SPRING SEEDING MYTH
When is the best time to seed? Here is a post that will provide a bit of help.
The Myth: The best time to plant and/or overseed your lawn is in the spring.
The Reality: Sowing seed in the spring actually sets you up for potential problems.
As the heat sets in during the summer months, weeds will compete for space in the lawn. The newly seeded grass does not have a well established root system yet; therefore it does not have the strength to win out over the weeds.
NOTE: If you fertilize your lawn, the first 2 steps of fertilizer are designed to combat weed growth by establishing a barrier at the surface so that weed seed isn’t able to germinate. This barrier will not only prevent weed seed from germinating, but will prevent your new grass seed from germinating as well.
- The best time to sow seed is in the fall when the temperatures are more consistent, and highly competitive weeds (like crabgrass) have gone dormant.
If you must seed in the spring: You have to expect weeds to grow along with the new grass. These weeds can be treated in late summer, when any new grass is strong enough to withstand the herbicide used to treat the weeds.
If you are only spot seeding, you can do this after your first step of fertilizer has been applied. To do this, top-dress the areas with bagged topsoil and seed into the topsoil.
GOOD IDEA: Bagged topsoil will contain less weed seed that existing soil in your yard or screened loam, as these soils sit outside gathering weed seed brought in by birds, wind etc. Topsoil is an inexpensive way to have less weeds when you seed!