Fall Grass Seeding from Crafty Beaver

A Great Lawn Starts with Grass Seed

Planting grass seed can be done just about anytime throughout the year; nonetheless, most lawn & garden professionals will favor seeding in late summer or fall. If you do plant grass seed in the spring or summer months the grass could require more care and water. Also, the lawn is more susceptible to undesirable weeds during prime growing times. Whatever your lawn project is, call us at Crafty Beaver in Chicago and Skokie we would love to help and identify the best seed solution for your grass.

When growing seed in the fall, the ground temps are still warm providing a wonderful habitat for swifter germination before the colder days. It is can be so much more painless in the fall! In the fall it will tend to rain a bit more than in the summer, so there is benefits to autumn grass seeding… more rain so that you do not have to take time to water with the sprinkler as often.

What’s Your Lawn Grass Type?

There are different kinds of seeding, all will revolve on the current state of the lawn. You might be spot seeding, doing an outright new or renovated lawn, or just bettering your current lawn by overseeding it. Whatever your lawn looks like, make it greater by seeding in autumn months.

Time to Spot Seed: That’s exactly what it is. There is a bare spot where the grass has deceased or decreased for whatever reason. There are products that are invented especially for this kind of spot seeding problem. They are called patch & repair, or spot grass repair seed. There is also kits available that come with the grass seed, and starter fertilizer. Many even combine sort of a “mulch” to support and keep it from washing away the seed before it takes root. Make sure that you use the kind that closely matches your current seed, or a seed that grows strong in your area or climate. Also remember if the grass died in a specific area, you may want to double check to make sure that a sunny grass seed was not planted in a shady area to begin with. If that is the case try switching to a sun & shade seed, or dense shade formula to further benefit in that area.

Call us at Crafty Beaver in Chicago and Skokie so we can help support you with all your autumn lawn needs from choosing the right lawn fertilizers, grass seeds, bug or animal controls. Our store offers an assortment of brands to fit your lawn the best. Stop in and ask an associate for details.

Overseeding: You might want to “overseed” if your grass is thinned out due to insects and other age-related issues. Adding new seed to old will help with your long-term yard strength. You can easily sow the new grass seed over your current lawn. Take some time to prepare your lawn before covering the seed will deepen the success of the end result. To get ready for overseeding, you will want to mow the yard lower than you typically would. Don’t leave any grass clippings. Rake or bag the grass clippings. Later, loosen up the top layer of the soil and remove any debris or dead grass. Use a metal rake to help with this part. This step will help the seeds get in in the soil and take root. You might want to add a fall fertilizer and remember to water routinely to ensure the new seeds take root before before the freeze.

Renovating a lawn is a much bigger task: Usually a yard with a mixture of hills, valleys, and bare spots is more difficult to revamp. You may need to add new soil into ruts or holes in the yard or to some bare spots first. Add at least 3 inches or more of topsoil, rake out and remove all rocks and any other debris. If fixing some grassy areas, mow the grass to about 2 inches then cover topsoil right over the lawn and rake to level with the grass. Set the new grass seed with a lawn spreader or with your hands evenly over the space and rake it in. Ensure to water routinely. Then you are on your way to a new lawn that will look fantastic in the springtime.