Autumn is the best time to overseed a lawn. With the official start of autumn in 3 weeks, we’ve seen quite the uptick in customers coming in to purchase our grass seed for their fall overseeding. Valley Green is the largest grass seed supplier in the northeast and we have a variety of seed blends available to fit your individual needs. There are several reasons why overseeding in fall is great. There is less competition from warm weather weeds such as Crabgrass, Creeping Charlie, and White Clover. Fall also gives the grass time to get established before the weather gets too cold. The rain amounts and soil moisture are greater in the fall, plus the soil is still warm. Here are some great tips on fall overseeding.
Tips On Fall Overseeding
- Aerate The Lawn: You’ll want to aerate the lawn before starting the overseeding process. You’ll want also thatch your lawn which will allow the soil to breathe after the aeration. Grassy areas tend to see a lot of foot traffic during the summer so aeration is important so that water and fertilizer can easily reach the new roots. When you begin to spread the seed, you’ll want to try to rake the seed into the aeration holes. The seed that is growing inside the aeration holes doesn’t dry out as quickly and germinates faster.
- Measure The Lawn: You’ll need to know the square footage of your lawn so that you how much seed to purchase. Walking the perimeter of the lawn while measuring is the best way to do this. Calculate the square footage by multiplying the length by width. When purchasing the seed, you’ll want to purchase more than the calculated amount for your lawn’s square footage. It is better to overestimate and store the extra in your garage as opposed to not having enough seed and ending up with bare spots.
- Mow The Lawn Short: When you begin the process of overseeding, you’ll want to mow the lawn 1 to 1 notches lower. Be careful not to scalp the lawn and remove any debris leftover such as grass clippings. The shorter lawn will make it easier to see the spots that really need to be seeded. Removing any debris will make it easier for the grass seed to make contact with the soil.
- Rake Over The Lawn’s Bare Spots: If you have any large bare spots, you’ll want to rake them over before putting the seed down. Moistening the soil also helps. The raking and moistening assists with making the soil have better contact with the grass seed.
- Choose The Right Seed: Most of our customers come from the northeast United States. Because of this, the cool-season grasses are often better. Cool-season grasses grow the best in late summer and early fall. The warm soil from summer will help with germination and colder air will encourage growth.