Seeding Grass Over Existing Lawn
Helping you improve your lawn is our #1 priority at Jonathan Green. Our knowledgeable team has provided tips for seeding grass over your existing lawn to fill in bare spots, thicken the turf, and enhance the lawn’s color.
Jonathan Green has combined technology and tradition to produce the best grass seed available since 1881. We have researched grass seed, fertilizers, and soil treatments in order to understand what it takes to create a healthy lawn. Over six generations, we have consistently improved our products to make sure they deliver excellent results year after year.
Tips for Successful Overseeding
Step One: Choose the right cool-season grass seed.
The genetically superior Black Beauty® grass seed from Jonathan Green, used by leading sod growers across the country, creates grass that:
- Is deep-rooted for drought tolerance (can grow roots up to 4 feet deep);
- Features an invisible waxy leaf coating (like the waxy skin on an apple) to keep at disease at bay and lock in moisture;
- Is dark green, lush, and uniform in texture;
- Grows well in both partial shade and full sun;
- Grows well in clay and sandy soil;
- Is drought-resistant;
- Contains Endophytes for natural insect resistance;
- Can be seeded into any existing lawn.
Step Two: Encourage good seed-to-soil contact.
Clean out dead grass, remove as many weeds as possible, and get rid of rocks, sticks, and other debris. Loosen compacted soil about a half-inch deep with a rake your soil. It will also feed the soil microbes, making the soil more alive and porous, and enhancing root and root mass development. Then cut the lawn short, from one and a half to two inches in height.
Step Three: Balance the soil pH.
Use a Soil pH Test Kit for Lawns to ensure that the pH of the soil is between 6.2 and 7.0. To balance the soil’s pH and help the lawn grow greener and healthier, use Jonathan Green MAG-I-CAL®. It can be applied the same day as the grass seed is spread.
Here is another great product to ask for: Mag-I-Cal® Plus! It’s our newest soil food and is a combination of both Mag-I-Cal for balancing pH and Love Your Soil® for loosening hard soil and relieving soil compaction. Mag-I-Cal Plus comes in a black bag for lawns grown in acidic soil or a purple bag for lawns grown in alkaline (or basic, high pH soil) Mag-I-Cal® Plus is 75% as strong as the original concentrated formulas found in Mag-I-Cal and Love Your Soil but this product provides the big benefit of allowing you to buy and spread only one bag to treat both lawn soil issues and if you spread it a few times each year you’ll see a big improvement in your lawn!
Step Four: Start planting the seed.
For small lawns, you can spread the seed by hand, but using a lawn spreader on larger lawns will ensure an even distribution of seed across the entire lawn. If you are overseeding a thinning lawn, it’s not necessary to rake in the seeds because they will fall between the blades of grass and reach the soil surface.
Step Five: Apply a high-quality fertilizer.
Veri-Green Starter Fertilizer for Seeding & Sodding is our high-phosphorus formula that gets new grass plantings off to a fast start. It helps build a stronger root system and a thicker, greener lawn.
Mentioned Products
Step Six: Keep the seed bed moist for a few weeks.
Water the overseeded lawn thoroughly and then water it daily or possibly twice daily (unless it’s raining) until the seeds have germinated. Once the grass becomes established, mow the rejuvenated lawn when the grass is about three inches tall.
Before you start seeding grass over your existing lawn, consider visiting Jonathan Green online or your nearest independent retail store for information and advice.