How to Sow Lawn Seeds

A healthy lawn does more than improve the appearance of your home. It also prevents erosion, returns oxygen to the air and gives your family a clean place to enjoy the outdoors.Sowing a lawn requires a minimum of equipment, some of which you can rent from a garden center. Consider the size of area when choosing a spreader. Hand spreaders are fine for small areas, but if you have a large area to cover, a drop or rotary spreader is a better choice.

Lawn rake
Grass seed
Spreader
Straw mulch
Weighted roller
Water hose
Sprinkler

Instructions

- 1
  Rake the soil, removing rocks and hard clods as you go.
- 2
  Calibrate the spreader to deliver the seeds at the rate suggested on the grass seed package.
- 3
  Fill the spreader with half the amount of grass seeds needed to seed your lawn. Spread the seeds, moving in straight lines in one direction.
- 4
  Fill the spreader with the second half of the grass seeds and spread them in straight lines at a 90-degree angle to the first spreading.
- 5
  Rake the soil to work the seeds into the top 1/4 inch of soil.
- 6
  Fill the weighted roller no more than 1/2 full with water. Roll over the entire lawn to set the seed.
- 7
  Cover the ground with a very light layer of straw mulch so that 25 percent of the soil shows through.
- 8
  Water the seeds immediately after seeding using a sprinkler. Watch closely and use just as much water as the soil can hold. Stop if it begins to run off.

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