If you have a new home and this is the first lawn a few things are different. Mainly you will have to do clean up and get the proper grade before working on seeding.
Once this is done you will have to till up the ground to make a soft seed bed. After tilling fertilize, and seed just as described above using the same amount of seed. Then, cover the entire lawn with straw.
Shake out straw to cover approximately 50% of the soil from view. After done you should be able to look down and still see about half of the soil showing through the straw, no more. This equates to about 100 bales per acre.
After you're done laying down the straw it's time to start watering. Soak the lawn until runoff the first watering, followed by daily watering of sufficient length to keep the soil wet. If it dries out, the seed won't germinate. Another option for your new lawn is to buy patches of sod. Sod can be a quick answer to aesthetic beauty, but be prepared to pay a pretty penny for this choice.
There are two integral elements of growing and maintaining a lush, green lawn. Those elements are watering and fertilizing.
This is a very important part of lawn care. You won't have that beautiful carpet you desire in your yard if you don't give it proper watering on a regular basis. This schedule, of course, depends on the climate in which you live.
Do some research on how much rainfall your area has gotten in the past and how much is expected. The type of weather in your area will determine what type of watering system will be best for you. If you live in a dry climate, you may need an irrigation system or automatic sprinkler system.
In fact, underground automatic sprinklers are the recommended way to water lawns. When you have such a system, watering is done when it needs it on a regular basis. You won't have to mess with hoses or wasting water since all watering is done with a time. However, these types of systems are quite costly and just may not be an option for you.
Most people will use commercial sprinklers that can be purchased quite cheaply at any discount or home store. When you use regular sprinklers, be sure to move them to different places in your yard so that the entire lawn is watered evenly. If you don't do this, you will have some spots without water and your lawn will look uneven.
Take care that you don't over water. Over watering your lawn causes more damage than a lack of water. That's because most turf grasses can handle dry spells, but not flooding.
Most grasses require 1 - 1.5" of water per week. This is enough water to moisten the soil to 4 - 6" below the surface for clay soils and 8 - 10" for sandy soils. Of course, natural rain will provide some of your watering needs.
Don't guess at how much water your lawn is getting. For measuring Mother Nature's contribution, invest in a rain gauge. If at the end of the week she's contributed enough, hold off adding more. If she comes up short, you'll want to add some supplemental watering. Again, measure how much water your sprinkler is putting down. You'll have to follow local regulations when there are watering bans, but just remember that less water is acceptable and grass is a very resilient plant. When the rains do return your lawn will come back with a little encouragement on your part.
As a note, you can make a type of irrigation system on your own for lawn watering by taking a simple garden hose and poking holes in it at consistent intervals. Remember, though, that you'll need to move the hose periodically to insure consistent watering.
