When to Overseed Lawn in Iowa
Overseeding your lawn will help keep it lush, green, strong and healthy, without starting over from scratch. But, when should you overseed in Iowa? And, which grass seed should you choose to achieve the best results? The experts at Jonathan Green provide the answers you need to accomplish the task.
About Overseeding a Lawn
Even if your lawn is in poor condition, it is possible to achieve a healthy, dark green expanse of perfect lawn by overseeding, or introducing some fresh seed into the sparse or thinning areas.
In Iowa, the best time to overseed a lawn is late summer/early fall (late August to mid-September). Soil temperatures at this time of year are still warm, which promotes optimum seed germination, and the cooler air temperatures are better for grass growth.
If you don’t want to wait until late summer or early fall to overseed your lawn, you can do it between March and mid-June as well. When you choose Black Beauty turfgrasses that are so deeply rooted (up to four feet deep) and drought tolerant, you can still enjoy great success.
Choose the Best Grass Seed Mixture
A high-quality grass seed is essential for a strong healthy lawn. Jonathan Green grass seed mixtures feature a mix of the best varietals of cool season grasses and result in leaves that are dark green, lush, and uniform in texture. The seed produces grass that is drought-resistant and grows well in both sun and shade. It can be used in both clay and sandy soil.
We highly recommend overseeding with Jonathan Green Black Beauty® Ultra Grass Seed. It contains exclusive, elite varieties of tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, and is most similar to what is grown on sod farms. Black Beauty® Ultra Grass Seed germinates in about 14 days and will improve any lawn it is overseeded into.
Overseeding Step-By-Step
Step 1: Rake up dead grass and weeds and mow the lawn, cutting it about one notch lower than usual. If you have bare spots, loosen them up with a rake or garden weasel to create good seed-to-soil contact and to keep the seeds from washing off of the soil surface in a big rainstorm.
Step 2: Correct soil problems (pH and/or compaction). Lawns grow best in a soil that is neutral to slightly acidic (between a 6.2 and a 7.0 reading), so it’s important to balance the pH before you overseed. Jonathan Green’s MAG-I-CAL® Soil Food will help to raise the soil’s pH and, at the same time, help the new lawn grow thicker and healthier. Love Your Soil® will loosen and aerate hard or compacted soil, feed the soil microbes, make the lawn soil more alive and porous, and enhance root development. Both products can be applied the same day as the grass seed.
Mentioned Products
Step 3: If your lawn is small, you may be able to broadcast Jonathan Green Black Beauty® seed by hand. For larger lawns, a lawn spreader is the best way to quickly cover a lot of ground and achieve uniform coverage. Make certain to slightly bury the seed in the top soil.
Step 4: Water the lawn every day for a week or two, unless it rains. The objective is to keep the seed and top several inches of soil moist until the seeds germinate. Mow the new lawn when the grass plants are about three inches tall.
Keep your lawn looking great. Visit Jonathan Green online or your nearest independent retail store for more information on how and when to overseed your lawn in Iowa with Black Beauty® grass seed for a thicker, denser and greener lawn that will make you the envy of the neighborhood!