Cincinnati and Dayton Seeding Tips
It’s almost September, Labor Day is right around the corner, the NFL is about to begin, and it is time to seed your lawn. This means prepare yourself for disappointment on Sundays if you are a Browns fan like me, but hope is still heavy in the air. Hope that the Browns will reach 9 wins this year and hope that your seeding attempt in the lawn will go better than this Spring. Below are some seeding tips for homeowners in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. September is Seeding Month in Southwest Ohio. DO NOT wait until Spring to seed!
1) DON’T Wait Until the Spring – September is Seeding Month in Dayton and Cincinnati. Why do you keep wasting your money and time seeding in the Spring? Try seeding in September and you will be amazed at how much better the results are. Why is this? The grass is stronger going into its first Summer if you seed during the Fall instead of the Spring. There is less weed pressure with the new grass coming in compared with the Spring Seeding. In the Fall, the soil temperatures are still warm to help the new grass seed germinate and the cooler weather with more rain is ideal for new grass to come in. The conditions are perfect! Brown’s passing offense…not so perfect.
2) Pick the Right Seed – Purchasing grass seed can be as complicated as deciphering what the old man on Duck Dynasty just said. First off, make sure you know what type of grass you have currently in your lawn. Purchase the same type of grass at your local box store. Most lawns in Cincinnati and Dayton are a mix of bluegrass, tall fescue, and ryegrass. We suggest using turf type tall fescue grass blends. You pay for what you get…Think that deal is too good to be true? It probably is. Anything that says grass will germinate in 2-3 days doesn’t contain good grass seed. Avoid anything that has annual ryegrass, Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue, K-31 Tall Fescue or any noxious weeds found on the tag. Look at the white tag on the package of seed and make sure there are no noxious weeds found, very low weed seed counts, and the germination percentage is above 85%. Better yet stay at home, enjoy your weekend with your family, and have us deliver some of our grass seed to you. We use newer better varieties of grass seed that are a darker green and stand up to droughts better.
3) Work the Soil – So you have some leftover seed in your garage and want to fill in a few bare spots this September. Usually you dump a big pile of seed in these spots and figure the more the better. You forget about it and hope that it comes in. A month later the pile is still sitting there and no grass has come in. A few suggestions that will make sure it comes in this year. Don’t dump a bunch of seed in one spot. Seed needs space to grow properly. As that new grass comes in it likes a little space. Pouring a volcano pile of seed in one spot isn’t going to mean it comes in super thick. It will come in much better if it is spread out a little bit. Sprinkle the seed in that area (tall fescue goes down at about 7-10 lbs. per 1,000 square feet and bluegrass is about 4-5 lbs. per 1,000 square feet). After you put down the seed, work the soil. You can aerate the lawn then broadcast the seed over the holes. You can spread the seed and work it into the soil with a metal rake or a garden weasel. The best method of putting down grass seed though is using a slice seeding machine. This is similar to a farmer planting his crops. It germinates in rows and fills out from there. I would suggest going two different directions for a thicker germination.
4) Water Properly – So the Browns have successfully ruined another Sunday in September, you have picked a high quality grass seed blend, and you have worked the soil. Time to start the grill and crack a Coke or a beer right? Not just yet. Give the new grass seed some water. Not just that day, but for the next 3 weeks. The most important thing you must do is to make sure the SOIL DOES NOT DRY OUT. You do not want to see cracks in the soil. This will ruin your work. We suggest watering the new grass areas 1-2 times per day for 10-15 minutes each watering. If it rains you are probably fine to skip the watering. Don’t water to the point of run off, but keep the soil moist for 3 weeks. Don’t be discouraged if you see nothing after a week. Some grasses take 14-21 days to germinate.
Sound like too much work? Contact us for a seeding quote and let us take care of all this for you. Okay burger time!