Establishing a Lawn with Grass Seed

1. Select the seed best for your lawn needs: listed below in order of popularity for KC lawns

KC Marathon ^#1 best choice, KC Marathon contains both rhizome-forming tall fescue and bluegrass. Rhizomes are underground runners which form a strong healthy sod. Mixing grasses improves the turf quality and allows the best performance in both sunny and shady spots. KC Marathon requires less water and fertilizer.

Revolution blends four of the best varieties of "turf-type" fescues. Revolution has finer blades with rich color. Dense texture prevents clumping. Hardy in extreme wet or dry soils.

3^rd Millennium "turf-type" fescue is our best variety for both sun and shade. It is easy to establish when seeding into bluegrass or upgrading a fescue lawn.

Spring-Up mix of ¾ bluegrass with ¼ rye. Spring-Up is recommended for building a new lawn.

Superblue Blend combines the best varieties of bluegrass to produce the most beautiful lawn.

Shady Lawn special mix is the best for shade. Can be planted any time of the year.

2. Buy the correct amount of seed by determining the square footage to be seeded and use the rate chart below. Too much seed is worse than too little!

3. Control weed problems by asking our lawn experts for advice.

4. Fertilize with the best type to promote healthy growth: repeat in 4-6 weeks

FL New Lawn Starter when renovating large areas.

FL Lawn Food + Iron when overseeding an established lawn.

5. Rake out debris and loosen soil one half inch deep. Use a rake for small patches or a verticut machine for large areas. Water dry soils a day ahead with a half inch of water to improve soil seedbed texture. Add top soil to any low spots now.

6. Apply seed and fertilizer with a spreader. pick up the Grass Seeding Rate Chart with useful examples

7. Cover the seed by raking the loose soil lightly. Spread “Straw Net” on critical areas that would dry out or on slopes that would erode.

8. Water slowly and long enough (one hour) to wet the top six inches of soil. The following waterings should be shorter (twenty minutes), but frequent enough to keep the seedbed moist (1x to 5x daily). Under optimum conditions, grass seeds will germinate in three days (rye) to fourteen days (bluegrass). Many factors can slow germination so be patient and keep that seedbed moist.

9. Mow the new turf two inches high when the new blades grow to three inches tall. Mow as often as needed and use a sharp blade.