Overseeding? Whats the Best Way?

Question

I am planning to overseed, how should I do it? I see the instructions on the actual product but does someone have any ideas on making the maximum of this procedure?

Answer 1

Sorry I totally Disagree with some of the other person explaination on the overseeding methiods.
Yes of it may appear ok however this methiod is better.
I have used it over 30 years as a Trained licensed landscape Contractor. In both Central CA and Northern CA.
This is better way to do the job with better results. Most lawn area unless you have large over grown Trees with roots coming to top of surface.
Now I will give you example that has worked best for me.
1) If possible use what is referred to as a Motorized lawn Rake or Renovator: This cuts the Thatch or grass low to ground level. Then rake this off and either make a compost pile for later use in some gardens. Then other people may prefer to haul this off to prevent any possible mold or fungus to occur.
2) After the Renovation work is completed then hand Rake with a
Flexable rake or the landscaper rake. This means get any large dirt clods out,small rocks.
3) Now after this is completed then measure the length and Wideth X this like 10' X 30" = 300 Sq. Ft. now you want to applya Redwood or Dark Black Compost dressing over the area raked.
Now after this is completed apply the chosen grass seed.
4) Then sprinkled with water not flood it just litely dampen.
Keep this up for two to four times a day unless its raining in your area. { Then also keep some extra grass seed on hand in case some may wash out or look like small canels in the area.
Then you shall need to over seed just these small patches.}
Most grass shall germinate in 15-days unless you have cool weather or low freeze times. Then if the sun may not come out much then it may take longer to get that grass started from
seed.} Now good Luck and Great Green Growing for your yard.

Answer 2

First, you mow your lawn. The shorter the better, because then the seeds can get close to the ground, they won't be shadowed out because the grass will be short, and you won't have to mow for a while, which is good because then they have more time to get tall and strong.

Use one of those whirlygig seeders. They'll shoot it all over the place.

Next, you'll want to get the seeds closer to the ground. A lot of them will be stuck near the tops of the tufts of grass you have.There are three basic ways to get the seeds closer to the ground.

1.You can use a blower, set to it's lowest, but that is a pretty inefficient way to do it, and a lot of the seeds will end up getting blown off your yard. Once you've done that, you can blow most of the seeds on the sidewalk back into the yard.

2: You can use a hose with a nozzle, and aim down. This will get your pants wet, and covered in seeds. Otherwise it's pretty similar to using a blower, but the seeds won't move as much, because they will get wet, and water is heavy. Also, you'll need to keep the yard pretty moist anyway, so this is a good start.

3: you can use a cheap bristle type rake, and, flipping it upside down, brush the yard with it to get the seeds closer to the ground. This is probably the best way, as the seeds won't get scattered much at all.

Next, you may want to cover the seeds a bit. Yes, with manure. Most rental places will rent you a wheel shaped cage device. Throw the manure in that (kind of tricky) and then you can just roll it around where you want the manure. If you're cheap, then sprinkle the manure everywhere, and rake it around. The coverage, and labor will be pretty similar, but the wheel thing feels less like hard work, and more like goofing around. Also, it's harder to rake manure into your shoes when you use a wheel... but you'll want gloves, because the latch on the cage will get maure on it.

Finally, you soak the yard up pretty well for a week or four. the more the merrier i always say. Seeds don't get moldy easily, so the major concern is that they might not get wet enough to sprout at all... Well, that and whether you'll be able to afford your water bill.

The seeds should take root, because they're close to the ground, they'll have nutrients because of the manure, and they won't get eaten because birds don't like to stick their beaks in cow poop.

After a few weeks, you'll see them poking up here and there. Now just keep the darned neighbors off of the yard until you've mowed a few times.

I'm not such a fan of reseeding myself. If this is the back yard, now might be a good time to kill everything in the yard, and keep killing until no more weeds pop up. Then you can level the ground up, and reseed on a pristine surface. Reseeding will of course involve a lot more raking around the ground, and getting everything dead is not always a pretty sight for the neighbors.