How to Apply Lawn Seed & Fertilizer Together

When you want a nice green lawn, you have to use a fertilizer and grass seed together so that the new seeds with be germinating and rooting in a good soil with nitrogen and other nutrients. For newly planted grass seed, you use different fertilizer than you would for a lawn that is already growing grass. You should know how to apply lawn seed and fertilizer together so that the germinating process can start.

Starter fertilizer
Manual lawn edger
Lawn spreader

Instructions

- 1
  Break up the soil with a manual lawn edger. The soil should be roughed up so that the fertilizer and grass seed will be able to work together in the soil.
- 2
  Apply the starter fertilizer to the area that will be planted with grass seed. The starter fertilizer is usually a 9-18-18 mix. The mixture gives the soil the nitrogen and other nutrients needed to help grass seed germinate and root in the soil.
- 3
  Sow the grass seed over the area that was fertilized. Use a lawn spreader for large areas and sow by hand for patch areas. Do not over seed, but put down enough seed to lightly cover the area.
- 4
  Water the new grass seed, which activates the fertilizer and starts the germination process. Do not flood the grass seed, but soak it enough so that the soil is wet with no standing water. Note: If watering on an incline, place some shredded newspaper or straw to keep the grass seed in place.
- 5
  Water the new grass seed once in the morning and once in the evening. Do this until the grass is about 1 inch tall. Then decrease watering to evenings until the grass is two inches tall and ready to be mowed.

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