How to Prepare a Lawn for Reseeding

Lawns develop bare spots and become patchy for a wide variety of reasons. Winter damage from cold or road salt often cause problems, while high foot traffic also creates an unattractive lawn. One way to repair these lawns is to spread grass seed on top of it to fill in the gaps. However, you must properly prepare the existing lawn before spreading the new grass seed, or the seed may not germinate.

Leaf rake
Dethatching rake
Cultivator or aerator
Compost shovel
Bow rake
Fertilizer spreader
Starter grass fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Rake the entire lawn to remove any leaves, sticks or mulch from flower gardens. These materials prevent the grass seed from contacting the soil, which is required for germination. Scoop up the material and place it into a compost pile or into a trash can for disposal.
- 2
  Re-rake the entire lawn using a dethatching rake, which has metal teeth that dig down into the soil. This process pulls up dead organic matter from the ground. Collect all of the dead grass and place it into a compost area or the trash.
- 3
  Aerate the ground to create pockets for the seed using a cultivator tool or an aerator tool. These come in both manual and gas-powered models and punch holes in the soil.
- 4
  Spread 2 to 3 inches of compost over the entire lawn using a shovel. The best way to do this is to swing the shovel back and forth to apply the compost thinly instead of dumping it out in piles. When you are done, turn a wide-toothed bow rake over and use the back to smooth out the surface of the compost.
- 5
  Fill a fertilizer spreader with a starter grass fertilizer using the amounts recommended on the package for your size of lawn. Push the spreader over the lawn in closely spaced rows to dispense the fertilizer onto it. When you are done, rake the top of the lawn gently with a leaf rake to mix the granules in with the compost.

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