Preparing your new lawn for summer

Seed

Seed in Renton is a wonderful way to get a healthy lawn, but with summer right around the bend the heat is about to turn up. With this increase in temperatures comes dry spells as well. Making sure you are prepared can go a long way towards maintaining your lawn. Early preparation now will ensure your grass seed thrives during summer.

Summer Lawn Preparation Steps

1. Prepare – Remove dead and dying grass. A sod cutter can make quick work of any lawn. Use this tool to remove grass and weeds. You’ll want to aerate the soil with a rotary tiller, this is also an ideal time to add soil and compost.
2. PH – A simple PH test will tell you what the PH of your lawn is. Make sure to test multiple areas on your lawn. You’ll want a PH between 6.0 and 7.5 for good grass growth. Lime based products can be used to raise a lawns PH. We’ve covered how to apply them in the past. Sulfur can be used to lower soil PH. Be very cautious with these products as they can be dangerous if used incorrectly.
3. Fertilization – Once your PH is balanced it’s time to fertilize. Depending on what you want in your lawn’s growth there are a variety of different fertilizers you can use. Some provide long term benefits while others are better in the short term.
4. Seed – Depending on what you’re looking for in a lawn, there are varying seed options. These include wildflower mixtures for a naturally colorful lawn and varying lawn mixtures designed for differing sun and shade combinations.
5. Dispersal – Spread the grass seed evenly. You’ll want to use short strokes with the back side of a rake to work the seeds into the soil. Even handedness is key to achieve a uniform spread that delivers full coverage.
6. Water – Be careful not to over water. Water 2 -3 times a day for the first 8 – 10 days. Keep watering between 5 and 10 minutes. You want to keep the seed moist, but not soggy. When sprouts and seeds dry out they die, and germination takes 5-30 days on average or longer in the Northwest. Ask your local seed experts for an expected germination time on your seed type. When the grass has sprouted, water once daily for 15 – 30 minutes.

A great lawn requires great grass seed. Call 800-300-1763 or contact Country Green Turf Farms for grass seed in Renton.