As with most things in life, proper lawn care requires a lot of time, attention and knowledge. Everyone hopes for their lawn to grow strong and healthy but sometimes, making small mistakes can deliver negative results.
One of which involves the amount of grass seed used to grow your lawn. Whether you're growing from scratch or looking to fix unhealthy patches, knowing how much grass seed to use can be the difference between a lush, green lawn and an unhealthy one.
So, can you put down too much grass seed? What happens if you do? How much grass seed do you need for your lawn?
In this blog, we answer all of these questions to make your lawn growing issues a thing of the past!
The problems of overseeding
If you're wondering can you put down too much grass seed? The answer to this question is yes. Sowing more grass seeds than you need to do more harm to your lawn than good.
Why? Let's take a look at some of the issues your lawn can experience through overseeding.
Reduced germination rate
The first issue that can occur as a result of putting down too much grass seed is a decrease in the rate that your seeds germinate.
Whenever you sow grass seeds, each individual seed will compete for access to your soil to germinate. When overseeding occurs, some may gain access quickly, whilst some may end up never reaching the soil at all. This can lead to problems with germination as the seeds that never access the soil will never germinate and the seeds that do get impacted by those that don't. Leading to slower growth rates, inhibited establishment and a slow-growing lawn.
Standard germination rates for grass seeds range between one to three weeks. Germination for overseeding seeds, however, can extend this even longer.
Increased competition
As a result of putting down too much grass seed, you inadvertently cause increased competition between your seeds for all the essential resources that they need to germinate and grow, not just access to your soil.
All plants, including grass, require space in your soil for their roots to establish. By spreading too much grass seed, however, you encourage root competition between each seedling as they attempt to grow. This can lead to some seeds pushing through the soil quickly, absorbing their portion of moisture and nutrients whilst others fail altogether.
What results is a patchy-looking lawn and competition between the seeds that remain.
Poor grass structure
One of the bad things that can occur as a result of increased competition between your seedlings is the poor physical structure in the grass that does survive.
The occurs through a lack of essential resources as many of the seeds fight with each other to gain what they need to become established. With many seeds not surviving, the ones that do and become somewhat established, grow to have a thin shape that gets crushed easily under footfall or harsh weather conditions.
How Much Grass Seed Do You Need?
So, now that we know you can put down too much grass seed, how much is enough?
Whether starting your lawn from scratch or trying to oversee an existing lawn, it is vital that you follow the instructions on the back of the grass seed bag you have bought.
Oftentimes, these will tell you how to sow your grass seeds rather than how much seed you need. An easy way to find out is to multiply the length of your lawn by its width. Take away any non-lawn areas that overlap it such as paths, patios and decks, which will leave you with the total square footage of your lawn.
In general, you only need between 10-12 seeds within each square inch of soil, so by calculating the size of your lawn you will be able to make a more informed decision about the number of grass seeds you need for a natural, healthy-looking lawn.
READ MORE: What Does Overseeding Do?
Overseeding tips and advice
To avoid these problems, it's important to understand and know what to do when it comes to seeding your new lawn. Here at Lawn & Weed Expert, we have over 20 years of experience in lawn care and in that time have helped numerous lawns to grow some seed, gaining an invaluable insight into what to do and what not to do.
You can take a look at some of the overseeding tips and advice that we have to share on our page below.
Overseeding Tips & Advice >
We understand that growing a new lawn from seed takes time, care and attention. Something that many people may not have, despite wanting a lush lawn for their property.
That's where we come in! Contact the Lawn & Weed Expert team today to learn all about our seeding services to help you achieve the lawn you've always dreamed of!
