Introduction
Planting grass on our lawns is one way of decorating our landscapes and giving an aesthetic appeal to your house environment. Various procedures can be used to plant grass seeds on your lawn. In this article, you will learn how to overseed the lawn without aerating it.
Do you need to aerate before overseeding?
It is not necessary to aerate your lawn before overseeding though many people do. It makes less sense to aerate and overseed at the same. When you aerate the yard, it becomes denser with little holes where the seeds can fall into. However, the seeds’ growth will not be good unless the aeration is done during a season when the grass is in an exponential growth mode. This means summer season for warm-season grasses and spring season for cool-season lawns. If you do not aerate the land before overseeding, the grasses become more established even before their competition.
Know- How to choose right lawn mower mower for your lawn to cut over-height grass!
How do I overseed my lawn without aeration?
Overseeding without aeration is possible, and you can do so by following the mentioned steps below.
- Loose the soil for it to be an excellent bed for sowing the seedlings. This can be enhanced by using a rake to remove clippings, dead grass and debris. If you do not have a rake, you can use a dethatcher or a lawn aerator.
- Spread the seeds with a drop spreader or a broadcast. You ought to apply the seed at a rate that is specific to your needs. You can also use your hand to spread the seed if the lawn area is small.
- Apply fertilizer. In applying the fertilizer, you should use approximately two pounds of starter fertilizer in a 100square feet lawn. Use your rake to rake combine mix the seeds and the fertilizer in the soil. This ensures that both the seed and fertilizer have good contact with the soil.
- Water your lawn. When watering the lawn, do it lightly to ensure that the seeds do not get dislodged or float in water. It is advisable to water the garden twice a day so that you keep the soil moist.
- Mow your lawn up to a height of one and a half inches until the seedlings are established. This will help in preventing the tall grass form shading the upcoming seedlings. Use a sharper mower so as to minimize the chances of removing delicate grass seedlings.
- Fertilize the lawn with nitrogen. This should be done weeks later after overseeding.
Can you put grass seed on top of an existing lawn?
Yes, you can put grass seed on an existing lawn, and this process is what is called overseeding. Oftenly it is done to fill bare spots or thinning. Besides, one can also overseed his/her lawn to prevent it from browning during winter. You can prevent browning by overseeding the lawn with cool-season grass during the warm season. Before you can plant grass on an existing lawn, it is crucial to do the following three things:
- Dethatching the lawn
- Mowing the lawn
- Aerating the soil
When overseeding your existing lawn, you should sow the seeds using a seed spreader so as to ensure even distribution. An important consideration that you should put in mind before overseeding is the health of the lawn. Ensure that the lawn is free from fungal infections and other problems. If there is any problem with the lawn, treat it first before you overseed.
How do I reseed my existing lawn?
- The first step is collecting a sample of the lawn soil and conducting a soil analysis. Select different locations from your lawn and get three soil samples. Take them to a lab for testing and analysis and get your results.
- Prepare your lawn for seeding by killing all the grass. You can use a plastic to do so by laying it over the yard. Otherwise, you can apply herbicide to kill it.
- After 2-3 weeks, the grass will be dead. You can now remove the dead staff by raking it off.
- After raking the dead grass, you should improve the soil by tilling in soil conditioners across the lawn.
- Smooth and level the soil using a broom rake. Smoothing the ground will help them to germinate correctly and will give the seed a good soil contact.
- Add a starter fertilizer, which will help the seeds to grow and germinate quickly.
- Spread the seeds using a seed spreader and cover them properly.
- Add grass seed accelerator or mulch as it is helpful in retaining water crucial during the seed germination.
- Water your seeds regularly but do not use too much water
Will grass seed grow if I throw it down?
Yes, grass will grow by simply throwing it on the ground. The growth of such seeds will not be as proper as of that grown using a systematic procedure. When you just throw the seed on the ground, which is not even maintained, it will not perform properly because of the negative effects of weeds and other factors like debris. An area that has weeds will compromise the growth of grasses because of the competition to the natural elements that facilitate germination. A thrown grass seed will grow, but over time, its quality will start diminishing, and eventually, it will stop growing.
Can you put down too much grass seed?
No. You should not put down too much grass seed because they need ample space for form them to grow correctly. When you plant too many seeds on a lawn, they tend to compete for natural resources and will end up growing poorly. Others will fail to have deep root structures, and some will die. When they grow, they will have an irregular pattern that will make your lawn to be patchy. Growing much grass seeds on your lawn has the following effects on the grass.
- Poor grass structure
- Reduced germination rate
Conclusion
With the points explained in the article, you can now give your house a natural look by planting grass on your lawn in a proper manner.
