September is by far the best month of the year to plant a new lawn or restore an old one. Those thinking of adding new life to their lawn need to get with the program while the soil is still workable and warm enough to germinate the seed. So pry hubby off the couch, away from the football game, and get him out into the yard to finish this project.
In a typical Northwest summer, lawns usually will come alive on their own during the month of September. But this was anything but a typical summer. There is a good chance that without the addition of some fresh seed your lawn will mostly turn back into a weed patch.
The first step to restoring a lawn is to get some moisture into the ground — unless of course mother nature has already done it for you. The next step, assuming the grade is smooth and level, is to create a seed bed by vigorously roughing up the soil surface. Do this either by hand or with an iron rake or power rake/dethatcher. A half-inch of loose soil is all that you need for a good seed bed.
Once the seed bed is prepared, simply scatter the seed, lime and fertilizer and rake it all in with a special seed rake (those expandable leaf rakes work well). Also cover it with a thin veneer of compost (an eighth of an inch is all that is needed because grass seed needs light to germinate).
Keep the surface damp for the next two weeks, which could mean watering twice a day depending on the weather. Don’t flood or puddle the water or the seed will wash away and you’ll end up with blank spots. When you see green shoots you can back off to two to three times a week.
If your lawn needs major overhauling, plan on roto-tilling the whole lawn and starting over from scratch. This is a great opportunity to fix the mess the contractor left when the house was built.
Bring in a truck load of compost, spread it 2 inches thick and till it in 6 inches deep. It is best to get a landscape rake to help smooth it out until it is as close to perfect as possible, then proceed as above with the seed, lime and fertilizer.
While your seed is germinating, take your lawn mower blade to the shop and get it sharpened. Chances are you have never sharpened the blade, so think of it as trying to cut steak with a butter knife. A sharp blade means less work for the lawn mower and a much cleaner cut for the grass. When your new grass is 3 inches tall, mow it down to 2 inches (never remove more than a third of the grass blade at a time).
After the first mowing, if weeds start to return, spot spray with weed killer. After three mowings, make one more application of fertilizer and it’ll be good to go for the winter.
Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached online at info@sunny sidenursery.net.
Grass class
Attend a free fall and winter lawn care class at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at Sunnyside Nursery. For more information or to sign up, go to www.sunnysidenursery.net.
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