How does your lawn look this summer? Is it lush, green, and responding to all your hard work and care? Or are there brown patches, empty spaces, and areas of sluggish growth? Your first thought may be to purchase sod and fill in those areas. But there’s another technique available called “overseeding.” Instead of just filling in the patches, overseeding can help you achieve an even and healthy lawn. Read on to learn more about overseeding your lawn.
Over Seeding and Why You Need It
Overseeding is adding grass seed to your existing lawn without tearing up the turf or turning the soil. It’s an easy method to fill in bare spots, create thicker grass, and add more color to your lawn. Overseeding is a great option when your lawn has suffered from drought stress, insect, or disease damage. It also repairs signs of decline such as thin sparse grass, bare patches, or lack of color.
Overseeding adds newer, enhanced varieties of grass to your lawn, which improves its health. The newer turfgrass varieties are better able to resist damage from drought, diseases, and damaging insects. A thicker turf also helps the lawn’s ability to fight insects and diseases. Overseeding reinvigorates a lawn, making it look lush and brand new.
The Best Time to Overseed
The ideal time to overseed a lawn in Wisconsin is late summer to early fall (approximately August 15th to September 15th), depending on the weather. Soil temperatures are still warm, which promotes optimum seed germination. Soil moisture needed for germination is more favorable as well. Daytime temperatures are cooler but still warm enough to encourage growth and development before winter sets in. The nights also get cooler and provide the new seedlings a break from the daytime heat.
How to Seed Your Lawn
While you can simply throw the new grass seed over your existing lawn, preparing your lawn first will increase seed germination by helping the seed reach the soil. Below are a few steps for the overseeding process. The only tools you should need are a lawn mower, rake, and a seed spreader.
- Mowing. Adjust your mower to the lowest setting and cut your grass shorter than normal. Bag the clippings this time instead of leaving them on to feed the lawn. After mowing, rake the lawn to remove remaining dead grass, debris, and thatch, and to loosen the top layer of soil. This should give the grass seed easier access to the soil so it can root more easily after germinating. Remember to reset the blades to a higher setting when you are finished since you shouldn’t usually cut the grass this short.
- Seed. When you purchase the seed, select the best one for your region and your yard conditions. Choose seed that will work well with the breed of grass you currently have in your yard. Use a seed spreader to work faster and easier and to help spread the seed evenly. You should be able to purchase a spreader at the lawn and garden center where you buy the seed.
- Watering. Immediately after spreading the seed, you should water the lawn heavily with about an inch of water. Continue watering lightly every day until the seeds sprout, which may take up to two weeks. After that, water every few days with a good soaking. While the new grass is getting established, wait on mowing for as long as possible and limit foot traffic on the lawn. Once the grass is established and has grown to the same height as the existing grass, water and mow as normal for that breed of grass.
Get Help from the Pros at Createscape Landscaping Service
A professional lawn care company can help you make sure that overseeding is something your lawn needs. An unhealthy lawn can be caused by many problems and a professional can determine what is needed. At Createscape Landscaping Service, we can create a plan to get your lawn green and healthy.
At Createscape Landscaping Service, we offer lawn maintenance services such as mowing, aeration, dethatching, weed, disease and insect control, fertilizer applications, seasonal pruning, mulch, topsoil, and more. Our commitment to superior service and quality has solidified us as one of the best landscaping companies in Waukesha County and the Southeastern Wisconsin area. Contact us for an estimate and more information at (262) 662-0201 or www.createscapelandscaping.com/contact-us.
Check out our blog at www.createscapelandscaping.com/blog for more great lawn-care tips. And as you work to grow a healthy lawn, tackle one task at a time to keep from being overwhelmed. Remember that grass growth and development take time, so be patient with each step of the process.
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