Buy top-quality seed from a reliable source to be sure it will germinate evenly and is weed and disease free. Places that sell grass seed sometimes lend rollers and other planting equipment free.
The amount of seed you need varies with the type of grass - check the label to be sure you’re buying enough.
Sow seeds by hand or use a spreader, upper left. Lightly rake the seeds to bury them, lower right.

Step by Step: Seeding a Lawn
1. If the soil is sticky wet, let it dry out.
2. Divide the seed into two equal lots.
3. Sow the first seed lot evenly across the lawn, either by hand or with a spreader.
4. Sow the second seed lot at right angles to the first.
5. Lightly rake the entire area to bury the seeds 1/8 to ¼ inch deep.
6. With a shovel or peat moss spreader evenly spread a ¼-inch layer of damp sphagnum peat moss or aged sawdust over the area. This mulch helps keep the soil moist around the seeds.
7. Go over the area with a half-filled roller to settle the soil and mulch.
8. Keep the seedbed moist until the grass germinates—about 1-3 weeks. Mist the lawn briefly several times a day, using a battery-powered timer if you’re not home.

Tools and Materials
- metal rake
- shovel
- hose-end nozzle with a mist setting
- grass seed
- mulch of sphagnum peat moss or aged sawdust
- spreader (optional)
- roller
- peat moss spreader also called a squirrel cage (optional)

Professional tip
Sow cool-season grassesin fall, at least six weeks before your first expected heavy frost. You can also sow them in spring, but an early heat wave may harm the seedlings.

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