How to Plant Grass Seed

Learning how to plant grass seed is not as complicated or labor intensive as you might imagine. Actually, I find that it’s easier to plant grass seed than any other type of seeds I’ve worked with. But then again, I’m not so much of a “starting plants from seeds” type of gal, so if I can learn how to plant grass seed, I’m sure you can too!

First off, let me just say that this article is NOT going to get into the ins and outs of different types of grass seed – fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass – let’s get real...if you’re like me, you could probably give a rip about the difference between each of these grasses, and have no interest in learning anything about them...you just want to learn how to plant grass seed and be done with it!

So that’s what I’m going to focus on...giving you some concrete, easy to follow steps on how to plant grass seed.

Photos courtesy of LeonESpencer

These are the steps that I take:

1. First of all, you'll need to determine the size of the area that you want to seed (approximately). Square footage is fine if you have a smaller yard, or acreage, if you have a larger yard. Make sure that you figure out the amount of area you want to cover for both sunny and shady locations.

   For example, my lot is approximately one acre total – ½ acre in the front and ½ acre in the back. Approximately ½ of my front yard is covered in shade, and most of my backyard receives sun. So therefore, I’ll need ¼ acre of shade tolerant grass seed, and ¾ acres of sun tolerant grass seed.

2. That’s not all you need to consider when learning how to plant grass seed, though...you’ll need to know how much and what type of traffic your lawn will get. Some grass is beautiful, but it won’t tolerate the wear and tear of kids or pets. I have a dog that likes to run around and play Frisbee, so I need to get grass that can tolerate heavy traffic. These type of specification are usually printed clearly on the bags of grass seed.
3. Once you have this info, you’re ready to go to your local lawn and garden center and purchase the appropriate amount and type of grass seed. For me, I need ¼ acre of shade tolerant grass, and ¾ acres of sun tolerant grass, all of which must be able to handle moderate to heavy traffic.

   I would always recommend that you purchase grass seed locally as you will be able to purchase the grass seed that is most appropriate and reliable for your particular area. If you purchase online, then you have to do further research about the different types of grass seed available. Local dealers, however, will always carry the seed that’s best for the area. My personal favorite is to buy from places like Farm and Fleet, Sam’s Club, Costco, Menards or any other shop where I’ll be able to buy a large amount of seed at a reasonable price. Hardware stores are usually too pricey for this purchase and I try and avoid them.

4. So you now have the right type of grass seed for your lawn in the appropriate amounts. Next you’ll need some type of spreader if you don’t already have one. Do yourself a favor and purchase a rolling “spreader” – don’t be suckered into one of those hand spreaders unless you have a tiny, postage-stamp size yard. They’re not easy to work with, and it’ll be difficult to spread the seed evenly. For smaller yards, a drop spreader usually works nice (the seed is literally dropped evenly from the spreader as you push it around the yard) however for a larger lawn like mine, I prefer a broadcast spreader (the seed is dropped into a round tray that spins and “broadcasts” the seed in a large circle around the spreader as you walk around the lawn).
5. If you’re going to aerate your lawn, now is the time to do it. This step can be skipped if you like, but aerating your lawn can help improve the condition of your lawn over time. See my information on aerating your lawn for more information on how to give your lawn some breathing room.
6. Next you’ll want to cut the grass extra short so that when you spread the grass seed, the seed actually reaches the soil. (This, of course, assumes that you’re starting with an established lawn that you want to improve on. If you’re starting with bare soil, proceed to the next step.) At this point, many professionals will tell you that it’s a good idea to rake the soil with a garden rake. This will help de-thatch the lawn and loosen the soil just a bit to help the seed burrow down and take root. Personally, this step for how to plant grass seed is too labor intensive for me so I skip it. I might not get the greatest of results this way, but my results are sufficient to satisfy me. If you’re working with bare soil however, raking will help the seeds stay put and keep them from either blowing away, or sliding away once you water the area.
7. Read the instructions on the bag of grass seed to determine what setting your spreader needs to be on. You want it to spread a good amount of seed around, but you don’t want to drop all of the seed in the first couple of feet. (If you haven’t guessed, I’ve actually done that...oops!)

   While it is problematic to spread too much fertilizer over your lawn, it is ok to spread too much seed. I usually spread more grass seed per square foot than recommended just to make sure the lawn is nice and thick. It also bears mentioning now that you should NOT spread fertilizer right before or right after spreading your grass seed. The seedlings are too young to handle the nutrients in the fertilizer. The bag of grass seed should specify just how long you need to wait to spread any fertilizer.



8. This is probably the most important step in making sure your efforts in learning how to plant grass seed are worth while...you have to water your seed at the rate specified on the seed bag otherwise it will not grow!

   Usually this means making sure that the grass is damp every day for several weeks after planting. You also need to be careful not to over water it, because the seeds could float above the soil and then have trouble rooting. After the first couple of weeks you’ll be able to back off on the watering a bit, but I would make sure that the grass is getting sufficient water for the first 2-3 months. It is best to plan on planting your grass seed during either the spring or the summer months. There’s usually more rain during these times which is helpful in establishing your lawn, and the cooler temperatures are more favorable for its growth as well.

For more information on lawn care, see my posts on: lawn care maintenance, aerating your lawn, planting a lawn and lawn fertilization.

As always, thank you for visiting and happy Backyard Landscaping!