Overseeding Schedule, Your suggestions appreciated!

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1

Hello everyone,

I will be aerating and overseeding in the next few days (Colorado). Of course the overseeding is requiring to keep my lawn wet for 2 weeks by watering daily.

My current schedule for my lawn zones are:
Every 3 days@5am
Front Yard 15min (shaded, north facing lawn)
Back Yard 20 min (south facing full sun)

I was thinking 3min daily front and 5 min daily back, still at 5am.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Kris

2

Hi @djkms,

Thanks for reaching out. What part of Colorado are you in?

Aeration and overseeding do wonders for your lawn, especially in the spring!

Before we get started, a few tips:

  1. Before you start, cut your grass to about 2 inches high to allow sunlight to germinate the new seed If you haven’t already.
  2. Also, remember to double check your thatch before throwing down any seed. Thatch is a layer of living and dead grass crowns, roots, lower shoots and other organic debris at the soil surface. It can weaken and even destroy a lawn if not controlled. A thatch layer becomes a waterproof blanket on the soil surface that makes it difficult to get water, nutrients, and oxygen to the soil and to the roots of the grass. Dethatch the lawn when more than 1/2 inch of thatch develops.
  3. Next, aerate! It’s always more fun than it sounds :blush: …but I’m probably bias.

Back to your original question:

I’d recommend giving the seed a drink every morning before dawn and evening after dusk (provided it doesn’t go against any watering restrictions in your area): 3 min front and 4 min back at 4a AND 8p for 1 week.

Once you see some germination (hopefully after 7-10 days), then cut back to once a day watering, but start to train the grass to use less water. 5 min front and 6 min back at 3a OR 10p for 1 week.

After the grass is established and safe to walk on (or passes the “mower test”), you’ll safe to resume to normal watering times.

Hope this helps. Enjoy!

Best, Emil

3

Hi Emil,

Thanks for the reply. I live in Henderson, 120th and Peoria.

I did remove my thatch last weekend, also cut the lawn to about a 1 3/4" last night (aeration being done today).

Thanks for the watering times. Kind of new to the whole taking care of a lawn thing. What is the mower test?

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Hi @djkms,

Sorry, I’m a veteran at the whole taking care of a lawn thing :wink:

The mower test is simply that first mow for freshly seeded grass or laid sod. It’s usually perfect, or a complete mess! It’s an easy balance if managed correctly – you have to water heavily to get the seed or sod to take, but then let it dry out to avoid root rot and for the soil to harden up to be able to support the weight of the mower.

My rule: if in doubt, always wait longer for the soil to dry out.

Hope this helps! Happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Best, Emil

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I will be overseeding as well. Would you apply Thrive before or after overseeding? Also will be applying a Seed Safe preventative. Guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you