I wanted to overseed this year. I have about 70,000 sq ft of lawn.

My "All About Lawns" book says to mow it short, collecting the
clippings, and then scratch up the surface of the soil.

I have a mulching mower, no bagger.
If I mow with the mulcher, then run my dethatcher over it, can I
expect good contact between seed and soil?

I don't want to spend $200 on seed and not have it germinate.

Thanks!

By the way, I aerated last week.

wrote:
I wanted to overseed this year. I have about 70,000 sq ft of lawn.

My "All About Lawns" book says to mow it short, collecting the
clippings, and then scratch up the surface of the soil.

I have a mulching mower, no bagger.
If I mow with the mulcher, then run my dethatcher over it, can I
expect good contact between seed and soil?

Only if you see soil between the blades, it won't germinate on thatch.

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wrote in message ...
wrote:
I wanted to overseed this year. I have about 70,000 sq ft of lawn.

My "All About Lawns" book says to mow it short, collecting the
clippings, and then scratch up the surface of the soil.

I have a mulching mower, no bagger.
If I mow with the mulcher, then run my dethatcher over it, can I
expect good contact between seed and soil?

Only if you see soil between the blades, it won't germinate on thatch.


The only effective way to do this is with a slice seeder, which will
get the seed into the soil. You can rent one for about $40 for a half
day, which is a lot less than the cost of good seed.

As someone else suggested, the seed slicers (also known as slit seeders or
power seeders at some rental centers) work well. Last summer we had a very
bad drought and all of the grass died on my septic drain field. In the
early spring I rented a slit seeder and used it to see the drain field.
Worked great.

However, 70,000 sq.ft. is a lot of grass. I rented a non-self-propelled
seeder and I could not imagine using it on my entire lawn (almost 100,000
sq.ft.) I used it only on the drain field and a few other places and I was
*beat* when I was done.

If you use one on your entire lawn, make sure you get a self-propelled
model - you won't be sorry.

wrote in message
...
I wanted to overseed this year. I have about 70,000 sq ft of lawn.

My "All About Lawns" book says to mow it short, collecting the
clippings, and then scratch up the surface of the soil.

I have a mulching mower, no bagger.
If I mow with the mulcher, then run my dethatcher over it, can I
expect good contact between seed and soil?

I don't want to spend $200 on seed and not have it germinate.

Thanks!

As someone else suggested, the seed slicers (also known as slit seeders or
power seeders at some rental centers) work well. Last summer we had a very
bad drought and all of the grass died on my septic drain field. In the
early spring I rented a slit seeder and used it to see the drain field.
Worked great.

However, 70,000 sq.ft. is a lot of grass. I rented a non-self-propelled
seeder and I could not imagine using it on my entire lawn (almost 100,000
sq.ft.) I used it only on the drain field and a few other places and I was
*beat* when I was done.

If you use one on your entire lawn, make sure you get a self-propelled
model - you won't be sorry.

wrote in message
...
I wanted to overseed this year. I have about 70,000 sq ft of lawn.

My "All About Lawns" book says to mow it short, collecting the
clippings, and then scratch up the surface of the soil.

I have a mulching mower, no bagger.
If I mow with the mulcher, then run my dethatcher over it, can I
expect good contact between seed and soil?

I don't want to spend $200 on seed and not have it germinate.

Thanks!

Be certain your lawn is very level, however. The slicer won't work if the
blades don't touch the ground.