Grass Growing Products

Tiller

• Before planting grass seed or sod, you must till the soil to loosen it, add oxygen and remove weeds. For small areas, a pitch fork, hay fork or garden fork will suffice for turning the soil by hand, However, till larger areas with a garden tiller. The tines of the tiller turn and break up the soil. Weeds can then be easily raked out of the freshly turned soil with a garden rake.

Spreader

• Both grass seed and lawn fertilizer are more evenly spread with the use of a spreader. A handheld broadcast spreader has a hand crank attached to a hopper. A dial regulates the amount of seed or fertilizer that is broadcast out the shoot as you turn the crank. A drop spreader is a walk-behind spreader that drops seeds from the hopper to the ground as you walk along. Use a zigzag pattern in one direction followed by zigzagging in the other direction to ensure no missed areas when seeding.

Roller

• After seeding, you will need a lightweight roller to gently press the seeds into the soil. Cover the fresh seed with a layer of hay to protect the seeds from erosion and to help retain water. The hay will then decompose and provide nutrients for the young grass.

Irrigation

• A newly planted grass needs water to grow, but an established lawn needs water to survive drought conditions. Lawns can be watered with handheld hoses or from misters and sprinklers connected to a garden hose or with underground piping. An in-ground sprinkler system requires less personal attention but should be hooked up to a timer to prevent over-watering.

Lawn Mowers

• Eventually the grass is going to grow and need regular cutting. Rotary mowers are walk-behind mowers that have a large blade spinning horizontally under the mower that cuts off the top of the grass. Some rotary mowers send the clipping out a side chute while others have a bag attachment to collect the clipping. A mulching mower is a rotary mower that continues to chop the clippings into small bits that fall down on the lawn, acting as a mulch. Ride-on and ride-behind mowers are large tractor-like mowers that you ride on as you cut a large area. Lawn mowers can be powered by gas or electricity. Reel mowers are push mowers with wavy rotating blades that run on human power. Reel mowers are ideal for cutting a very small patch of grass.

Rakes

• A wide lawn rake removes leaves and debris from the surface of the grass without damaging it. A metal garden rake is best used to level the soil before planting. The heavy metal tines could damage the lawn if used for regular maintenance.

Keeping It Neat

• A lawn mower can cut the top of the grass horizontally, but it cannot cut the grass vertically when it creeps over the edge of the sidewalk. A lawn mower cannot cut close to walls or other permanent structures like sandboxes or clothes lines. An edger cuts the grass vertically, removing the grass that has grown over the sidewalk. A trimmer uses a rapidly-spinning nylon line to cut the grass in hard-to-reach places.