How To Grow Grass
I get this question quite a bit actually. Fertilizing and cutting properly don’t mean anything if your grass won’t grow! So let’s break this down a bit first and see if we can’t help you out. We are going to address those of you who are trying to grow grass seed first, and secondly, we will address those of your who’s lawns “just won’t grow” which is entirely a different case.
Growing Grass Seed
Sometimes when people ask me why grass won’t grow, they are talking about growing grass seed. They spread it out in an area and hope it will produce a great lawn… but it just doesn’t happen. If you want to grow grass seed, then this part is for you.
Grass seed needs three things in order to grow properly. Heat – Moisture – Soil contact
Heat – grass seed will not grow if temps are lower than 45 degrees or much higher than 85. It’s a simple fact guys, that spring and fall are the best times to plant grass seed. Any other time will offer extremes that will kill or stunt new seedlings as they sprout.
Moisture – you need to keep grass seed wet ALL THE TIME. I tell people to water new grass seed every single day for 30 days! Even if you think the grass is grown, keep watering for 30 days without fail. Get a sprinkler timer that will turn on the water every morning for an hour.
Soil Contact – Ideally you’d want your grass seed to be sitting on soil and also being covered by 1/2 inch of soil, but this isn’t really possible if you are reseeding an existing lawn. The best thing to do is incorporate your grass seed into the soil by raking it in. YOu can also buy coverings for the seed like Scott’s Patchmaster and these work VERY well… just be sure you don’t spread the patch too thick because it will be too dense for the seedlings to poke through as they grow. As a rule, spread the Scott’s patch VERY thin… it will work. You can also use peat moss for a cheaper alternative. (in the pic to the left, that is grass seed growing up through peat moss at about the 17 day mark – Kentucky Blue)
My Existing Grass/Lawn Just Won’t Grow
Ok, so you have a lawn, but’s it is sparce and thin and just lays flat in the dirt – it just won’t grow. I’ve actually seen this quite often and there are basically three causes for it that we can address. The good news is that each case can be fixed if you are willing to put in the effort.
Too Much Shade – Grass needs sunlight, and quite a bit actually. I know they sell grass seed in the store that is designed for shade, but that is a bit misleading. At the very very least, grass, not matter what type or climate, needs 3 hours of direct sunlight per day in order to grow healthy and thick. Even outside of the three hours per day, it needs what is called “dappled sun” which is where the sunlight can break through the tree cover in spots. If you don’t have this much sun on your lawn at a minimum, then you need to prune out and thin the canopy of your trees. This can be done by your local landscaper or tree company and isn’t cheap, but really can be done successfully every couple years. It’s good for your trees too if you hire a company with arborists on staff that know what they are doing.
Rocky – Poor Soil – This is also very common. I’ve seen lawns that are mostly clay (which isn’t bad really) but also contain lots of rocks and construction debris that hamper grass root development (like in the pic above). If your lawn gets adequate sun but is just flat and thin, take a shovel full of soil from the top 4″ of ground and look at the composition. If you see lots of rocks and other garbage in there, or even an over-abundance of sand, then this is your issue.
To fix poor soil, you have your work cut out for you…
1) You can hire a landscaper to come in with a Bobcat and scrape the top 12 inches of crappy soil off and bring in good, fresh topsoil, spread it, pack it and sod or seed the lawn for you. This will cost thousands but will surely be done right and quickly. This is for those of you who need a faster fix and are willing to pay for it. Of course, if you go this route, hydro-seeding will be cheaper than sod.
2) You can fix it yourself – but this will take time and patience. We need to incorporate good elements into the soil. This method will only work if your soil has rocks in it smaller than 1/2″ on average. If the rocks and in-organic materials are larger than that, you will need to choose method #1 above.
Do this once in the spring and again in the fall until your lawn begins to thicken (could take 2-3 years) We must begin by aerating the lawn. Aeration is a process whereby cores of soil about the size of a role of dimes are removed all over the lawn. I want you to fun the aerator over the lawn two or even three times … This will serve to open things up for the next step which is… to spread a blend of two parts peat moss with one part top soil across the freshly aerated lawn.
What we are doing is incorporating fresh, good soil in and over time, this will push the small rocks up and out, or down. While you are spreading this top soil mix, it is also a good time to spread fresh grass seed that will help to speed up the thickening process. The key here guys, is to be patient and stick to the plan!
Sour Soil – Poor pH levels – just like any plant, the pH of the soil will play a big part in whether or not it will grow healthy and strong and be able to resist ourside pressures. If your soil is too adidic, we would refer to that as “sour soil” and too alkaline we would call “sweet.”
Neither condition is ideal and the only true way to know what problems you have is to perform a soil test. You can get soil test kits at garden centers in your area. Be sure to test MANY areas of your lawn and not just one or two. We want to get a good sampling of what you are dealing with.
You may need to use some lime to correct the problem. Lime applications can work but need to be applied at recommended rates (read the labeling) and over a course of months/years to have a lasting effect.
When In Doubt – Try Some Fertilizer
Sometimes guys, you may be able to get your lawn growing with just a little boost of nitrogen. Surprisingly enough, it can do wonders.
Now I am not a fan of scouring your lawn 7 or 8 times per year with synthetic fertilizers in an effort to thicken it up. There are much better and more sustainable ways to do this, but if you throw out two applications of high nitrogen synthetic fert on a lawn that is just not growing, it may do the trick and help you plot your future course of action.
Get a fertilizer at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s that is in the range of 30-3-5 or something like that. THe large number that appears first is Nitrogen and you want it to be 30% or higher. Apply an application according to directions in the early spring, and again about 4 weeks later. This isn’t going to burn the lawn or anything, so don’t worry – just apply the amount that is recommended on the label (usually around 3 lbs or product per 1,000 square feet of lawn space). This could do the trick to jumpstarting your lawn for the season so it will grow.
I hope that you will find some help from this long article guys… it’s important to try new things when it comes to getting your lawn to grow. Let me know if you have any questions.
