How to Prepare for New Grass Seed

Prepare the planting surface before you plan to sow grass seed. Make sure it is dry outside, with no chance of rain. Cool-season grass seeds should be planted at the start of fall or spring. Warm-season grasses are sown at the beginning of summer.

Use a soil pH test kit to check the soil. The results should ideally read between 6.0 and 7.5. If the reading is lower than 6.0, the soil is acidic and you will need to add lime. If it is above 7.5, the soil is too alkaline and you will need to add peat moss or, if very alkaline, sulfur.

Use a shovel to remove rocks and roots from the soil.

Till the soil to loosen it. Work to a depth of four to six inches, so that there are no large clumps.

Use a shovel to cover the area with one inch of sand. Till the sand into the soil

Cover the area with one inch of compost and till it into the soil and sand.

Add the lime, peat moss or sulfur if required by the soil pH test. Use a shovel to spread the peat moss. For lime or sulfur, use a broadcast spreader.

Using the broadcast spreader, apply a high-quality starter fertilizer. Follow the instructions on the package to figure out the setting for the spreader.

Rake any amendments and the fertilizer into the top inch of soil. The soil is now ready for sowing the grass seed.