Overseeding

Fall is the best time of year to overseed your lawn. If you have wondered why the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, it is no doubt due to overseeding. Overseeding is the spreading of seed on an already established lawn, without having to dig it up and start from scratch.

How do you know if you need to overseed. Its pretty simple to establish if your lawn needs overseeding. Does your lawn have summer scorched patches, parts that are thing or bare. First you may need to address some outside factors. Is the soil in good shape (loose, well drained).

Overseeding is an essential lawn care task. Even if you fertilize properly,  grass doesn't grow forever. After five or six years, grass plants will slow down their reproduction rates and result in thin grass coverage. The problem then is thin grass invites weeds. Overseeding compensates for that natural decline of turf's reproduction rate. There are two major benefits to overseeding every five or six  years. Overseeding will insure your lawn stays thick and dense and ineffect choke out most if not all weeds. Also new varieties of seed today are less susceptible to pests and diseases.

Most lawns in Tulsa, are overseeded with fescue seed. I recommend Five Star Fescue which can be found locally at the Garden Trug. Five Star is a brand of fescue that I have found works best in Oklahoma. Using Five Star you will need about 6-8 pounds of seed per 1000 square foot.

Let the fun begin.

1. Start by first mowing your grass. Set your lawn mower to cut at a height of about 2 inches.
   
2. Next you will need to collect your grass clippings. Your new grass seed will need to be able to make direct contact with the soil. Grass clippings can create a thatching effect and will prevent the seed from making contact with the soil.
   
3. (Perhaps the most taxing part of this adventure) You need to aerate the area you are going to be overseeding. Do this by using a hard rack and score the surface of your lawn. remembering that the seed must touch soil in order to germinate the more you score the better chance your seed has at success.
    
4.  Apply the grass seed using a spreader. A Spreader helps distribute the seeds evenly in an area. If your doing a small area you can do it by hand, however for larger areas a drop spreader is recommended as it is far more efficient.
   
5.  Lastly, water in your freshly spread seed. Once grass seed is spread and moistened from that first watering, it should never be allowed to dry out. Grass seed must always be kept moist until you get full germination. In Oklahoma that means watering new seed at least twice a day for at about two weeks. If you miss a day or two and the seed dries you may lose up to 30 percent germination.  

Overseeding can add tremendous curb appeal to your overall landscape. While it can be a chore you should only have to do it about once every five or six years. Additonally Overseeded lawns may need fertilizer six weeks after planting. You can apply 1 lb. of milorganite for every 1,000 square feet of lawn.