New Lawn Establishment, Sod or Seed
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| Installing New Lawns Sodding, Seeding, Sprigging, or Plugging |
Before you start throwing hundreds of dollars worth of grass seed down on
the ground, there are a few things you need to determine.
There are usually a few different grass varieties you can grow not matter
where you live. In our area of the transition zone, Paris, TN. we can grow
Zoysia, Bermuda, Fescue, and a marginal Ryegrass, Centipede and
Bluegrass. But these marginal grasses don't do really well and are not
recommended for a mono culture lawn, meaning one variety to cover all of the
lawn. Just because you want a Bluegrass lawn, doesn't mean you can have a
Bluegrass lawn. Remember, growing conditions are different in Ohio than
Tennessee. So first determine what grass is going to be best for your lawn. If
you can't figure it out, ask the County Extension agent to give you some help,
it's their job to help with these kinds of things. After you have determined what
kind of grass you can have you need to know the right time of year to plant or
sod it. Cool season grasses, like Fescue, Ryegrass, and Bluegrass are best
seeded in Fall from Sep. 15 - Oct. 15, then second best timing is Spring Mar.
15 - Apr. 15. If at all possible seed your Cool Season grasses in the Fall that
way you will have a good stand of grass in the Spring and you can then put
down pre-emergent chemicals to keep out the Crabgrass and other weeds. If
you seed in the Spring, then you cannot put down a pre-emergent crabgrass
preventer without keeping your new grass seed from germinating. The
Crabgrass preventer is simply a chemical that keeps a seed from
germinating, it doesn't know the difference between a grass seed and a
crabgrass seed, so it keeps them all from coming up. So if you have to seed
in the Spring you are going to be fighting the weeds and Crabgrass all year
long. Spring seeded lawns don't usually do as well through the first Summer
as a lawn seeded in the Fall. The root system doesn't get a chance to get
growing deep, and it will struggle in the hot Summer. Warm Season grasses,
like Bermuda, Zoysia, Bahia, Centepede, St. Augustine, etc. are best seeded
during the warm weather. From May 1 - July 1, you can seed them after the
July 1, but the sooner you get it done in the season the faster the grass can
get growing and develop a good root system and start to cover up the soil.
If your lawn is mostly sun, you should lean towards a Warm season grass, it
is all shade or mostly shade your only choice is going to be a Cool season
grass since it will grow in the shade and the Warm season grasses will not.
St. Augustine is the most shade tolerant of the Warm season grasses, but we
in the transition zone cannot grow it. Your results may vary depending on
exactly where you live and the particular micro-climate of your lawn and
neighborhood.
Next are we talking about a new lawn on new construction, or an existing
lawn. A new lawn will need total grading to smooth, tilled up to break up the
soil, work in soil amendments if needed, etc. An existing lawn will only need
aerating, slit seeding or dethatching and seeding if you have an acceptable
grade already. In other words, can you mow it without busting a kidney? Is it
full of pot holes and ruts? If it is you should go ahead and work up the whole
lawn and get the grade nice and smooth so it will be easy to mow the lawn.
There will never be a better time to do it than now, so get it smooth.
Now do you have what it takes, equipment and strength/stamina to do the
job? Tilling up the lawn means you will need a tiller. Tractor mounted for a
large lawn or a walk behind for a small lawn. Large or small will have to be
your call. I call a small lawn anything that I would have trouble turning a tractor
around in. It isn't to efficient to use a large tractor in a tiny lawn, just use a walk
behind tiller. For aerating and overseeding you will need an aerator, walk
behind self propelled type, or a tow behind a lawn mower type. It doesn't
matter which, they both work well. The walk behind type will give you a serious
work out, the tow behind is obviously easier. That's your call again. Most
rental shops will have anything you need to reseed or seed / sod your lawn.
Now if you have determined which type of grass you are going to want, you
have determined how you need to go about seeding you can get the specifics
of how to do each type of seeding by clicking on the appropriate link below
and it will take you to another section that gives specific instructions on each
type of seeding / sodding or sprigging.
the ground, there are a few things you need to determine.
- What kind of grass do you want ?
- Do you live in an area where that grass will grow?
- Do you have mostly shade, or sun?
- Is your existing grade smooth or really rough?
- Do you have the equipment to till, aerate, or to do the method of
seeding you decide you want to do? Or can you rent it?
There are usually a few different grass varieties you can grow not matter
where you live. In our area of the transition zone, Paris, TN. we can grow
Zoysia, Bermuda, Fescue, and a marginal Ryegrass, Centipede and
Bluegrass. But these marginal grasses don't do really well and are not
recommended for a mono culture lawn, meaning one variety to cover all of the
lawn. Just because you want a Bluegrass lawn, doesn't mean you can have a
Bluegrass lawn. Remember, growing conditions are different in Ohio than
Tennessee. So first determine what grass is going to be best for your lawn. If
you can't figure it out, ask the County Extension agent to give you some help,
it's their job to help with these kinds of things. After you have determined what
kind of grass you can have you need to know the right time of year to plant or
sod it. Cool season grasses, like Fescue, Ryegrass, and Bluegrass are best
seeded in Fall from Sep. 15 - Oct. 15, then second best timing is Spring Mar.
15 - Apr. 15. If at all possible seed your Cool Season grasses in the Fall that
way you will have a good stand of grass in the Spring and you can then put
down pre-emergent chemicals to keep out the Crabgrass and other weeds. If
you seed in the Spring, then you cannot put down a pre-emergent crabgrass
preventer without keeping your new grass seed from germinating. The
Crabgrass preventer is simply a chemical that keeps a seed from
germinating, it doesn't know the difference between a grass seed and a
crabgrass seed, so it keeps them all from coming up. So if you have to seed
in the Spring you are going to be fighting the weeds and Crabgrass all year
long. Spring seeded lawns don't usually do as well through the first Summer
as a lawn seeded in the Fall. The root system doesn't get a chance to get
growing deep, and it will struggle in the hot Summer. Warm Season grasses,
like Bermuda, Zoysia, Bahia, Centepede, St. Augustine, etc. are best seeded
during the warm weather. From May 1 - July 1, you can seed them after the
July 1, but the sooner you get it done in the season the faster the grass can
get growing and develop a good root system and start to cover up the soil.
If your lawn is mostly sun, you should lean towards a Warm season grass, it
is all shade or mostly shade your only choice is going to be a Cool season
grass since it will grow in the shade and the Warm season grasses will not.
St. Augustine is the most shade tolerant of the Warm season grasses, but we
in the transition zone cannot grow it. Your results may vary depending on
exactly where you live and the particular micro-climate of your lawn and
neighborhood.
Next are we talking about a new lawn on new construction, or an existing
lawn. A new lawn will need total grading to smooth, tilled up to break up the
soil, work in soil amendments if needed, etc. An existing lawn will only need
aerating, slit seeding or dethatching and seeding if you have an acceptable
grade already. In other words, can you mow it without busting a kidney? Is it
full of pot holes and ruts? If it is you should go ahead and work up the whole
lawn and get the grade nice and smooth so it will be easy to mow the lawn.
There will never be a better time to do it than now, so get it smooth.
Now do you have what it takes, equipment and strength/stamina to do the
job? Tilling up the lawn means you will need a tiller. Tractor mounted for a
large lawn or a walk behind for a small lawn. Large or small will have to be
your call. I call a small lawn anything that I would have trouble turning a tractor
around in. It isn't to efficient to use a large tractor in a tiny lawn, just use a walk
behind tiller. For aerating and overseeding you will need an aerator, walk
behind self propelled type, or a tow behind a lawn mower type. It doesn't
matter which, they both work well. The walk behind type will give you a serious
work out, the tow behind is obviously easier. That's your call again. Most
rental shops will have anything you need to reseed or seed / sod your lawn.
Now if you have determined which type of grass you are going to want, you
have determined how you need to go about seeding you can get the specifics
of how to do each type of seeding by clicking on the appropriate link below
and it will take you to another section that gives specific instructions on each
type of seeding / sodding or sprigging.
If You have decided that your lawn is in pretty good shape, you can mow it
without killing yourself, or damaging your mower, and the grass is fairly thick,
just needs thickening up, you may need to just aerate and over seed.
Go to this page for details on how to do it. Aerating and Over Seeding
Instructions
without killing yourself, or damaging your mower, and the grass is fairly thick,
just needs thickening up, you may need to just aerate and over seed.
Go to this page for details on how to do it. Aerating and Over Seeding
Instructions
If you have a new construction and you need to totally grade out your lawn
and seed from scratch, go to this page for instructions on seeding a new
lawn with Fescue, Bermuda, Zoysia, Bluegrass, Ryegrass.
Seeding a New Lawn From Scratch
and seed from scratch, go to this page for instructions on seeding a new
lawn with Fescue, Bermuda, Zoysia, Bluegrass, Ryegrass.
Seeding a New Lawn From Scratch
If you are going to Sod your new lawn or renovate your old lawn and re-sod
it refer to our Sodding page for instructions.
Sodding a Lawn
it refer to our Sodding page for instructions.
Sodding a Lawn
Another popular way to establish Warm Season grasses like Bermuda
and Zoysia is to Sprig them or plug them. This only works on grass that
stolons or rhizomes which are the crawling stems of the grass plant that
makes the plant spread. Most cool season grasses have tillers instead of
stolons and rhizomes. Bluegrass does have rhizomes though. Still it
needs to be seeded. Mostly we sprig Bermuda and Zoysia. The benefits of
sprigging are that it is much more economical. You can sprig large areas
for the cost of sodding very small areas. The main con to it is that it will
take as much as a whole growing season for it to grow in. Sodding gives
you instant grass now. I guess if you are trying to make a decision on how
to establish your new lawn, one thing to think about is if you have the
patience and want to get out as inexpensively as possible, sprig it. If you
have the money and no patience, sod it. Sprigging is a lot like any other
form of establishment of grass in the preparation, it differs in that you put
sprigs in the ground instead of seed.
Go to this page for sprigging instructions. Sprigging a Lawn
and Zoysia is to Sprig them or plug them. This only works on grass that
stolons or rhizomes which are the crawling stems of the grass plant that
makes the plant spread. Most cool season grasses have tillers instead of
stolons and rhizomes. Bluegrass does have rhizomes though. Still it
needs to be seeded. Mostly we sprig Bermuda and Zoysia. The benefits of
sprigging are that it is much more economical. You can sprig large areas
for the cost of sodding very small areas. The main con to it is that it will
take as much as a whole growing season for it to grow in. Sodding gives
you instant grass now. I guess if you are trying to make a decision on how
to establish your new lawn, one thing to think about is if you have the
patience and want to get out as inexpensively as possible, sprig it. If you
have the money and no patience, sod it. Sprigging is a lot like any other
form of establishment of grass in the preparation, it differs in that you put
sprigs in the ground instead of seed.
Go to this page for sprigging instructions. Sprigging a Lawn
