Sowing a new lawn - Need some advice!

Good afternoon all.

I'm planning on sowing seeds for a lawn (about 5x5m) in the coming couple of weeks and wanted advice on the best way to do it.

The existing soil was pretty weedy/stony and rubbish all round. I've dug the whole thing over and got rid of all the weeds and most of the stones and now raked it over and flattened it out.

I've bought a load of top soil (for about 3-4cm depth) and plenty of seeds and was wondering what the best way is for me to go about sowing the lawn?

I was thinking to mix the seeds into the top soil and then spread evenly, but would seeds at the bottom of that 3cm struggle to grow?

Perhaps I'd be better off putting down say 2/3rds of the topsoil and then doing as above with the rest of it? I thought doing this might be easier than spreading the seeds and then raking in and achieve more or less the same?

Thanks in advance!

Chris

 

Hi,

Not a new lawn expert, but generally you firm the soil by either lightly rolling or 'healing in', then give it a light raking to give a shallow tilth for the seed, which some say you again slightly roller down.

If you just rake and level out your 40mm of new top soil I think that wil be way too light and when you come to walk on the new grass it will just subside too much where you tread.

If you walk normally across you patch now how deep are you footprints; I would say if much over 15 mm you need to use a roller to firm it up.

Never heard about burying grass seed, always on top or just very lightly raked in.
Think the easiest way to protect the sown seed on your 5x 5 mtrs is to get a couple of boxes of cheap plastic protection netting from the cheapy stores.

 

Hi Chris.

When I did my old garden the grass area was about 20x5m. I gave it a couple of treatments of round up, then after a couple of weeks I rotavated it and raked all the junk and stones out. I then rolled it and sowed the grass seed. I then gave it a light raking and that was it. I did give it another light seeding a few weeks later. Important to water well also. I never had any issues with mine.

Rusty