How to Reseed Your Lawn

Why Reseed?

Wouldn’t it be awesome if grass never got old and worn down? Unfortunately that’s not the case and it’s pretty inevitable that your lawn will start to thin and brown overtime. Also, weeds love a worn-out lawn so you’ll probably want to avoid that. Don’t fret, you don’t need to pull out your lawn and start over, there is a solution. That solution is reseeding. Reseeding is the healthy way to bring your lawn back to it’s lush, green self.

When is the best time?

We think the best time to reseed is during the Fall (ideally September) before the frost hits. What if you procrastinated and Winter arrives faster than you had anticipated? Well, you can also reseed in the early spring if needed. We suggest Fall because the seeds will start to sprout while temperatures are relatively warm and then grow as the weather begins to cool down.

Grab That Rake

First things first, you’ll want to rake up any dead grass. Seeds need direct contact with the soil in order to germinate properly and those grass clippings will prevent this from happening. It may help to mow your lawn to 2 inches or lower and then collect any grass clippings. You can use a thatch rake to lightly go over the top of the soil. You can use a leaf rake if you don’t have a thatch rake but you may need to use a bit more muscle in order to remove those clippings.

Loosen up that soil

Let’s get that grass to loosen up! You can’t get your grass to loosen up by making it take a long, hot bath. You’ll have to do a little work. Now there are several methods to doing this. You can aerate the soil by using a broadfork, just be careful not to break up the underlying structure of the soil too much. This can hurt the roots of your existing grass. This is also the perfect time to aerate your lawn. Aerators can be rented at many equipment rental stores if you don’t already have one. Non-motorized aerators can be purchased at just about any home and garden store. If you do choose to aerate, you’ll want to either heavily water your lawn first or wait until after a heavy rainfall for easier penetration into the soil.

Spread Those Seeds

At this point, you are done with any prepping and it’s time to feed your lawn! You’ll determine the type of seed by looking at what you already have. This will depend on light, moisture, and the amount of traffic your lawn will receive. Pro-tip: freeze those seeds over night! This will help those seeds germinate faster. This shouldn’t hurt the seeds in the slightest. When you’re ready to go, mix the seeds with a fertilizer using a 4:1 ratio. You can use your hands to scatter the seeds but we highly recommend using a mechanical spreader for a more even coverage. Then, rake the seed into the soil as to avoid having that seed become the next meal for local birds.

What Now?

You’ve reseeded your lawn and you can kick back but remember, there are a few things you should do afterwards to make sure those seeds do their very best. Water, water, water. The seeds can’t grow if they don’t receive proper moisture. If you water twice a day, the seeds should start to sprout in approximately two weeks. When the grass starts to grow, then you can mow it. Also, heavy traffic is no good. You might want to limit the amount of traffic from kids and pets until the lawn is healthy and strong.

Remember, TaskEasy is here to help you keep your lawn at it’s very best. Reseeding is one step but we have professionals that are ready to come out and make sure your lawn is freshly mowed and looking good year-round.