Fall is the best time to seed and feed your lawn

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Fall is a great time to sow some Jonathan Green grass seed whether planting a new lawn or over seeding an existing lawn.   Each year there are concerns from homeowners that they did not get the seed growing fast enough or the lawn that they expected.  Let’s examine why this happens. 

This weekend I painted a room in my house.  What would you think if I got a brush and roller and just started painting?  You would suggest that I do the proper preparation before I start to paint.  Get drop cloths and cover the rug, spackle and sand holes, buy a new roller, etc.  You wouldn’t just reach your hand into an open bag of grass seed and shake it on the ground if you wanted good results, would you?

The quality of your soil is the most important factor when growing grass seed.  Soil is the lifeblood for all plant growth.  If you have not taken a soil test to determine your pH value, do so.  Jonathan Green soil pH test kits are inexpensive and available at your local garden center.  The pH value should be in the range of 6.0 to 6.8 to grow grass successfully. If you soil pH is outside of this range, you will have a lot of difficulty growing grass.  Adding the proper amounts of limestone or calcium nutrient fertilizer will help to raise pH.  Jonathan Green’s MAG-I-CAL is an enhanced palletized calcium that will improve your soil’s pH and the soil’s structure.  It works quickly and saves time with easy to spread pellets and can be used throughout the entire yard. 

Most soils tend to be too low in pH and not too high. If your soil pH is above 7.0, you need to add some sulfur-based products to reduce the pH value.  These products are available at your local garden store.  If you need a complete soil test, contact your local county extension office for a test kit.   The results can determine if you need a pH adjustment; if nutrient values are deficient; or if your soil has some other “problem” that may need to be addressed with other soil amendments.

Scratch and rake the existing soil bed to loosen the soil or rent a machine to help for larger areas.  If you can loosen the soil down a few inches all the better.  Creating a nice soil bed to alleviate compaction gives freshly sowed grass seed a much better chance of long-term survival than just scattering some seed by hand.  I am sure that we all have a few spots in our yard where the soil is hard as rock.

Applying Jonathan Green’s New Seeding Lawn Fertilizer greatly improves new grass seed establishment.  Your soil test may have also had some suggestions on nutrients to add when seeding.  Buy a Jonathan Green grass seed mixture that is suited for the area you are seeding.  Buying the cheapest grass seed you can find will give you the cheapest lawn on your block.  With all the physical work required to grow a lawn, you want it to work right the first time.  Skimping on your seed purchases is a waste of time and money.  The lawn you reap is only as good as the seed you sow.

Consider using Jonathan Green Green-Mulch Seed Establishment Mulch as the last step over your grass seed planting.  It helps to retain water and prevent erosion.  Our Green-Mulch does not introduce any weed seeds like hay or straw can; has a pleasing green color and biodegrades quickly.  Straw and hay are messy and difficult to handle.  It is tempting to rake straw or hay back up a few weeks after seeding because it looks so bad.  This raking just pulls up new grass seedlings.

There are planting directions on Jonathan Green grass seed packages and be sure to follow them.  Remember, have patience when you are looking out the window watching your grass seed grow.  It’s not important how your lawn looks in 6 days, but how it looks 6 months down the road.

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