The Benefits of Overseeding Your Tulsa Lawn

If your lawn has become damaged or is thinning, overseeding can help to repair your Tulsa lawn. Overseeding with new grass variations aids to build a dense, luxurious lawn, which not only will look better but will also act as a natural weed control. Overseeding your Tulsa lawn will also help your lawn become more impervious to insects and disease because the new seed assortments will be more resistant to these threats while producing a healthier lawn overall.

Why though does grass become damaged or thin? There are a variety of issues that can add to a lawn that’s less-than-lush, and it’s good to recognize the main causes of your lawn’s injury so as to help avoid it. Often, extreme heat can tax the lawn as well as simply the usual decrease in grass reproduction over time. Other sources of lawn stress and damage include soil compaction, thatch, poor drainage, lack of water, lack of nutrients in the soil, and poor grass varieties that are not well suited to the climate.

What steps are involved in overseeding your Tulsa lawn and keeping it looking great?

Prepare the ground. Unlike other mowing times, you should mow your lawn short before overseeding to allow the seeds to successfully reach the soil. Rake the lawn to remove debris and dead grass. Especially if thatch and soil compaction are the main causes of stress on your lawn, aerating your soil will be necessary. Core aeration removes small core spots of thatch and soil to better allow water, air, and nutrients to reach deeper into the soil. Aerating your Tulsa lawn will also help the new grass seeds germinate in the soil easier and faster.

Pick a good seed variety. Select a high quality grass seed that’s well suited for your area. Make sure you pick a grass seed that is weed-free. A high quality seed will be more drought-tolerant and more resistant to weeds and disease.

Seed the new grass varieties. There are many ways to seed your lawn with new grass. Often people use a spreader to lay the seed. Some use a mechanical slit seeder, which has vertical blades that open a slit or furrow in the soil, and then the machine deposits the seeds into the slit. Others may simply broadcast the seed manually. Make sure the seeds get good contact with the soil so that they can germinate.

Fertilize and water. After you’ve spread the grass seeds, you’ll need to apply a good seed starting fertilizer to help them grow strong. Then you will need to give the seeds a good watering. Grass seeds can easily die if they dry out so steady watering will be vital for the first few weeks after seeding. Shallow water is often recommended. If the weather gets hot, you may need to water more than once a day.

When the grass reaches about 3 inches in height, you can mow the lawn on a high setting.

Keep your Tulsa lawn looking beautiful all year with these overseeding tips. The Tulsa lawn care specialists at Oklahoma Landscape can take care of all of your lawn care and maintenance needs including aeration, weed control, overseeding, and lawn fertilization.

Fall is the Best Time for Overseeding Tulsa Lawns

Is your Tulsa lawn looking a little worn-out? Grass starts to get old and look weary, thin, and brown due to heat or simply the passing of time. In this weakened condition, weeds can easily take over a lawn.

Overseeding your Tulsa lawn with new grass seed can help to revive your landscape and make it look vibrant and new again. Overseeding is the practice of spreading a layer of new grass seed over your existing turf.  This new layer of grass will fill in any bare spots in your Tulsa lawn and help it to stay healthy.

There’s also another benefit to overseeding your Tulsa lawn in the fall. “…overseeding with a cool-season grass in the fall ensures that you will have a green lawn during the winter months,” the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources division noted.

When is the best time to overseed or reseed? Fall is an opportune time because the soil is still warm enough for seeds to germinate in. Meanwhile, the air temperature is getting cooler, making it more difficult for weeds to grow and choke out the new grass. Cooler temperatures also mean a decrease in insects and disease to harm the new seeds. Thus, with adequate watering and fertilization, the new seeds can start to germinate before winter.

By overseeding your Tulsa lawn, it will become more resistant to diseases, weeds, and drought. Thus, a healthy lawn will need less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. So, a little overseeding now will be a big help in having a thick and green lawn in the spring.

Before you overseed, you will want to cut your grass lower than you usually do to allow more room for the new seeds to grow and to allow more sunlight to reach them. Remove any clippings and thatch in the lawn. It’s helpful to aerate your lawn, removing core patches of dead grass and soil, to allow more oxygen, water, and nutrients to reach the roots.

After you spread or broadcast your new seed over the turf, lightly rake the lawn to help the seeds germinate in the soil. Apply a good fertilizer to the lawn to help the new seed grow strong. Many also recommend spreading enriched soil or a thin layer of compost over the seeds to supplement the soil, but it’s important to apply just a thin layer so as to not smother the new seeds before they can grow.
Watering is vital. Water the lawn immediately after overseeding, keeping the lawn damp but not flooded. Continue to irrigate the seeds several times a day for several weeks. After the seeds have begun to grow, you can water less frequently. Wait to mow the grass until it reaches about 3 inches high.

These simple steps to overseed your Tulsa lawn will help get it ready for winter so that your landscape can look lush and beautiful in the spring and remain healthy. Oklahoma Landscape in Tulsa offers complete overseeding services as well as fertilization and weed control to help maintain a green an attractive lawn.