Nature is a wonderful thing. It does so much for us and that’s no exception when it comes to germinating grass seed. You see Spring is a great time to fix those bare patches and the earlier we do it in the season, we will find that nature helps us even more.
You see, if we go back to how a seed germinates, it gives us a better idea of the conditions we need in order to achieve perfect success.
So, firstly let’s look at seeds. When we open a packet of whatever well named seed it will comprise of a few different species. They will normally be a blend of native fescue’s, a small amount of native bent’s and possibly a percentage of dwarf ryegrass. They are all a different size meaning that the larger ones can take on larger amounts of water, critical in the first stage of germination. This will also mean that they will germinate at varying speeds.
Now, we know that water can be added to seeded areas or clever nature can do that for us.
Secondly, the larger the seed, the quicker it will be to warm up which also means quicker germination.
You see, nature gives us the sun, the rain and the warmth so all we must do is make the area suitable to grow the seed into.
So, what seeds should I use?
What grows in your lawn is a great indicator of what likes to grow in your lawn. So, identifying what likes to grow will be crucial. Promises of wonderful sounding grass seed is all well and good but choosing the same as is already in your lawn makes success far easier in the long run.
Our lawns are mainly made up of fescue varieties as well as bentgrass varieties. However, many new builds now have a selection of seeds called heavy wear or family lawn which fundamentally are known as ‘ryegrasses.
A quick tip is to remember nature again. Ryegrass is a single seed and a single plant, comprising of a few leaf blades. Fescue will be a single grass seed evolving into maybe 50 leaf blades and bentgrass will be the smallest seed of all, turning into a few hundred blades.
Now, the two native grasses (bent and fescue) are given to us by nature so making those two a choice in your seed mix will be essential.
Ryegrass is a much tougher grass that grows vertically very fast and can be an addition in some heavy wear areas in your garden, but remember, heavy wear doesn’t mean you don’t have to repair the damage caused by the seed dying in the first place. If you have a wear area it won’t be the seed that’s at fault, it will be the fact that you haven’t corrected the reason why it died in the first place.
So, lets look at some seed varieties and how they may suit your damaged area;
Shade tolerant; these are generally a blend of species known as fescues.
Luxury lawn mixes: these are just simply our two native species of bents and fescue’s. It wont guarantee a luxury lawn however, but will thrive in most lawns
Heavy wear/family lawns; these comprise of mostly rye’s and fescues. This will give you a better chance of success to combat extra footfall.
Fast start seed; this comprises of both rye and fescue which germinate faster than most due to their seed pod size.
So, you see, seed mixtures are generally a blend of species to suit most lawns and guarantee a better strike rate, however, be aware that seeding ryegrass into a traditional lawn mixture will stand out like a sore thumb. And vice-versa.
Tips for best germination;
- Prepare the damaged area first. Use a frok to lightly dig the soil to about 2-3” (this will allow new seedlings to take root) Rake level and add the seed, raking again to encourage the seed to be approx. 1-3 mm below the surface. Bury too deep and it will take longer to germinate. Too shallow and the seed will be prone to drying out or being eaten by birds
- For patches, use a product such as the ‘worlds best cat litter’ which will not only aid germination but require far less water. Add this in with the seed.
- If watering is required, ensure that the seed never dries out. A useful tip is to remember the seed needs to have moisture in it in order to swell and ‘pop’. Too much can make it sit too wet and too dry wont allow the seed to germinate. So a patch (1 meter by 1 meter) should need about 15-30 seconds of water every 2-8 hours depending on how warm the weather is.
- Once the seed has germinated, its time to get a move on and more importantly get some food on. Seedlings require a lot of food in the initial germination phase. We need to turn this into a nice juicy adult grass plant as quickly as possible.
- Continue to mow the lawn as usual and mow slightly higher in order to allow the new seedlings a better chance to absorb more food and water. It will thank you for it
Trying to stop patches from happening in the first place is far better than having to seed but we cant control everything. Luckily for us, nature almost does!
