How to Seed a Lawn

Seeding a lawn offers a cheaper alternative to laying turf for those who can wait for their new lawn. It also offers a wide range of seed mixtures and types of grasses which can be chosen depending on the type of lawn you wish to have. For lawns that will receive heavy use from friends, family, kids and pets it´s recommended to use tougher grasses in your seed mixture such as ryegrass; take a look at our Family lawn seed or Economy lawn seed. Show lawns that will receive less use and grow alongside your carefully planted flowers and shrubs should use finer grasses that can be mown shorter but will require a little more maintenance. Our Prize lawn seed or Ornamental lawn seed are perfect for this. For shaded and drought susceptible lawns then special seed mixtures can be used that have been specifically chosen to combat these problems such our Shady lawn seed.

To prepare your lawn prior to seeding then please take a look at our advice on Ground Preparation.

You can sow your seed by hand or by using a lawn seeder or lawn spreader. Your seed packaging will provide the details of how much seed is required per sqm of your garden and this will also aid you in working out how much seed you need to purchase.

Hand sowing

The first stage in hand sowing your new lawn is dividing it into small squares usually 1m². These should be marked out using pegs and string. By doing this it will be easier to ensure the seed is applied evenly and at the required amount across the whole area of the lawn. Next pour out the amount of seed required for 1m² into a small bucket then divide this into half using another bucket. Scatter the first half of the seed across the area as evenly as possible. Next scatter the second half of the seed across the area but at right angles to the first application. This will ensure an even covering across the full 1m². Repeat this process for the remaining squares of your lawn.

Sowing with a lawn seeder (Lawn Spreader)

This is a quicker more accurate method of sowing your new lawn and is recommended, especially for lawns of large areas where it would be very time consuming to mark out into individual sqm. Measure out the amount of seed required for the entire lawn and divide into half. Place this half into the seeder or as much as possible ensuring the holes used for dispersing the seed are closed (otherwise the seed will pour out onto your path!). Walk up and down the lawn in straight lines ensuring each line joins but does not overlap. Where overlapping occurs the grass will grow thicker. Once you have applied half the seed apply the other half but in the opposite direction which will give a nice even spread over the whole area.

Aftercare

After the seed has been sown you should give a gentle rake over the whole area to help mix the seed into the freshly prepared topsoil. Following this the area should be watered and should continue to be kept moist over the next 2-3 weeks until seed germination has occurred. Watering should be done using a hose with a fine spray to avoid scattering the seeds with excessive water pressure. Once the grass reaches 25mm then should be lightly rolled or walked over once to cause tillering which will encourage further growth. Once the grass reaches 40mm it can be mown with a rotary mower. Ensure only the top of the grass is removed to avoid damaging the plant. When mowing grass no more than 30% of the current length should be removed at one time. If possible it is advised to cover the newly sown area with chicken wire to avoid animals getting to the seed, this is not essential but will help the growth of you're new lawn.