Seeding Solutions for Troubled Lawns

There has been a recent drought in his region, as well as excessive heat and humidity. But the main culprit behind his distressed grass has been a lot of truck, tractor and trailer traffic. "Sometimes you have to tear up the lawn in the process of improving the overall landscape. And because I've had so many projects going on around here recently--like new fences, new beds and all kinds of rock projects--I had no choice but to allow the contractors to drive their heavy equipment all over the lawn."

To remedy the situation, James aerated, re-seeded, fertilized and watered the grass routinely to keep the soil moist. Ten days later, he begins to see the fruits of his labors in the form of germination.

To ensure even seed coverage, James used a broadcast spreader. Working in a grid pattern by walking north to south, then east to west, he sowed a seed blend consisting of tall fescue and creeping red fescue, at a rate of about 8 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

To deal with these situations, James recommends doing a bit of fine-tuning. "As soon as the seed germinates, I wander around the lawn and identify problem spots," he says. "And since my lawn is so large and my memory so short, I mark those spots with a flag." Once he has identified the problem areas, he corrects them by sowing more seed.

Because bare spots and other problem areas are inevitable, James strongly suggests that you buy more seed than you think you'll actually need. For example, he determined that 500 pounds of seed was necessary to cover his yard, so he purchased an extra 100 pounds to troubleshoot the problem areas.

For large areas, or where coverage is thin for whatever reason, James suggests using a broadcast spreader to distribute the seed as evenly as possible. Apply the seed in the same grid pattern as mentioned earlier. Then spread a thin layer of good-quality topsoil, about 1/8 inch thick, over the area with a shovel. This step ensures good seed-to-soil contact, which will enable the seeds to germinate faster than if they were simply spread on top of bare soil. Covering the seeds also minimizes potential losses to hungry birds.

Once the seeds have all been dispersed, either cover them with a light layer of topsoil, or rake the soil surface again gently. Then tamp the soil down lightly. In areas where even coverage is especially tricky such as along curbs, driveways, sidewalks or garden borders (figure D), it's nearly impossible to sow seeds with a broadcast spreader without spreading and wasting a large portion of the seed onto the paved surface, or worse yet, directly into a garden bed.

James recommends paying careful attention to how far the seed is thrown. Leave a narrow seed-free strip adjacent to beds and paved areas. Once the seed germinates, you can easily identify your seed-free strip. Then fill in the bare spots by hand and cover the seed with a light layer of topsoil or use a rake and tamp down. Within a week, the newly sown seeds should catch up with the previously sown seeds.