How to Seed a Lawn

By: Joseph Truini, This Old House magazine

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. SOIL TEST KIT
to test the pH level of the soil. Do-it-yourself soil kits are sold at garden shops and hardware stores for less than $15, or for about $10 more you can contact your local extension service for a mail-in kit that takes about two weeks for results.

2. SAND
to mix with existing soil; about 3 cubic yards covers 1,000 square feet

3. COMPOST
to condition soil before seeding; you’ll need 3 cubic yards per 1,000 square feet

4. PULVERIZED LIME, peat moss, or sulfur
to correct the pH of soil; you’ll need lime if your soil is acidic, peat moss if it’s slightly alkaline, and sulfur if it’s very alkaline.

5. STARTER FERTILIZER
use a 12-25-12 mix; the numbers refer to the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium. You’ll need about 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

6. GRASS SEED
about 4 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Pointed shovel,
  to remove rocks and to disperse sand and compost
- Rotary tiller,
  rents for $50 to $75 per day
- Wheelbarrow
- Walk-behind broadcast spreader,
  for applying lime and fertilizer; rents for $10 to $20 a day
- Metal garden rake
- Handheld seeder/spreader,
  for dispersing grass seed
- Plastic leaf rake,
  for working grass seed into the soil
- Oscillating sprinkler
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Product Gallery
Product selections for this project
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Introduction
Overview
Steps:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9

4 to 6 hours
$350 to $400 per 1,000 square feet

Difficulty: Easy Takes little actual skill, but the shoveling, rock removal, and raking might leave you popping the ibuprofen the next day

If you’ve spent the summer lamenting your tattered yard or wishing that your patch of dirt were a blanket of soft blades, you can stop. It won’t get any better, at least not this year. But next spring could be a whole other story if you seed this fall - the perfect time to start a new lawn. In cold-weather climates, fall’s cooler temperatures prevent the seeds from drying out, but there’s still enough sun and rain to help them germinate before going into hibernation for the winter, without the competition of crabgrass and other weeds that die off this time of year. And the best part is that the whole process is a cinch. “Seeding is the easiest thing for a homeowner to do,” says This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook. “It just takes a little soil preparation, the right mix of seed, and lots of watering."