Grass planting
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| Grass planting |
There are many different methods that can be used for planting lawns. Ideally all grass seeds have the best results when planted into a freshly prepared, tilled, firm, pure soil (no plants or weeds present) seed bed. The key with getting grass seeds to germinate is to have good “seed/soil” contact. By good soil contact that means that soil (not grasses) is in direct contact to the surface of the seeds. Ideally the best seed/soil contact is where the seeds are completely surrounded by soil.
Three Planting Issues should be observed when creating good seed / soil contact and thus insuring proper germination of your seeds:
The primary one is that seeds must be planted (covered by soil) at the correct depth. With most grass seeds that depth is 1/8 to 1/4 of soil above the seed. With other types of seeds, planting depth can be deeper, but with grass seeds, this depth is often a critical factor in obtaining good germination.
Second is that good seed/soil contact also means that the soil has good moisture and that the soil is in close contact with the seeds allowing moisture in the soil to enter the seeds. Often slightly firming the soil after planting with a light roller presses the soil tigher around the seeds thus improving the germination of seeds.
Third and a key factor in getting seeds to germinate is that the temperatures (and season) must be right for the particular type of seeds planted AND there must be adquate soil moisture for the seeds to germinate. Depending on the soil type, watering may be required for multiple times daily in order to keep the top inch or two of soil moist (not wet) for the seeds and seedlings (germinated seed plant) to grow.
