How to Overseed a Thin Lawn

A thin lawn with patches of bare areas can be incredibly frustrating when you want a yard full of thick, green grass. Oftentimes, overseeding is a great way to breathe life into your lawn! We have all the tips you need to revive your lawn, including how to overseed and advice on the best time to seed. Read on to learn more!

Why Overseeding Your Lawn is Important

Overseeding replenishes and renews your lawn by correcting problem areas to give your yard a uniformly healthy look. Bare, thin patches of grass can occur for lots of reasons.  Whether your yard is overshaded by trees or your lawn has been damaged by disease or drought, these problems can all be corrected with overseeding.

When to Overseed

The best time to overseed your lawn is in the fall. Moderate daytime temperatures and cooler nights in the Fall are ideal conditions for new grass seed to take root.

“Seeding in the Fall promotes strong root growth, better seed germination, and less competition from weeds and crabgrass,” explains Giroud Lawn Care Manager, Jason Lines.

If you’re eager to overseed in the spring, Jason recommends meeting with a lawn care expert to discuss other options, such as sodding. Plus, getting started on an annual lawn care program, like Giroud’s 6-visit program, will also help thicken up those bare areas.

How to Overseed Your Lawn

It’s vital that you choose a seed that matches the rest of your lawn and growing environment. There are many different kinds of seed on the market, so you’ll need to identify if you need cool-season or warn-season grass seed. Giroud’s Seeding Treatment uses a blend of 3 types of grass seed that are most ideal for our climate and soil quality in this part of Pennsylvania.

1. Kentucky Blue Grass
2. Rye Grass
3. Turf type tall fescue

The Kentucky Blue Grass and the Rye Grass seeds are both cool weather grasses that thrive in Pennsylvania. As these two types of grass go dormant in the heat of the summer, they will begin to yellow. That’s why we also use the tall fescue grass seed, which sun tolerant and heat resistant. The fescue greens up your lawn during the hottest months. Since it does great in the heat, it works to crowd out pesky weeds and weedy grasses that try to take over your lawn.

Prep Your Soil

Before you seed, mow your lawn using a low setting on your mower. Then rake up any debris, such as dead grass and leaves, so the seeds can reach the soil. Fill in any holes with topsoil so your yard is even.

Get Spreading!

You’ll want to use a spreader that’s right for the size of your lawn. Check out Scott’s tips for How to Choose Lawn Spreaders here. Once you have the right tools for the job, just fill it up with seed and start spreading!

Don’t Forget to Water

While new grass is growing, keep the soil moist by watering lightly daily. Don’t drench the soil or the seed will run off before it has a chance to grab hold and take root! Once the new grass is at the same height as surrounding grass, it is established and you can ease off the watering.

How Giroud Can Help Your Thin Lawn

When in doubt, call the Lawn Care Experts at Giroud to get your grass in great shape! We’ll take the guesswork out of it for you and revitalize your lawn with aeration and overseeding at the perfect time in the season. Your Giroud Lawn Care Technician will make recommendations for treating thin, bare areas of grass. Plus he will look for any other inssues, including intrusive weeds, insect invasions, and signs of lawn disease and mold.

Read more about Giroud’s Aeration and Seeding program here: Building a Better Lawn with Aeration & Seeding

CONTACT GIROUD TREE & LAWN TODAY!
SCHEDULE YOUR FREE ESTIMATE NOW