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Intro: |
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| Even if you become impatient with having straw on your new lawn, don't rake it up when the grass is young. Wait about 6 weeks. Raking young grass will pull it up, due to its shallow and unestablished root system. It's best to use a side-chute mower when mowing straw into grass, because it will work as a combination mulcher/blower. |
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Germinating seeds need protection and plenty of water. To meet both of these requirements: Cover with straw. The best way to protect germinating grass and keep it moist is to cover it with straw. The seeds only need to be lightly covered, and you should be able to see the soil and germinating plants through the layer of straw. One bale of straw should cover between 750 to 1,000 square feet (227 to 303 square meters). When the germinating grass has grown to 3 inches (7 or 8 centimeters) tall--after about 6 or 7 weeks--you can mow the straw into the grass. It will take several mowings before the straw completely disappears. Water. Grass seed needs to be kept moist as it germinates. To keep your reseeded lawn moist, water it frequently (up to three times a day), but for short amounts of time (only 15 minutes) with a sprinkler. Once the seeds have germinated, you can let the new lawn dry a little, but never let it stand dry for longer than a day. When the lawn is established, you can water it according to a less-intensive schedule, appropriate to your climate. See 2torial #0550: Water Your Lawn for more specifics.
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Cover with straw and water
