by
Dawn West, All About Lawns Columnist
Congratulations on
your New Lawn |
If you're putting in a new lawn for the first time, the rapt attention to new lawn care that rumor has it's required to get a thick green lawn to sprout from those new little seeds can seem a little much. Fear not. With the following tips in mind, it won't be that bad. If you need a new lawn, that new lawn can be as close as a bag of
seed away... well, a bag of seed AND what can seem like an overwhelming amount of yard work. The good news is that with the right prep work and some effective new lawn care, a bag of seed really can get you the gorgeous lawn you're dreaming of with less hassle than you might have thought.
Use the following tips to be on your way:
Tip #1. Prep Work is Everything.
Before you can put in a new lawn, chances are you're going to have to put in some new soil - or at least add something to what you've got. Get your soil tested, and go from there. Leveling the surface of your yard by pulling out any rocks and smoothing out any hollows or ridges will also make your life loads easier once your grass is growing.
Tip #2. Plant at the Right Time.
Even with the most tender loving new lawn care, if you plant in the height of summer or too late in the fall, your new lawn won't make it. New lawns typically do best when the weather is between around 60 and 85 and when they'll have at least six weeks of good growing season after the seeds germinate.
Tip #3. Keep the Soil Moist
When it comes to new lawn care, water is at the heart of the action. The key is to keep the surface of the soil moist until the seeds have sprouted. After that, decreasing the frequency of your
watering while increasing the duration will help give the grass the water it needs while encouraging its root system to take hold.
Dawn West B.A. holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and teaches writing at Oregon State University.
