Every gardener will have pride in their yard’s appearance, and the largest area on view is the lawn.
One of the most significant issues arrives when there are harsh summers or bad winters, and the turf begins to appear patchy, thin, or not as lush as it was.
Many gardeners may understand the concepts of watering and overseeding lawns. However, there is more to it than spreading some seed, waiting for germination, and your grass is a tall height.
If you check our push lawn mower reviews, the things they don’t tell you are when to mow your lawn and the height.
This isn’t for regular cutting, but when overseeding. You need to prepare your lawn, and also, you need to find out how long after you can cut grass after overseeding.
In this guide, you can learn about lawn care before, during, and days after overseeding.
You will find all you need to know about when to cut new grass on your overseeded lawn.
Lawn Preparation for OverSeeding
You need to make sure you conduct proper maintenance for your lawn, although the day’s timing is also essential. (Read How Long Does Weed Killer Last)
While spreading seed is a straightforward process, there are some things to be aware of before and after sowing your seeds to make certain your grass grows to its best.
Here are the first steps you need to get right to make certain you keep your lawn in the best condition before mowing.
Initial Lawn Mowing
When you are ready to overseed, you need to mow the lawn, so it is significantly short and at the height of 1-1/2 inches. On the day you mow your lawn, you need to lightly dethatch it to stop any grass and weed competition for water and nutrients in new seedlings.
Lawn Aeration & Overseeding
You will need to select the correct grass seed type to overseed the bare spots on your lawn. However, before spreading your seeds, you need to aerate your lawn for better results. This aeration breaks up the earth for better root penetration and allows water and nutrients to enter easier.
Water Before Mowing
Soil moisture is vital for successful seed germination. Once you spread seeds, and before you mow your lawn for the first time.
Keep watering twice a day for the first two weeks, or more under drier conditions. Make sure you soak the top 1/4 inch of soil to reach the root. (Read Does Grass Seed Go Bad)
Mow the Lawn After Overseeding
The question for many is when to mow after overseeding. New gardeners are keen to get out their mowers, although this can be one of the most crucial times when you need restraint.
New seedlings and new grass suffer stress when you mow it for the first couple of times.
After seeding, the best thing is to let your grass rest and root.
Most gardeners wait for at least 2 to 3 weeks before they mow an overseeded lawn.
Doing so let’s new seedlings settle with their fragile roots. However, this will depend on the warm-season grasses, or the cools season grasses you have.
Each type of grass will have different speeds of germination. Consequently, the times each grass will take to reach its mowable height will vary.
You can, however, follow a general rule. Never remove more than 1/3 of the total grass blade length in one cutting
With this, you will need to know the ideal height of your turf, and from this, you can let it grow another third longer before mowing. (Read How to Reseed Lawn)
Here you can see the optimal heights of various grass type:
Warm-Season Grasses
- Bermuda – 0.5 – 2.5 inches
- Zoysia – 0.5 – three inches
- Kikuyu Grass – 1 – 1.5 inches
- Centipede – 1 – 2.5 inches
- St. Augustine – 1 – 3 inches
- Buffalo – 1.5 – 4 inches
- Bahia – 2.5 – 4 inches
Cool-Season Grasses
- Perennial ryegrass – 0.75 – 2.5 inches
- Kentucky Bluegrass – 0.75 – 3.5 inches
- Fine fescue and Tall Fescue – 1.5 – 4 inches
Cutting After OverSeeding Things to Know
When overseeding, several gardeners make the same mistakes. Just because they have tall grass, they think the timings correct to mow the grass. There’s more to it than that.
Here are a good few common mistakes with watering and aeration before mowing lawn at the correct time.
Using Wrong Equipment
You can see people using wood with nails to aerate their soil.
However, to get the best growth, you have to invest in the correct equipment. You can compact the earth even more by walking on it. Plug aerators are the best to induce good growth.
Using Machinery Correctly
With the right machinery, you have to know how to use it. Walk-behind aerators are common yet heavy.
Also, you have to raise the tines at each turn by lifting the handle, or you will damage your turf. Some gardeners lift and spin the unit to turn, causing compaction and leading to bare spots later.
Wrong Time of Year for Aeration and Overseeding
The right time to aerate is when new growth stands the best chance to grow in your region. Don’t aerate and overseed too early, such as before the last frost or during the middle of summer.
For cool grasses, you have to aerate in the early fall or spring. Warm-season grass grows best in late spring or early summer. (Find the Best Fertilizer for Bermuda Grass)
Don’t Aerate During Dry Conditions
Aerating is easier on your grass when your soil is slightly moist such as in the fall. Dry and compacted soil is tougher to penetrate. Water before attempting to aerate will help
After planting seeds, be certain they’re covered with moist soil to a quarter of an inch to help growth. Water, twice a day for the first two to three weeks or until the grass peeks from the dirt.
Mowing too soon
A lot of gardeners don’t wait long enough after seeding before mowing. Grass seed needs time, as do your seedlings and the correct conditions. (Read How to Dethatch a Lawn)
You don’t want to mow during the first two to four weeks after aerating and your overseeding.
As before, this varies in your area and the type of grass. Examples are Fescue and Ryegrass, which take around 10 to 14 days to germinate, and Kentucky bluegrass may take around four weeks.
