Your lawn is your house’s calling card. It’s the face of your home. It shows the world that you care, that you’re committed to your investment (and your life!) and that you’re proud of the home you’re creating.
But having a stunning lawn is not always simple and straight forward. You might have inherited a less than stunning lawn in a recent move. You might have struggled through winter or undertaken an epic battle with pests. Or you might even have a bare lawn to start from scratch.
Lawn seeds could be the answer.
How to Use Lawn Seeds
So, how do you use lawn seeds? Here are our tips for the best results.
Ensure Your Timing is Right
The first step is to ensure your timing is right. When using lawn seeds, the best time to start is early to mid-autumn. The temperatures are mild, but not cold, and the soil still holds some warmth from the long summer. This helps the seeds to germinate and take hold well. And your lawn will have plenty of time to establish before the winter really sets in.
Measure and Order
The second step is to measure your space and order the correct volume of lawn seeds. Measuring is pretty easy. Just measure the length and the width of the space, then multiply those numbers together. This will give you the square meter of the space and you can order your seeds based on that number.
Do Some Weed Control
The next thing you need to do is manage your weeds. If you have a bare patch of ground, you might already be good to go. But with an established lawn (even a sparsely established lawn), you’ll want to ensure it’s weed free before introducing new seeds. We suggest using an all-purpose weedkiller at least two weeks before sowing lawn seeds.
Prepare Your Soil
Preparing your soil for lawn seeds is a really important step. The right preparation will take you from a lawn that has sporadic seed germination (and so sporadic growth), to one that is lush and alive. To achieve that, you should first remove stones or debris. If your space is bare, use a rake to flatten the surface. In either case, you’ll want to aerate the soil if it’s compacted and ensure that you have good drainage.
If you’re worried about the condition of your soil, consider a good application of lawn top dressing to bring it up to scratch.
Fertilise
Before you sow your seeds, use a premium lawn fertiliser on the seed bed or existing lawn. Ensure you use the correct amount of fertiliser for the area and give it a few days after fertilising before sowing your lawn seeds.
Sowing Your Lawn Seeds
Sowing your seeds is the easy (and fun) part! The best way to tackle this job is to divide the area into easily manageable sections and then divide the seeds into that number of sections. This ensures that you’ll be sowing the seeds evenly. Once you’ve got them on the ground, you can lightly rake them into your bare ground or even into your existing grass.
Watering Your New Lawn Seeds
Now that your seeds are sown, you’ll need to concentrate on watering. It’s important that you don’t let your seeds dry out – particularly during the germination period. In the beginning focus on keeping your seeds constantly moist, watering with a fine spray to ensure they stay in place. You may need to water both morning and night if the weather is dry or hot.
8-Week Fertilisation
After about eight weeks, give your new lawn a boost with a second round of fertiliser. This will help to give new growth a little push and ensure that your lawn is well established and thriving.
New Lawn After Care
Now that you’ve got your new lawn up and running with lawn seeds, it’s time to implement the correct mowing and watering schedule. Doing this will make sure that your lawn stays green and growing all year round.
Once you’ve figured out how to grow a lawn from lawn seeds, you’ll be off and running with a stunning new lawn. Maybe it’s time for your next project? Our experts have loads of info for you about how to DIY your driveway to creating a stunning outdoor space. Keep up to date on our how to page and find everything you need to complete any project on our product info page. And if there’s anything else, remember you can contact the expert team at Rock n Soil any time!