Spring officially starts in a couple of days!!! Awesome!!! Except for the freezing cold temperatures and the snow coming down. Oh well. It’s Michigan. Spring will come eventually so you might want to plan ahead a little bit if you are planning on thickening up thin areas of your lawn.
Here are some tips to help you out…
- Buy seed that is appropriate for where you are planting grass seed. Use shade mix in shady areas. Use sunny mix for sunny areas. Only use Kentucky bluegrass seed on a sodded lawn. As a rule of thumb, you get what you pay for in grass seed. Cheap seed usually equals a bad lawn. If you need advice, ask your lawn care company or seek out a garden center with knowledgeable staff rather than relying big box stores.
- Make sure that you do not use crabgrass pre-emergent on your lawn prior to seeding. Use starter fertilizer or just regular fertilizer. Crabgrass Pre-emergent products will negatively affect your seed.
- Rake up the areas where you are going to seed. Raking will help remove any weeds or lawn thatch that might prevent your seed from making contact with the soil. Also, raking will help disrupt the soil surface increasing the chance that your seed will germinate. After spreading your seed, lightly rake the area again to work the seed into the soil.
- I typically recommend between 6-8lbs. of seed per 1000 square feet of lawn on an established stand of grass. Your seed will have to compete with the existing lawn. More seed equals a better chance of germination.
- Keep it watered. Even in the Spring when it seems that we have plenty of rain. Make sure to water the seeded areas if the weather is not cooperating. Just keeping the soil moist and saturated is best.
- Continue to fertilize your lawn regularly.
- The best time to do this work is typically from mid April to the middle of May. You can can overseed anytime of the year but Spring and Fall are best.
- Consider core aeration prior to seeding. Core aeration relieves soil compaction and helps work grass seed into the soil for better soil/seed contact. Slit seeders work well also. You can rent both machines or hire a company to do this work for you.
Good Luck!!!