overseeding lawn

Millertyme · 05-08-2010, 04:59 PM

im not sure if my approach is right but here is what i did. I cut my lawn lower than usual. Rented a power rake and went over entire lawn. seeded with scotts water smart seed and passed power rake over again. water in the am 15 min or so and again at dusk. My lawn didnt look terrible to start but had some bare spots and weird discolored patches here and there and i want it to look more uniform. I found out that they have a machine meant for overseeding after i returned the power rake. should i have used that?

High Gear · 05-08-2010, 08:51 PM

The more soil contact with the seed the better, so yes a Seed Slitter would be a better choice.

I'd water in the afternoon vs dusk... enough to keep moist not soaking wet.

downunder · 05-08-2010, 09:57 PM

My biggest question with the second power raking is if you scattered the seed and may have heavy spots in some areas and still have bare spots that you are trying to correct in others.

That said, I probably would still have used some mulch straw- how much depends on how much other material you had after power raking. Did you remove the debris after the first power raking?

Watering:
15 minutes doesn't tell me a lot. Depends on what kind of watering you are doing. Irrigation system, hose-end sprinkler, holding it by hand, etc.
The end is that you want the seed to stay damp. A little too much water would not be as great a problem as letting it dry out and die just after it sprouted. The worst is that you are wasting water and a utility bill. If I had it on a timer, I would go for 10:00, 2:00, and 6:00. And some will say that the last two will just evaporate. It will, just as it will evaporate from the seed.