How to Care for Grass Lawn Seeds

When you give the proper to grass seeds during their germination period, the result is a thick, green lawn. While planting grass from seed is cheaper than laying sod, the seed does require more nurturing than sod. The most important item to keep watch over is soil moisture. If grass seeds dry out, growth stops. Planting during early fall is best, as the summer is often too hot and dry for grass seed to thrive.

Broadcast spreader
Starter fertilizer
Garden trowel

Instructions

- 1
  Pour the grass seed into a broadcast spreader. The amount of grass seed you need depends on the size of the area you are planting. Read the recommendations on the back of the grass seed bag.
- 2
  Read the back of a bag of starter fertilizer to determine how much fertilizer to add to the grass seed. Pour the recommended amount into the broadcast spreader with your grass seed. Mix the seed and fertilizer together using a garden trowel.
- 3
  Set the broadcast spreader to the spreading rate recommended by the grass seed's manufacturer. Walk the spreader back and forth across the area you want to plant. Walk at a normal pace.
- 4
  Set up enough sprinklers so the entire planted area receives water. Moving one sprinkler from area to area works, but is not ideal. Avoid overlapping where the water hits since this leads to puddling.
- 5
  Water the grass seed two to three times each day for approximately 10 minutes each time. Pay close attention to the soil moisture on hot days and windy days, because it may dry out more quickly. Increase the amount of water if necessary on those days. The soil must not dry out. Continue this watering plan for three to four weeks.
- 6
  Apply more starter fertilizer four weeks after planting the grass seed. Again, follow the recommendations on the back of the bag and spread it using a broadcast spreader
- 7
  Cut the grass when it is tall enough to remove one-third of its height.

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Planting Seasons for Grass Seed in Ohio

Growing Grass