Spring overseeding is just as efficient as the fall one, provided you start early and don’t make mistakes before and after the actual activity. If you are not familiar with overseeding, our Surrey lawn care specialists can tell you it helps the lawn become healthier, stronger and more beautiful. Overseeding means more than covering bare and dry lawn spots, it is a seasonal lawn care activity ensuring a lush, thick turf to last all year long.

However, some Richmond lawn care experts noticed that many homeowners make five common mistakes when it comes to spring overseeding. In order to avoid them, they conceived a short guide together with our Vancouver lawn care colleagues.

1. You Don’t Aerate the Soil

Aeration and overseeding are interdependent. Spreading turf seeds on the ground, without previous soil aeration, leads to poor results. Aeration holes help de-compact and drain the soil. They allow the new seedlings to get more air, sunrays, water, and nourishments. They help seedlings germinate easier; pick out from the holes and grow stronger roots and blades. You can’t have overseeding without aeration.

2. You Don’t Protect the Lawn

The newly overseeded lawn should not be stepped on or trampled, even if you have to water it daily. Physical stress damages the seedlings and lowers their chance to germinate and turn into strong healthy turf blades. Keep children, pets and yourself away from the lawn as much as you can.

3. You Don’t Water the Lawn Correctly

Our Surrey lawn care experts are very firm in this regard: the newly overseeded lawn has to be watered daily, two times a day. Of course, an irrigation system should do the trick without harming the seedlings. And perhaps some Legion retaining walls can hold back both the water and the soil, essentially avoiding erosion. Remember to always keep at least ¼ inch of the soil’s surface moist permanently. Before you return to your usual watering schedule, make sure the new grass blades have reached their recommended mowing heights.

4. You Mow Too Soon or Too Late

Mowing the newly overseeded lawn is tricky. Many mow the lawn too soon or too late. Our Surrey lawn care colleagues insist you mow the lawn only after the new turf reached its recommended mowing height. Other Surrey lawn care specialists recommend to have patience and let the seedlings develop strong roots and blades and stay away from the lawn mower at least 2 to 4 weeks to not stress the seedlings.

5. You Fight Against Weeds

It’s true, weeds have the talent to show up right after you overseeded and many homeowners are hell-bent to get rid of them with fertilizers and all sorts of chemicals and herbicides. But invasive weed control also harms the seedlings’ roots and blades, so the advice is to leave weeds be for a while – at least until you mowed the lawn four or five times. After this period, you can call your local Vancouver lawn care specialists to implement a proper weed control treatment.

Successful overseeding is not hard to achieve. Rely on your Surrey lawn care company to guide and help you through the before and after the process for best results.