Want to walk around the grasses of your lawn? Are they thinning out in some areas? Then overseeding can be the right solution for all of your needs regarding a grassy lawn just like a carpet.
In most cases, you may get the advice of aerating it. Though it is common practice for stimulating the roots of the existing grasses, it is quite a time consuming and costs the beauty of your lawn for several days.
However, the best time of overseeding the lawn is the starting time of spring when the grass starts to grow.
Why Do You Need To Overseed Your Lawn?
The basic reason for this process of overseeding is to plant fresh grass seeds other than removing the existing soil or grass form the lawn. The overseeding process aids in covering the slight patches that occur in your lawn.
Again it the most speedy way of covering your lawn and amplify the thickness of your lawn grass.
Moreover, it makes your lawn look much more beautiful than previously. It also enables you to add variety in the types of grass in the lawn.
Again the old grasses need a lot of pampering to it and not resistant at all to insects or diseases. Thus overseeding with new grass is the better choice for solving all of the issues.
Requirements Of Overseeding
- Metalic Rake
- Power charged Rack
- Lawnmower
- Drop spreader
- Broad spreader
- Sand
- Seeds of grass
- Dethatched
- Beginning fertilizer of 10-10-10
- A broom
- Nitrogen
- Lawn sprinkler, etc.
The process of overseeding
The process of overseeding the lawn without aerating has several steps in it. The process consists of 7 crucial steps of overseeding a lawn. Now we are going to know how the overseeding can be done:
- Selecting The Type Of Grass To Implant
The first step to this process of overseeding is to determine the type of it. The factors to be considered here is the location of your existence and the climates of it.
The north, west and east locations of the US are suitable for cold –season grasses. The varieties for these cold-season grasses are Kentucky bluegrass, fescues, and perennial ryegrass.
Warm-season grasses are suitable for the southwest, south and southeast location of the US. However, these Warm-season grasses do not resist the cold or freezing temperature.
- Know The Time Of Overseeding
The best time for overseeding in the northern region of the US in the fall season. The weather remains very perfect for overseas during this time of the year.
The air starts to cool down, but the soil remains comparatively warm these days. Extra sunlight touches the ground and the plants discard the leaves of them.
Moreover, autumn is another season that is good for overseas. During this time of the year, seeds grow in a conventional manner, not trying to overcome each other.
- Making Of The Soil
Aerate is needed in making soil for overseeding. In the beginning, you need to cut the old grass and make them as small as possible. The size of 1.5 inches for the grass is perfect for this step.
Afterward, eliminate the grassroots from the ground and slacken off the soil. It will enable additional sunlight reaching the seedling. Try to rake the soil manually or use a power rack.
- Spreading Of Seeds
The seeds can be spread by a spreader or manually. Also, the matter of the lawn decides it. There are two types of spreaders that can be used are drop spread or broad spread.
For a better spreading mix the seeds with sand soil and spread them. It cannot be determined how many seeds should be used in a lawn. It completely depends on you to decide.
- Fertilizing
Here a rake should be used for fertilizing. Every 1,000 square fit of soil, there should be a use of two-pound of fertilizer, which is a beginning fertilizer 10-10-10. A proper racking will well mix the soil and ensure increased contact with new seeds.
- Proper Irrigation System
The irrigation process should be frequent rather than heavy. With heavy irrigation, the seeds get damaged or flooded away. So do not overwater but keep the soil wet for the seeds to grow.
When the seeds are grown, try to water it more frequently with less amount of water. After the seedlings grow, heavy water flow damages their roots and discards them from growing properly.
- Mowing Period Of A Lawn
The lawn should be mowed and the old grasses should be kept to 2 inches until the new seedlings get themselves established in the ground.
In order to provide the new seedlings with proper sunlight and growth, the old one should be kept smaller. The height of the lawnmower should be kept to three inches to prevent the seedlings from pilling.
Now, watch the video on how to overseed lawn without aerating in just 4 steps!
Does Aerating Make Any Difference Before Overseeding?
While you can overseed without aerating your lawn, there are some benefits to aerating that you might miss out on.
The first thing to look at here is that it helps the compact soil loosen up when you aerate. This will provide a better oxygen supply to the seed.
Also, it gives the proper nutrient and minerals your grass seed may need. This eventually impacts the growth and germination of the grass.
You will get healthier and denser grass with proper root development. Also, the grass grows thick very quickly when you aerate before seeding.
All of that happens because aeration makes the soil loose which lets the roots grow deeper and stronger. This allows for better access to nutrients and water.
Does this mean you have to aerate before you overseed? No, not at all. You get all of this benefit significantly when you have a lawn with compact soil.
If you don’t have compact soil in your lawn, you won’t notice much difference between overseeding with aeration and without aeration.
What Is The Best Time To Overseed?
In general, you can be overseeded whenever you want; it doesn’t matter what season it is. However, this will also impact the success rate you get with overseeding.
Most experts will suggest that it’s best to be overseeded in the early fall stages or late summer. During these times, plants can get the most effective temperature for germination and growth.
If you choose to overseed during these times, you have to worry the least about the growth of your plants on your lawn.
All you have to do is ensure that the seeds are getting proper sunlight, fertilizer, and water. You don’t have to worry about anything else, such as the spread of weeds, temperature, or any other nuisance.
Overseeding Mistakes You Must Avoid
The thing with overseeding is that it’s pretty easy to follow through there is no issue with that. But there are several common mistakes people make with overseeding that should be avoided.
So, here are the things you should be aware of when you are overseeding your lawn.
- Traffic in your lawn
You have to make sure that after overseeding your lawn, you must stop any source of physical stress on the lawn. The only thing your lawn should get then is daily watering.
You have to ensure no one is stepping on the overseeded lawn because it can greatly damage the seedling and their growth.
- Mowing the lawn too early
This is a common mistake people make, and it’s normal to make this mistake.
Because it’s hard to determine when you should start mowing your lawn, that’s why the best option is to wait for the seeds to reach the recommended height before you start mowing your lawn.
- Use of chemicals to get rid of weeds
Most of the time, people will use chemicals on their overseed lawn to get rid of weeds. Weeds have a habit of showing up after you have overseeded your lawn.
Using chemicals may get rid of weeds, but they also harm the seedlings, which you don’t want.
Wrapping Up
The procedure of overseeding improves the thickness and strength of grasses in the lawn. The overseeding can be done during any season of the year, avoiding aeration process.
First, choose the right type for your lawn and then go for planting seeds or overseeding. It is very important to make the soil perfect for overseeding, mixing fertilizer with the soil and appropriately watering the soil.
The process of aeration is making small holes in the ground and thus allows the sunlight and water to reach the root of grass. It is quite a long procedure and it makes the ground look ugly or inconvenient to use for several weeks.
Comparing to overseeding, the process of aeration is lengthy. However, the overseeding allows the lawn to look much more beautiful within s shorter period of time.
Overseeding enables the lawn to become green with thick carpet-like grasses in a short time and removes the patches or thin grass areas beautifully. So, try out the procedure thoroughly and get great results in a short span of time.
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