60 Turnpike Road
Ipswich, MA 01938
978-356-6342 Phone
978-356-4476 Fax
104 Eastern Avenue
Gloucester, MA 01930
978-281-4480 Phone
978-282-0619 Fax
Providing QUALITY PRODUCTS, VALUE, AND SERVICE to Residential and Commercial customers for over 30 Years!
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Overseed Now to Fight Next Years Weeds
If your lawn was plagued with weeds last year, NOW is the time to take action to have a great lawn this year! Most weed seeds germinate in the spring, but grass seed flourishes too. Overseeding your lawn NOW will give your lawn a head start, so it will be thick enough to crowd out the weeds that are getting ready to germinate this spring. Just follow these six steps:
- 1). Buy. Regardless of what type of lawn you inherited when you moved in, now is your chance to choose the best seed for a great looking lawn. Choose a drought tolerant variety that has a high percentage of turf-type tall fescues. We carry Jonathan Green Black Beauty seed, Ultra Black Beauty and Heavy Traffic seed, all of which contain a high percentage of fescue seed.
- 2). Remove. Get rid of the unwanted weeds so that the new grass can grow there instead. Pull them out by hand using a weed fork, making sure to remove the whole plant, and the long taproot. We carry an Ames Long Handle Weeder, the Lewis Rocket Weeder, and the Fiskars Big Grip Knife, which should help get the job done right.
- 3). Rake. Give your lawn a good raking to get rid of the dead grass and weeds. This will help the new seeds to grow and allow the air, sunlight and rainwater to give your existing lawn new life. If this seems hard, just remember it is good exercise and you can even recycle the old grass in your compost bin or pile. Rakes that work well for this purpose: bamboo rakes, Greensweeper rakes, and the double sided metal dethatcher rake.
- 4). Spread. Evenly distribute the grass seeds using a mechanical spreader. Set it at a light setting and go over your lawn several times for the best coverage. Some people find this part fun and very satisfying. We have an assortment of spreaders- Scotts broadcast spreaders, Earthway broadcast spreaders, Scotts drop spreaders, and Scotts hand spreaders for the smaller jobs.
- 5). Water. Give the new seeds a good drink of water to get them started and keep them moist for a couple of weeks or they will die. Usually in the spring Mother Nature will take care of this, but if not, give the overseeded areas of your lawn a drink regularly. This is the most important step – if the seed is allowed to dry out, it will die – stay on top of watering!
- 6). Lime. Lime is a grass grower’s best defense against weeds! Apply lime twice a year, spring and fall. Weeds like acidic soil, while grass likes neutral (7.0 on the pH scale). Most landowners in northeastern Massachusetts will find that their soil’s pH is below 7, which means it is acidic. Acidic soil is more hospitable to weeds than grass because it prevents nutrient absorption. Adding lime will remedy this problem. To raise your soil’s pH one point, use a mechanical spreader to evenly broadcast 40lbs of pelletized lime per 1,000 square feet of grass (that’s approx. 400lbs for a quarter acre lawn). Be sure to determine lime quantity by the lawn surface area, not the total acreage of your lot. We carry a variety of lime: Liquid lime which is attached to the hose and sprayed, covering 5,000 square feet; we also have Fast Acting Pelletized Lime that will cover 5,000 square feet. We have pelletized and powdered too.
Contact our Garden Center Managers if you have any questions, or for more information. They are always there to assist you!
