Gardening & Lawn Care

Spring is the best time to plant grass seed, as the soil warms up and there’s plenty of rain. Fall is a great second choice. Before you start, you need to prepare the dirt. Remove any old dead grass, weeds, and rocks. Loosen the top few inches of soil with a rake so the seeds have a soft place to settle. Mixing in a thin layer of compost or topsoil will give your new grass extra food to grow strong.

Spread the seed evenly by hand or with a spreader. A helpful handy tip is to split your grass seed in half. Spread one half walking north to south, and the other half walking east to west. This criss-cross method helps avoid bare spots and gives you a thick, even lawn. Lightly rake the seeds so they are just barely covered with soil, and then water them gently. The key is to keep the soil moist like a damp sponge for the first two weeks. Water a little bit every day until you see the green sprouts, then you can water less often but more deeply to help the roots grow down.