In most cases this will be a turf type tall Fescue (like Falcon or Crossfire) for our area here in Kentucky (transition zone between true Northern grasses and true Southern grasses).

Turf type Fescues make the best choice for high to medium maintenance turf, such as home lawns. These grasses take our mid-summer heat and occasional drought conditions better than other alternatives, and offer disease and insect resistance as well. They are the best choice for full sun, or light shade, and will tolerate up to medium shade conditions reasonably well. The bottom line is a greener, denser, and more durable turf that is easier to maintain.

  New Lawns and Renovating Old Lawns

1.   Plan ahead: While cool-season grasses will germinate any time the soil temperature stays above 55°, the best time to sow grass in our area is September. October is the second best month. For spring, March is the best time.

Fall sown grass has three seasons of potential growth before the hot weather of summer arrives. This gives ample time for a mature root system to develop.

3.  Renovating an older lawn: If there are many weeds, it may be best to kill the entire lawn beforehand. This will ensure that all hard to control weeds that have crept in over time are gone. Use a "total kill" herbicide, such as Round-up^® or Finale^®, in late July or August. Wait at least two weeks to make sure all weeds have died, and re-apply as needed until all vegetation is a toasty shade of brown. Any herbicides should be applied according to the label directions. This will inevitably require a brief waiting period before the actual seeding can be done. (Insecticides are not as harmful, and generally can be applied at any time.)

This is also a good time to fill any holes, and level those uneven areas.

4.  Prepare the seed bed: This will mean loosening the soil surface with a rake or similar tool. For larger areas, it is strongly recommended to use a "power seeder" (available at most rental houses), which does the soil preparation and seed dissemination in one, neat operation. (This is similar to the type of equipment used by golf courses and sod farms.) It is not necessary to use a tiller, or to strip away existing grass.

5.  Sow: After preparing the soil, sow seed evenly at the recommended rate, preferably with a spreader, and then lightly rake the seed into the loosened soil. This will insure good soil-to-seed contact. The recommended rate is 6-10 pounds per thousand square feet for tall Fescues, and 2-4 pounds per thousand square feet for ryes, bluegrass and creeping red Fescue.

Again, power seeders do all the work in one, easy step. They sow the seed through any existing lawn (whether alive or dead), at the desired rate, and place the seed into the soil surface. You do not have to remove dead grass in this case. In fact, having dead grass is good in that it acts like straw to help prevent evaporation and holds the seed in place.

6.  Mulching: Covering your seed with a mulch such as straw is optional. Straw (and similar products) can help during unusually warm weather, or cool weather, on steep slopes, or when regular watering is difficult. Straw essentially helps protect and insulate the new seed, and conserves moisture by preventing evaporation. If you seed at the proper time of year, do proper soil preparation, and can water as needed, then straw is not essential.

Straw, and similar mulching materials, will eventually rot all by themselves, so there is no need to remove them.

7.  Fertilization: Applying a "starter" fertilizer can be helpful, especially in poorer soils. This can be done either just before, or just after seeding. Do NOT use fertilizers that contain weed killers!

8.  Watering: Now water, water, water. The new seed must stay damp until the seed sprouts and begins to grow. Once sprouted, you can start backing off on the watering.

How much water is enough? This depends on the amount of rain, temperature, wind conditions, etc. During very hot weather, at least once a day may be required! You should be prepared for this if hot weather is a possibility.

You do not need to water deeply since the seed is at the soil surface. In fact, over-watering can be bad too. You want the surface to be damp, but not muddy (at least not muddy for prolonged periods of time or else the seed rots).

9.  Germination: How fast the new seed will germinate will depend on various factors such as seed type and soil temperature. The warmer the soil, the faster the seed will germinate. This is particularly noticeable with tall Fescues that germinate much faster in warm soil (such as in early Fall). Be prepared for a week or so wait in warm weather, to maybe three weeks in cooler weather.

Tall Fescue also germinates poorly if sufficient moisture is not continuously available. So keep that seed consistently damp! Improper watering is the number one reason for poor stands of new grass.

10.  Final Steps: Continue watering new grass as long as the weather is warm, and the grass continues to grow though you should decrease the frequency, and increase the duration to encourage deeper rooting. Fertilize your new lawn with a regular lawn fertilizer (no weed killers yet), once the grass has reached 1-2 inches tall. Lawn fertilizers have a high first number (e.g. 27-3-3). Fall happens to also be the best time of year to fertilize cool-season grasses like Fescues. New grass needs a little extra boost. Do a follow up fertilization 4-6 weeks after the initial fertilization if seeding in the Fall.

Fallen leaves should be removed at least once a week during Fall so as not to smother the young grass plants.

You should mow the new grass whenever it is ready -- that is when it gets to 4-5 inches tall. In fact, regular mowing will help the new grass to thicken, and will not hurt it.

After 2-3 mowings, you can start to use herbicides to remove weeds, if needed.

Now you can pour favorite libation, pat self on back, and smile.

FAQ

1. What is the best time of year to start a lawn or renovate in our area?

   September.

2. Is Tall Fescue really "tall"?

   Not any more than Bluegrass is "blue" or Creeping Red Fescue is "red". It's just a name.

3. Does Creeping Red Fescue "creep"?

   No.

4. Don't Fescues "clump"?

   They can, but only when sown sparsely. If sown at the recommended rate, there is no visible clumping. Also, the newer Turf Type Fescues do not clump nearly as badly as older Fescues, like Kentucky 31.

5. Can I use a Turf Type Fescue to improve a Bluegrass lawn?

   Yes, it is good choice for this, in fact. There is some difference in texture, that usually is only noticed if you look very closely. Most people will never notice the difference.

6. Isn't Fescue a wide bladed grass?

   It is a little wider bladed than Bluegrass or rye, but the newer varieties are thin enough so as not to be objectionable. You probably will not notice the difference.

7. How deep should I try to put my seed?

   The object is to get the seed into firm contact with the actual soil. So it does not need to be buried, or placed deeply. In fact, on the surface is fine, as long as the seed is touching soil (as opposed to dead grass). Ideally, the seed should be mixed lightly in the uppermost layer of soil.

8. Is there such a thing as too much shade?

   Yes, even so called shade grasses need a little direct sunlight. The rule of thumb is that direct sun is needed for about 25% of the day (or about 3 hours per day). Less than that, then getting any lawn grass to hold over a long period of time is difficult.

   Note that getting any grass to germinate in full shade is not difficult. In fact, you can do this in a closet. What will happen with excessive shade is that it will thin out slowly over time (typically during summer), until nothing is left.

9. What can I do about too much shade?

   • Prune or thin trees (if that is what causing the shade).

   • Use a decorative mulch, or a ground cover (like English Ivy) instead of grass.

   • Sow grass every Fall, knowing that it will thin out next summer. Perennial rye might make a good choice in this case, since it establishes relatively easily. Fall sowing means you will have grass for three seasons.

10. I have an area that I re-sow every year, but it dies out the next summer?

    This is either the result of too much shade. Or, you are sowing grass under a tree that grass will not grow under. Or both. Mature Sugar Maples and American Elms are two such trees. If you are using Creeping Red Fescue, then you have done all you can do to have grass.

11. What is the best shade grass? Or best shade mix?

    University testing has consistently shown that Creeping Red Fescue is the most shade tolerant grass for our area. Tall Fescues will tolerate medium shade (though may thin out somewhat).

    There is no real benefit to a "shade mix". You are better off just using the most shade tolerant grass -- Creeping Red Fescue.

12. How long does it take new grass to mature?

    This will vary not only with the grass type, but also the level of care and the time of year. Fertilizing, watering, and proper mowing will help any grass mature more quickly.

    Ryes will mature in 1-2 months. Bluegrass in 2-4 months, and tall Fescues will take up to a year to establish a full root system.

13. I want a really thick lawn. Can I just sow the seed extra heavy?

    Not a good idea. As the new grass begins to grow, mature, and naturally thicken up, it needs some elbow room. If sown too thickly, then it can start crowding itself out, with the result being dead spots.

    It is best to sow at the recommended rate, then use good maintenance practices to keep the lawn thick, i.e. fertilizing, watering, etc.

14. How long can I keep seed?

    If you don't use all your grass seed, store in a dry place. Seed will very gradually deteriorate over time. Keeping seed for a year or two should not be a problem (as long as it does not get wet).

15. My new lawn is full of weeds. Why and how?

    Does grass seed have weeds in it? It can. Check the label. All seed is required by state law to be tested yearly for things such as weed content. Realistically, it is impossible for any grower, growing hundreds of acres, to grow it all weed free. But, typically the weed content of better quality grasses is less than 1%. So there is relatively little weed potential in the new seed itself.

    More than likely what has happened is that the same activities you have used to get your grass to grow are exactly the same activities that might encourage latent weed seeds to get going too. Raking, repetitive watering, etc. is good way to stir up those weed seeds that are laying dormant in most lawns just waiting for the right moment to sprout.

    So, a few new weeds might be considered a bit of an occupational hazard. Not to worry. Wait until after the third mowing, and use a weed control product as required.

16. What happens if I just throw out a few handfuls of seed?

    Without soil preparation? You will just be trusting your luck. And the elements.

    For good germination, you will need:

    • Good soil to seed contact

    • Sufficient temperature

    • Sufficient moisture

    The more effort put into soil preparation, the better your chances of success.

17. Do I need to use a spreader to sow seed?

    Throwing out seed by hand is probably OK for very small areas, but it is impossible to sow seed evenly over larger areas this way. Small, hand spreaders are relatively inexpensive and worth the cost.

18. Do I need to de-thatch first?

    It is very unlikely that dethatching is needed. Thatch is something that very rarely gets out of hand with the typical grasses in our area.

    De-thatchers are sometimes used to prepare a seed bed. But this is only because the de-thatching action is very similar to what a rake can do.

19. If I kill my old lawn, do I have to remove the dead grass? How?

    No, it is not necessary. In fact, the existing lawn, whether dead or alive, will act much like straw and hold the new seed in place, while helping to prevent evaporation. So leaving the old grass there is a good thing. The trick is to get the seed placed through the grass, into the top layer of soil. Power seeders work nicely for this, and in fact, is just the situation they are designed for. For small areas, vigorous hand raking will work.

20. Is sod better than seed?

    Not really. Sod farms start their sod from seed. So typically do golf courses. But sod may be easier in some situations, especially where all you have is bare dirt, like in new home construction. And, of course, it's quicker. But, there is a trade off here since sod costs quite a bit more than seed. There are no other benefits to starting a lawn from sod. In fact, you have more choices when using seed. Sod does not work better in shade or other difficult situations.