Establishment - Whether starting entirely from scratch, or renovating and old, tired lawn, the following is the best way to proceed.


Seeding - for a lawn to be created from a bare, grassless mud patch, it is easier to get professional help with the levelling, via a tractor and box blade. A smooth clear surface is essential, with no holes, dips, or drainage problems.

Seed is best applied with a rotary type spreader. Half the seed should be spread in one direction, the remainder in the opposite direction. This gives good soil contact for the seed, and uniform germination. The type of grasses to be grown are dictated by climate, and are best planted 30 days before real warmth or chill sets in. Only hot season grasses should be sown when the temperature reaches 80 to 90 degrees. Hot season seed is very small and can be spread lightly, whereas cold climate seed is larger and requires heavier coverage for good thick grass.

There are various machines that can be rented for a day or two to power seed a lawn. The seed is dropped into ready made grooves as the machine moves over the ground. Again, a level surface is essential, and power seeders are not recommended where it is rough or uneven.

A further solution is to Hydroseed. Under this process the seed is mixed with fertilizer and a mulch plus water, and sprayed on to the lawn. This encourages quicker germination. The spray is coloured blue or green for identifying the sprayed area, and later turns white. The machine will usually have to be hired rather than rented. A lawn can also be renovated easily with a dethatcher, which scarifys the surface, and aids germination of scattered seeds. This machine needs using with care in respect of the lawn surface.
Preparing the Seed Bed.

For New Lawns – Rake and smooth, remove any debris. Renovating Established Lawns – Mow closely. To overseed or repair bare spots, rake to produce a friable surface, then check section on ‘fertilizing’. Kill off remaining seed with Finale. Vegetation will brown within 7-10 days. A good raking will remove loosened thatch and expose soil for seed. Bare spots can be chopped into small chunks to allow use of the slit seeder in a grid formation. Slits should run in a horizontal fashion across slopes. Do not use a Rototill, which will expose and spread weed seeds.