5 Steps to Planting a New Lawn

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5 Steps to Planting a New Lawn
What you need to do to plant a new lawn

If you're facing the tough task of planting a new lawn, then you should find some comfort in the fact that you can do it yourself, even if you have no previous lawn care experience. Just be prepared to put some research, time, and hard labor into the process and you will have a plush, green lawn sooner than you might think. Want to know how? Here are five steps to planting a new lawn:

Remove the old turf.

Even if you aren't replacing existing grass, you will need to remove weeds and plant overgrowth before you can plant new lawn. There are a number of ways to do this, and most of them involve killing all of the growth by smothering it in hot sunlight (usually under plastic sheeting), applying an herbicide, or manually hoeing and removing the uppermost portion of the soil.

Fix grading.

Your lawn should slope away from your home, at a rate of no less than two inches every ten feet and no more than twelve inches every four feet. You can use a topsoil rake to repair small grading issues, or rent earth moving equipment to fix larger grading problems. If need be, you may even hire a professional.

Add necessary amendments.

Test your lawn for composition and pH in order to determine what amendments you need to add (fertilizer, sulfur, organic matter, and/or lime, for example). You may send some soil away to a commercial or governmental soil tester for this job. Then add any necessary amendments to your lawn, using a tiller to work them in.

Prepare the soil surface.

Rake the soil to remove stones and other debris, and then pat it into place until it is firm enough to provide ample support for new seeds, as seeds may fall too deep into soil that is too loose, giving new growth a hard time reaching the surface before dying. Water the soil until the moisture reaches five to six inches deep, two days before planting.

Plant your seeds.

Apply a starter fertilizer according to the seed supplier's instructions, being careful not to work it into the soil, and then spread the seeds either by hand or using any type of spreader. Rake just the most effective eighth of an inch of soil lightly to drop the seeds and encourage germination, and then water. You have now planted a new lawn!

There is a lot involved in caring for a lawn and keeping it thick and healthy. In order to make the most of your grassy outdoor space, put your lawn care needs in the hands of competent, experienced, and trustworthy professionals like us, Gardener San Jose.We're in Downtown San Jose and can be reached by phone, at (408) 390-4876