June 4, 2015  How to Select the Best Grass Seed For Your Lawn

All grass seed is not created equal. Purchase cheap grass seed, and you’ll be disappointed. Inexpensive grass seed is notorious for poor performance. It can be difficult to take root and establish itself, and once it does, you’ll notice that you have not only grass coming up, but also an abundance of weeds. If you’re going to start a lawn from seed, make the investment in premium grass seed, and it will reward you.

Here are some helpful pointers to help you get started:

Grass seed is commonly sold in a “blend” or a “mixture”. Blends include different varieties from one species, whereas mixtures consists of two or more species. Both blends and mixtures boosts a lawn’s ability to fight off disease, pests and environmental issues such as drought. This is particularly true of mixtures.

There are an array of choices available, depending upon you and your lawn’s needs. Perhaps it is richness of color that is most important to you in a lawn. Or maybe it is a grass’s fullness and texture which appeals most to your senses. Then again, your purchase decision may not have anything to do with aesthetics, but rather issues such as a shady yard, troubling bare spots or a lawn that is regularly used for sports, entertaining or hard play. Whatever your individual needs, there is a seed product made specifically to address it.

What is On the Bag

How much seed you will need depends largely on the kind of seed you purchase. Different seeds require different amounts. The package should indicate how many pounds of seed will be needed per 1000 square feet. Other important information will also be listed on the package, such as:

Purity of Mix  The main type of seed and its percentage (examples are bluegrass, bent-grass, fescues, rye-grass )

Germination This indicates how much of the seed is capable of growth. A germination rate of 75% suggests that 75% of seeds will sprout.

Crop Seed, which is defined as undesirable for lawns, can be mixed into your grass seed. Crop seed is indexed as a percentage of the total bulk. Clearly, the lower the crop ratio the BETTER.

Weeds All seed packages contain some weed seeds. Again, just like crop seed, the lower the percentage, the better. In addition, you will want to shy away from grass seed with noxious weeds listed on the bag.

Inert Matter Inert matter is generally harmless, and consists of filler such as sand, empty hulls etc.

by See Jane Drill, Copyright 2015, All Rights Reserved