How to Grass a Lawn

Collect 10 to 12 small soil samples from different areas throughout your yard, combine the soil to make approximately one pint for testing. Your local extension office can send your soil away for testing, to determine if your lawn is lacking essential nutrients before you start sowing grass seed. Take soil samples from 3-inch depths and place soil in any clean, sealable container.

Amend soil as necessary, per test results. Add 4 to 6 inches of nutrient-rich top soil to your lawn to give grass the best soil for strong roots and healthy blade growth.

Grade the yard using a tractor and grader blade. Simply pull the grader blade over the lawn to level soil, uproot small rocks and remove low spots where water may pool and drown grass roots. Remove all visible rocks before seeding.

Aerate the top soil after grading, as the tractor and construction equipment (when building a home or business) may have compacted the soil excessively. Aerated soil helps encourage strong, healthy root systems. Till the soil between 4 and 12 inches deep; the deeper, the better. Avoid over-tilling; you want soil in 1-inch clumps versus fine powder.

Rake the lawn with a hand or manual garden rake to re-grade and re-level the soil after aerating. Although it's time consuming and back-aching work, raking by hand prevents soil from compacting under heavy equipment.

Measure your lawn to determine how much grass seed you need. This often varies according to grass variety and is measured in pounds per 1,000 square feet. Sow 2 to 3 lbs. of Kentucky bluegrass, 1 to 2 lbs. of Buffalo grass or 6 to 8 lbs. of ryegrass and fescue per 1,000 square feet of your lawn.

Sow grass seed with the help of a gravity-flow spreader or rotary spreader that distributes grass seed over a small area of your lawn. Push or crank the device as you walk back and forth across your lawn, distributing grass seed.

Cover grass seed to the suggested depths by building a mini harrow to blend the seed into the top soil without pushing the seeds into low points of the lawn. Drive nails 4 inches apart, throughout a 3-by-3-feet plywood square and drag the mini harrow nail-side-down across your lawn three to four times. Most grass seed requires a one-eight to one-half inch of soil covering for optimal germination. Some seeds will remain uncovered but still grow successfully.

Apply mulch to retain soil moisture and prevent erosion from washing grass seed away. Weed-free hay and straw applied at the rate of one bale per 1,000 square feet is the most common mulching material for growing grass, though other organic mulches are acceptable. You may remove mulch later or leave it on the lawn as thatch that will eventually decompose and provide nutrients to the grass.