Looking to seed that perfect lawn but not sure if July is the right time to do it? let’s have a look and find out if you can plant grass seed in July!
Can I Plant Grass Seed In July?
If next July is anything like this one where we have a 40-degree celsius weather warning coming up then you will have no chance of keeping a new lawn alive.
You would have to have a sprinkler on it 24 hours a day and even then scorch damage may be an issue.
If we have a very wet and mild July then you will be okay, but it is always going to be a risk with the weather.
So When Should I Plant Grass Seed?
Spring and autumn are your best bets. Autumn is probably the best time of all as the soil will be nice and warm and the growing conditions will be optimal for grass.
When sown in autumn your lawn will have plenty of time to develop and grow good strong roots before winter sets in.
How To Sow A Lawn
Sowing a lawn is actually very simple, just follow these few steps and in a few weeks’ time, you can have a lovely lush green lawn.
You want to have nice soil to sow into, that is one of the most important steps.
If you have pre-existing soil then rake in some compost in order to up the fertility of what is probably pretty tired ground.
Make sure your soil base is nice and flat, give everything a really good rake and then walk around to flatten the area.
Before sowing give the ground one last look to make sure there are no low or high patches.
Then I like to give the soil a really good soak before sowing any seeds. This means you don’t have to water after sowing and risk washing your seeds into clumps leaving other areas bare.
I don’t rake the seeds in, just leave them on the surface.
Some people say use bird netting but I have never done this, birds may come and nick a few seeds but they really aren’t going to take enough to cause any damage.
And you can always sow a few more seeds if some areas look to be a bit barren, a whole extra box of lawn seed will probably cost you less than the netting to keep birds off!
As your lawn is growing keep it well watered, your seedlings are fragile and a little drought could kill them off. It is wise to not plan a holiday or anything for a few weeks after sowing a lawn as you could be watering it every day if the weather is dry.
After a few weeks, your brow soil should begin to develop a green haze as the grass seeds start to germinate. This is a good time to get the box of grass seeds out and go back over any patches where the germination rate isn’t as high as you would like.
Let the grass grow at least 2-3 inches before you give it a mow. And this first mow should be very gentle, set your mower as high as it can go, we don’t want to shock the young plants at this point.
Keep mowing the lawn over the next few weeks, gradually bringing the height of the grass down to the level you want.