It’s time to seed your garden this fall, and right here’s the right way to do it proper

“There are some naked areas in my garden. Is that this time to seed?”

— Layton Hopkins, Evanston

This can be a good time of yr to seed a garden, permitting sufficient time for the grass to get established earlier than winter.

You possibly can count on fewer issues with broad-leaved weeds getting established right now of yr after seeding. Some weeds would possibly germinate, however they need to be simple to regulate later, as soon as the brand new grass is established. I’ve seen lawns with a big weed seed financial institution that required intensive weed management, however that is often the exception.

With out correct website preparation, most garden restore initiatives accomplished by seeding will fail. First: take away any lifeless grass, weeds or thatch from the realm to be seeded. It is crucial the grass seed have contact with the soil. The soil additionally must be loosened with a cultivator or a spade to supply seed mattress for the grass to root into. Massive areas could be tilled. Broadcasting grass seed on compacted soil (as is usually accomplished) doesn’t work. As soon as the bottom is cultivated, you might want so as to add a small quantity of topsoil to stage the realm out and enhance the rising circumstances for the grass seed to germinate.

Select a high-quality grass seed mix that’s applicable for the quantity of solar in your garden. Blends embrace completely different forms of bluegrass, in addition to different grasses comparable to perennial ryegrass, onerous fescue and chewings fescue. Use a solar and shade grass seed combine if you’re seeding in sunny and shady areas to maintain a extra uniform colour within the garden. Gently rake the grass seed in with a leaf rake and frivolously high gown with compost or a industrial seed accelerator. These are biodegradable pellets designed to increase and maintain water. A few of these merchandise even have a starter fertilizer. I desire to not use peat moss to top-dress grass seed as a result of as soon as it will get dry, it tends to repel water.

Bluegrass takes about two weeks to germinate, so pay cautious consideration to watering to maintain the seed moist throughout this era. It will require frequent mild watering of at the very least as soon as a day, and twice a day when the climate is scorching or windy. Because the grass begins to develop, you’ll be able to water much less often and extra deeply to encourage a deeper root system. Letting the grass seed dry out through the first couple of weeks can enormously cut back the proportion of germination.

Mow the grass when it grows sufficient to require it. Let the bottom dry out some earlier than mowing if the soil is smooth to keep away from leaving ruts from the mower’s wheels. You do not want to fertilize the brand new garden this fall.

For extra plant recommendation, contact the Plant Info Service on the Chicago Botanic Backyard at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture on the Chicago Botanic Backyard.