Here are some helpful tips for growing a healthy new lawn.

  • Set up sprinklers so they overlap – remember areas not getting water will not grow!
  • Your new lawn will need to be watered every day until its first mow.  Watering times may vary depending on the sprinkler used but a good rule of thumb is 30 minutes per sprinkler.  Water the lawn areas until the soil is soft but don’t allow any run off.
  • Failure to water daily will affect the germination of the grass seed and cause it to dry out and die. This will reduce the quality of your lawn.
  • Seed germination will vary depending on seed varieties.  Perennial rye typically takes 4-6 days to germinate where Kentucky bluegrass takes 21-28 days.  Again this stresses the importance to continuously water the lawn, failure to do so will result in less germination and bare spots in your yard.
  • Once your new lawn reaches an average height of 3” it is time to perform the first cut.
  • It is important to let the lawn dry out slightly as to not leave ruts from the lawn mower.  (lawn dry out should be no more than 48 hrs.)
  • Set your lawn mower to 2.5” height and start mowing.  Be careful with your turns because the young grass is not rooted deeply and will tear up easily.
  • Bagging is a good idea at this stage because it will help remove any weed seeds from being distributed back into the lawn.
  • Immediately after mowing it is important to begin watering again because the sunlight will dry out the soil quickly.
  • It is not healthy to let your lawn grow to more than 4” because you will stress it by cutting off excess shoot growth
  • Up to this point you have been watering your yard once a day.  The grass plant now provides some shade to the soil and won’t dry out as fast.  You can now cut back to watering every other day until your second cut.  After the second cut you can then cut back to every third day until your lawn is full.

Healthy lawn practices

  • Cut grass at 3” after established.  The longer leaf blades help the plant produce more food for itself and shades the soil which helps prevent the germination of weed seeds.
  • Still Waters can develop a complete lawn care program for your individual lawn to help it grow healthier and prevent weeds, insects, and diseases.