Important: Please contact us before applying crabgrass control or any other lawn care products in the months before and after your seeding.
Watering is so important that it can make the difference between luxuriant success and total failure. Failures further delay the look of a beautiful lawn and translate into even more watering.
The best rule of thumb is: “If in doubt – WATER!”
- First: Keep the lawn surface moist for the first 3 weeks (light daily watering; multiple times per day if it is very hot and dry).
- Then: For the next 3 weeks, water more thoroughly but less often (2 to 3 times per week).
- Timing: Try to avoid watering in the evening, unless your work schedule makes it absolutely necessary.
- Leaves: In fall, keep the lawn clear of leaves. Leaves can block sunlight and water, and suffocate young seedlings by “matting down”.
- Bare spots: 3 to 6 weeks after the initial seeding, spot-seed bare and thin areas. It is important to continue proper watering.
Please contact Eichenlaub Inc. if you have any questions or are unsure of this method.
Please note that weed control cannot be applied until after 3 mowings have been done on the new lawn, this may result in some weeds until the first weed control application can be made.
Please keep in mind that newly cultivated soil will take several weeks to begin to “firm up” regardless if you have a seeded lawn or sod, please be careful when walking on a new lawn.
When is the best time of day to water?
Morning is the best, even if it is just before sunrise. Afternoon waterings are also fine (required some days), even though more water is lost to evaporation. Late evening is the time to avoid watering a lawn if possible. Why? Turfgrass watered in the evening tends to stay wet all night, providing an ideal environment for fungus disease. Young seedlings are especially vulnerable to certain fungi which can wipe out large areas of grass overnight! (Particular caution with evening watering must be exercised during hot and humid weather, i.e. summer nights when it is “muggy”)
It is important to remember that grass seed must be close to the surface of the soil to germinate (sprout) properly. Therefore, successful germination depends on ample moisture at the soil surface. Soil can dry out very quickly on sunny or windy days. So during the first few weeks of watering, you need to concentrate on keeping the lawn surface moist. This is best accomplished by frequent light waterings, especially on hot, sunny days. Areas of the lawn in full sun need watered more often than partially shaded areas. Lawn edges and curb areas are very easy to miss. Slopes always dry out faster than level areas.
contact@eichenlaub.com
412-767-4769
