Lawns, like buildings, must be constructed with a good foundation to withstand time and remain in good condition.
Materials to start a good lawn include 6” to 12” inches of good topsoil over a well-drained (or tiled) subsoil. Along with this must come proper slopes for good surface drainage.
Next, we need good seeds, fertilizer, and tools for proper seedbed preparation, sowing, and watering.
Fall Seeding
The best time in most states for seeding a new lawn is early fall. The second choice is early spring.
With fall seeding, grass has a better chance of becoming established before the heat of July and August. Fall seeding also avoids weed competition while the grass is getting started.
Have the best topsoil stockpiled to one side when excavating for a new house?
When lawn construction begins, establish a rough grade with an allowance for 6” to 12” inches of good topsoil. Establish grades for good surface drainage.
This means a fall of at least 1’ foot in every 50’ feet. Drain surface water away from foundations with 1’ foot of fall in 10’ feet.
Around most newly built homes, soil settles 5” or 6” inches next to the foundation during the first three or four years.
Avoid this by watering thoroughly as the soil is placed in the backfilled trench. For the width of the backfilled trench, mound soil four or five incises higher than the adjacent soil level.
Where steep grades are necessary, use retaining walls, if possible, rather than steep terraces. If terrace slopes are necessary, grade to have no more than 1’ foot of fall every 3’ feet, with the top edge and bottom of the slope well-rounded for easy mowing.
Grow Good Grass
Many areas have acid soils that need the application of agricultural lime to grow good grass. Lime should only be used if a lime soil test shows it is needed.
Your county extension agent or agricultural college soil testing laboratory can make the test for you. Too much lime can be just as harmful as not enough.
Complete Commercial Fertilizer
Apply complete commercial fertilizer before the final working of the seedbed. This is your only opportunity to get fertilizer well mixed into the soil. The soil test is the best way to determine what fertilizer to use.
Without a soil test, a safe fertilizer would be 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 (12 percent nitrogen-12 percent phosphate-12 percent potash).
The second choice would be a 10-20-10. These may be applied at 20 to 25 pounds per 1,000 square feet.
Use a fertilizer spreader to obtain uniform and accurate distribution. Then use a rotary tiller to thoroughly mix fertilizer with the top 5” or 6” inches of soil.
If soil is already loose and you see no need to till it to the 5” or 6-inch depth, then apply the complete commercial fertilizer at the rate of ten to 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet and rake it thoroughly into the top 2” or 3” inches of soil as the final grade and seedbed are being prepared.
Remember to keep good surface drainage sloping away from the house foundation as you rake. Work the seedbed to a fine texture free of clods, stones, and construction debris.
Best Lawn Grass
Use only the best lawn grass seed mixture. It should contain at least 75% percent permanent lawn grasses, preferably more. Use only grasses suited to your area.
Bluegrass is still the most widely adopted permanent lawn grass in the East and Midwest. Bluegrass is not shade tolerant, however.
Mixtures for shaded areas should contain 50% to 75% percent shade grasses and only 20% or 25% percent bluegrass.
Shade grasses include creeping red and chewings fescues. Bluegrass should make up 50% to 75% percent of the mixture for open sunny lawn areas.
Numerous strains or selections of common Kentucky bluegrass, such as Merion, Park, Arboretum, etc. When in doubt, stick to common Kentucky bluegrass.
Tall Alta Fescue
In lawn problem areas, the tall fescues have a place. These include ‘Alta’ fescue or one of its selections, ‘ Kentucky 31’ fescue.
These are permanent grasses and may be suited to areas where soil conditions could be better, where soil compaction will be severe, and where the area will be heavily used as a playground – conditions under which bluegrass would not hold up well. Tall fescues also tolerate shade.
They have large grass blades like ryegrass but are drouth resistant and can tolerate heavy traffic.
If used, tall fescue is seeded alone without other grasses, at seven to ten pounds per 1,000 square feet. This produces a thick stand resulting in fairly fine textured turf. Seeds are large and must be covered at least ¼” an inch deep for good germination.
If you use tall fescues in a mixture, do not use one containing less than 80% to 90% percent `Alta’ fescue or ‘Kentucky 31’ fescue. Anything less than 75% percent may result in rough, clumpy turf.
Tall fescues germinate so fast they need no nurse crop. If you want some bluegrass in this turf, sow it at one pound per 1,000 square feet after the fescue has been planted and covered. Mow at a height of 2” inches.
The basic bluegrass mixture for open lawns should be seeded at two to 2 1/2 pounds per 1,000 square feet, while the red fescue – bluegrass mixture for shade is seeded at three pounds per 1,000’ square feet.
Sowing Grass Seed
A regular lawn seeder will give the best results in sowing grass seed uniformly. If seeding by hand or with a knapsack broadcast seeder, divide the seed into three equal parts and sow in three different directions.
After seeding, cover the seed lightly – ⅛” to ¼” inch. You can do this by raking it in. Then use a lawn roller to firm the soil around the seed for quicker and better germination.
Watering will further speed up germination, resulting in a thicker, more uniform stand of grass.
Use a fine spray from the garden hose or lawn sprinkler so as not to cover and “splash” the tiny seeds.
Sprinkle once or twice daily to keep the seedbed moist as much as possible during the first three weeks or more.
Mowing
The final – and very important – operation is mowing. Start mowing new grass just as soon as any area reaches a height of 2 ½” inches.
Keep it at most three or 3” or ½” inches. Have the lawn mower sharp and set to mow at 1 ½” inches.
These first mowings are needed to encourage stooling or spreading of permanent grasses and to prevent nurse grasses from smothering new seedlings.
Also, frequent mowings will prevent a large crop of long clippings from falling all at once on the new lawn, possibly to smother young seedlings of permanent grasses.
Continue mowing frequently – so grass clippings will be about 1” inch long. Discontinue mowing only when winter has stopped grass growth.
If some broad-leafed weeds show up, don’t use 2,4-D weed-killing compounds on the new stand of grass. Wait until next year. Regular mowing will take care of these few weeds.
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