Starting New Lawns: Sod Is Not The Only Way To New Lawns!
When starting new lawns, laying down sod is not always the way to go. An overseed lawn offers some advantages over sod that some people overlook. Starting your lawn from seed does offer advantages. It’s cheaper and there are more grass types to choose from.
Pick a grass type that fits your region and you can also choose a different type for each location of your yard. When you start new lawns having good soil preparation is the key to a great lawn.
1. Start with some soil pH testing. The soil pH for most grasses should be between 6.0 and 7.5. Any adjustments will be added during the tilling.
2. Now you want to remove any old grass and all weeds. Make sure you get the roots by digging them out for proper weed control.
3. Using a rototiller, you now want to break up the compacted soil. You can rent a rototiller from your local rental store or home improvement store.
4. With the soil nice and loose it is time to spread a starter fertilizer and some compost. This is also when you want to make your adjustments for the soil pH level. A starter fertilizer is high in Phosphorus which is the “P” in NPK that you will find on the fertilizer bag.
5. Till the fertilizer & compost into the soil making sure you do not have any big clumps.
6. Level out the soil using a rake. Make sure that the soil is graded away from the house so that the water will run away from the house.
7. Finish off the leveling with a roller. You can rent rollers at the same place you rented the tiller. Filling the roller drum with water makes it heavy enough to flatten the soil.
8. Fill in any low spots that would cause pooling in your yard and lightly water the soil.
9. Now it’s time to spread the seed. You will need a seed spreader that you can also rent if you don’t have one. Use the recommended settings that you will find on the seed bag. Push the spreader in different directions so that the seed is spread evenly and everywhere.
10. Rake out any seed piles that accrued during the spreading.
11. Using the roller with no water this time, roll the surface to lightly put the seed into the soil.
12. Now it is time to water the new lawn. Using a fine spray so that you don’t push the seed around is best. Watering a few times a day may be needed for good germination. The soil does need to stay moist so keep an eye on all new lawns.
If you lay down a sod lawn you still need to do the first 8 steps before you can lay your sod.
Good lawn maintenance is essential to long lasting lawns and it makes the lawn mowing that must easier.
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[...] For new lawns, it’s all in the soil preparation that gets you off to the right start. But for those with an established lawn, doing the small things will pay off bigger. For the colder regions September is the month to get it done. [...]