Why you should regularly seed your lawn

Regular seeding of your lawn (also known as overseeding) can in turn save your time in the long run. Lawns are made up of lots of little grass plants. Some of these die every year and need to be replaced. To keep your lawn looking thicker, fuller and lush, sow new seeds to replace the old grass. This is what we refer to as overseeding your lawn.

Benefits of overseeding your lawn

Helps crowd out weeds and moss
Helps to infill damaged and bare patches
Infills thin or worn areas giving your lawn a thicker, denser sward
Improves the colour of your lawn

When should I be overseeding/seeding my lawn?

It is best to overseed your lawn twice a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn as germination can take from 7-21 days in ideal conditions. Gro-Sure Smart Lawn Seed Fast Start germinates in colder temperatures allowing you to extend the sowing season.

Overseeding in spring helps to prepare for the intense usage and wear and tear during the summer months. Overseeding in autumn is also good because it gives it a head start on the following spring, so you can start enjoying your lawn straight away when it starts to warm up.

Furthermore, weeds are less active during the autumn months. Therefore grass seeds can germinate freely without competition, resulting in less weed problems.

To prevent moss, fill in any patchy areas with lawn seed before moss starts to grow. This usually happens later on in the autumn and in early spring. Creating a thicker lawn helps to prevent moss growing as it has little space to grow. Read our article on How to get rid of Moss from your Lawn for more information.

Choosing the right lawn seed for overseeding/seeding

It’s important to choose the right lawn seed for overseeding. Think about what your lawn is used for. Whether it has high traffic, is played on a lot, or has pet use. You could also think about the appearance you want to achieve. All of our grass seed is colour matched, so if you have used a product from Gro-Sure previously, you don’t need to worry about using a different product from the range.

Our Gro-Sure Smart Seed range: Smart Lawn Seed Fast Start and Smart Lawn Seed are great when used to fill in thin and bare areas of your lawn. Both lawn seeds work well in all conditions: full sun, shade, worn areas and patches. They also contain high quality grass seed varieties to ensure the highest opportunity of germination and establishment. The grass seeds are treated with Aqua Gel technology for improved germination. Aqua Gel can absorb 400 x its weight in water, and slowly releases it back to the seeds, when the seeds require it to germinate.

We also add a feed to smart seed and inoculate it with mycorrhizal fungi to help the newly germinated grass grow a dense, healthy root system and prepare it for winter.

Gro-Sure Smart Seed Fast Start has been specially designed so that it can be sown much earlier or later on in the growing season, even when temperatures are at a low of 7 °C.

For drier or shadier areas you’ll need a more drought tolerant seed blend. We recommend using our Gro-Sure Smart Lawn Seed Shady & Dry lawn seed. It has a unique blend of ultra shade resistant and drought tolerant seed varieties. It grows a resilient lawn that can thrive with minimal moisture and sunlight.

For areas where your grass never seems to grow try our Gro-Sure Smart Lawn Seed
If you need to germinate seeds quickly and in colder conditions try Gro-Sure Smart Lawn Seed Fast Start
Our general lawn seed for all lawns is Gro-Sure Multi-Purpose Lawn Seed
To achieve fast results, use Gro-Sure Fast Acting Lawn Seed
For a showstopper lawn try our Gro-Sure Fine & Luxurious Lawn Seed
For even better results and for a thicker lawn, use Westland Lawn Thickener which is a feed and seed all in one

Feeding your lawn

To prevent weed and moss problems in your lawn it is good practice to use a lawn feed once a month in those warmer spring and summer months. This ensures that the required nutrients are available throughout the seasons to create and maintain a stronger, thicker and healthier lawn.

Westland SafeLawn is a great lawn feed to use as it contains 100% natural ingredients, therefore making it a safe product to use around children and pets. SafeLawn is an organic, slow-release fertiliser with a low risk of scorching, making it safe to use before, after, or even during overseeding. Unlike some other products, it won’t harm young grass or interfere with seed germination.

How to overseed your lawn

It’s a good idea to treat your lawn with a moss killer or Aftercut All In One a few weeks before scarifying and overseeding.

Mow your lawn to approx. 25mm
Use a spring tine rake to break up and remove the layer of dead matted grass (thatch). If the depth of the thatch is quite dense use a scarifying rake, as this will ensure the seed make contact with the soil allowing it to germinate. Scarifying also removes moss and dead weeds. For large or very thatchy/mossy lawns, use an electric or petrol scarifier
Using a garden fork or aerator to spike the lawn at 300mm intervals
Good nutrition will help your newly sown seed to grow strongly and to establish itself in the lawn. Using a naturally slow release feed such as Safelawn will ensure all essential nutrient for the seed will be available. Apply Safelawn prior to seeding and then after seed establishment and first cut (around 21 days depending on growing conditions)
Sow the seed evenly across the lawn following the rate stated on pack for overseeding
You can mix any of our grass seed with lawn seeding soil and applied to the lawn jointly. This will save a bit of time and effort working the topdressing and seed into the surface
Keep the seeded area moist. Water your lawn lightly (avoid disturbing seed and washing away!) and frequently over the next couple of weeks to ensure soil is moist to promote germination and establishment
You can even reseed specific bare patches without treating the whole lawn. Apply the same procedure as above
To protect specific areas from birds consider covering with netting or garden fleece. Remove when new shoots start to come through the soil
Try to keep traffic on your freshly overseeded lawn to a minimum for 7 to 21 days
Raise mowing heights to approximately 50mm for the initial 2 or 3 cuts, then reduce down to 25mm over the next 2 or 3 cuts