Top 10 Things You Should Know About Planting a New Lawn
Are you tired of your old, beat-up lawn with weeds taking over everywhere you look?
If that’s the case, it’s probably time to plant a new lawn.
You’ll be happier, your home will look healthier, and you won’t hate looking at your own lawn!
Before you start, be sure to read these 10 tips about planting a new lawn.
1. Do Not Plant Over Old Sod
Imagine how easy it would be if you could throw some new sod onto the old. If only!
But it’s not that easy. For your new sod to thrive and be healthy for a long time, you have to get rid of the old sod first. You also wouldn’t want to constantly be looking at a rolly or bumpy lawn.
You can get rid of the old lawn by digging it out with an old shovel and raking away any weeds or roots that are in the way.
Make sure as you do this, you’re not getting rid of the good topsoil. You’ll need that to plant your new lawn!
2. Plant at the Right Time
It’s probably not the best idea to try planting a new lawn during the winter months, especially if you live in the north. Either your grass won’t grow or you’d get some pretty brown, dead grass.
The best time to plant new lawn in the south is late spring and early summer. The best time for lawn that is going to be planted in the north is either fall or spring.
3. Test Your Soil
Before trying to plant your new lawn, you need to test your soil to see what kind you have.
When testing, you should be testing for the pH balance, the major nutrients, and the minor nutrients. You can find these tests for relatively cheap. If you’re on a budget, the most important thing to test for is the pH balance because grass likes mostly acidic soil (pH value of 6.2-7).
4. Choose Your Grass Seed
If you’re new to planting lawns and grass, you may not realize that there are many different types of grass seed. Whether you’re in northern states or southern states, seeding a new lawn will differ.
For northern states, look at:
- Bentgrass seed
- Fine Fescue seed
- Creepingn Fescue seed
- Ryegrass seed
There are a few other options as well, so make sure to ask a landscaping company for help! This landscape company can answer any questions you have about different soils.
For southern states, look at:
- Bermuda grass seed
- Buffalograss seed
- Centipede grass seed
The different types of seeds will grow into grass with different maintenance needs, looks, and durability during different seasons.
5. Check Out Your Own Property
Depending on your own property, you’ll need to maintain your lawn differently after planting a new lawn. So go outside and look for the following:
- Is the lawn fully shaded, partially shaded, or in full sun
- Likelihood of moisture in the grass
- How many people will be walking over the grass
- What will maintenance look like for your landscaping
Looking at your property will help you further narrow down and decide the type of seed. You can choose between a single variety, a mix of different varieties, or blends of seeds from the same variety.
6. Decide on Fertilizer
Now that you have chosen your seed and where exactly you will be planting your new lawn, you have to decide if you want to choose a mix with fertilizer or add to it later.
If you choose to go with a mix of seeds with fertilizer, it will be more expensive, but more convenient. Choosing to add fertilizer later is cheaper but will take more work.
7. Follow the Directions When Planting
When planting a new lawn, you can’t just throw the seeds on the ground and hope for the best. You should always follow the directions on the back of the seed mix to make sure your new lawn installation will thrive.
Typically, you’ll plant about 15 seeds per square inch. To make this easier, you’ll want to go get a seeder so you’re not planting all of this by hand. You’d be out there for hours!
After planting, you’ll want to rake the surface to make sure the seeds, soil, and fertilizer all mix together.
8. Do Not Let Your Lawn Dry Out
If your lawn dries out, your seeds are dead.
You should keep an eye on your lawn every day. If it’s looking dry, you’ll want to water it until the soil is 1/1 to 1/2 inch deep with moisture. It’s also important to not overwater or your seeds will wash away.
9. Be Patient
Your lawn is not going to grow overnight. Depending on the seeds you chose, you’ll have to wait anywhere from a week to a month to see your seedlings start to germinate and grow into the lawn you’ve been wanting.
10. Wait to Mow
Once your grass starts to grow, you’ll still have to wait a bit to mow it for the first time. You should wait until your grass has grown about 2-3 inches before your first mow.
Make sure the first time you mow that you are gentle since your grass is still young and new!
Time to Plant Your New Lawn
Ready to plant a new lawn? You’ll be happy you did when you are relived to be looking at a beautiful landscape instead of an old, dying lawn.
If you enjoyed these tips, check out more tips on the blog!