If you intend to re-seed your lawn or if you’ve already done so, here’s a few tips you should follow to help with your success and to protect your investment. Fertilizers used during the core aeration season are specifically designed to help the new grass develop properly and to become strong. Seed germination should be obvious at this point and new grass should be evident throughout the newly seeded area. Keep in mind, new seedlings are very fragile during this time and there are several things you should do in order to protect the grass from being damaged.
During the fall season, leaves should be kept off the new grass! In order for the fescue seed to continue its development process, it needs proper sunlight to thrive. Allowing large amounts of leaves to cover newly seeded lawns even for short amount of time can damage and smother the new seed. You should also take care not to rake the leaves if possible because this process can damage the under developed root systems. Try blowing the leaves with a backpack blower or hand blower.
Falling leaves should be kept off the new grass. In order for the fescue to continue to develop, it needs sunlight. Allowing leaves to cover newly seeded lawns for even a short period of time can cause severe damage to the new grass. You should avoid raking the leaves if possible because raking can damage the underdeveloped root systems. Blow the leaves with a blower, or try to pick them up with your mower if you have a bagging attachment.
You should mow your new fescue at a height of 2-2 1/2 inches for the first few mowings. You can then raise the mowing height to between 3-4 inches. Be sure to use a very sharp blade to avoid causing damage to the new grass. A dull blade will pull at the new grass, damaging the roots similar to the damage caused by raking.
Weeds will be present in your new lawn. This is unavoidable because the new fescue cannot withstand the effects of the weed controls. As a general rule, the weeds can be treated as soon as the new grass has been mowed 3 or 4 times. The new grass must be mature enough that the weed controls will not kill it.
Watering is very important and you should not allow the grass to become dry. Keep your seed moist it all times for the first 3 to 4 weeks until established and then water accordingly after that.