I received this question in August 2017 from a reader called Max. He is wondering about combining overseeding and feeding his lawn.
I am a complete beginner with lawn care and am sorting out a neglected lawn.
The lawn was fed in mid July and is going to be fed again 10-12 weeks later as recommended on the feed bag.
I am wanting to do some over seeding and I believe September is the best time to do this. I have read though that you should feed the lawn when you over seed so my question is if i overseed in September should i feed it early at the same time or overseed and just do an autumn feed in October as planned.
Max
Thanks for the question Max.
It seems that have a good lawn care regime and are feeding the lawn regularly. Well done.
Overseeding a lawn should not interfere with a lawn fertilisation programme. You say that you fed the lawn in July and that the feed will last 10-12 weeks. I do not recommend feeding too soon or you risk over feeding your grass.
Therefore overseed your lawn as in September as planned. It is the best time of year to get new grass established. The new grass does not need any additional feed for the first few weeks of it’s life anyway as everything it needs to grow initially its contained within the seed. However, an autumn feed in October will help it to gain nutrients to put down a good root system and stay strong over the winter.
Overseeding and feeding: Things to note
If you are planning on overseeding and feeding a lawn, take note of the following:
- Do not put down a herbicide soon overseeding your lawn. Most lawn herbicides advise leaving at least 6 weeks before application on new grass. Read the label. Avoid weed and feed mixes. New grass is very vulnerable and a herbicide applied too soon may kill it. If in doubt, just stick to feed only. Any weeds can be dealt with in the spring.
- Be careful on new grass. If your grass is not ready for mowing, it is probably not ready for feeding. New grass is fragile, so make sure it is strong enough to be stepped on before walking all over it to feed it. If in doubt, just keep off it. The grass will be fine allowing a few more weeks to toughen up.
- New grass benefits from Phosphorus. Applying fertiliser with some extra ‘P’ will help the new grass establish a good root system and aid cell division.
Follow these tips and you will have a lovely thick lawn for the following spring.
Thanks for reading!
Kris Lord
The Lawn Man
