Do I plant grass seed now or wait until Spring?
 

I live in northwestern Illinois. We've had a few frosts so far.

I had some construction done in the backyard, which tore up about
1,000 sq ft of lawn. I just got it all tilled and smoothed.

Do I plant grass now, or wait until spring?

If now, do I just spread the seed? Will it germinate yet this Fall,
or will it lie dormant until Spring?

In other words, if I do plant it now, do I water it also?

"William W. Plummer" wrote in message news:ZKk9d.87245$He1.43392@attbi_s01...
wrote:

I live in northwestern Illinois. We've had a few frosts so far.

I had some construction done in the backyard, which tore up about
1,000 sq ft of lawn. I just got it all tilled and smoothed.

Do I plant grass now, or wait until spring?

If now, do I just spread the seed? Will it germinate yet this Fall,
or will it lie dormant until Spring?

In other words, if I do plant it now, do I water it also?
The risk of cold weather is that the seeds will rot instead of
sprouting. The same thing applies in Spring if the seeds are planted
too early. Your pick.


It's too late to establish a lawn from seed in your area now. Grass
seed needs consistent temps above 50 to germinate. The best
alternatives now are sod if you want a lawn now, or waiting to spring
if erosion will not be a problem.