Lawn seed usually germinates within a few days. In unfavorable conditions, however, the gardener waits a long time or even in vain until the first green tips can be seen. Causes of non-germinating grass and what can be done about it.

Causes of non-germinating lawn seed

  • Wrong time
  • compacted soil
  • Too dry or too wet
  • Inferior seed
  • bird food

Lawn sown at the wrong time

The best time to sow the lawn is September. Then the soil is still warm and moist enough to germinate the seed.

However, the new lawn is often sown in early spring. In spring the ground is still too cold. Lawn seed only germinates when the soil temperature is at least ten degrees.

The soil is too compacted

If the soil surface is too firm, the small grass roots will have trouble rooting. They stay on the surface and die.

This problem can be avoided if the soil is thoroughly loosened before sowing. It is also good to mix in some compost or, if the soil is very hard, some sand to loosen the surface of the soil.

The soil is too dry or too moist

After sowing, the lawn seed needs sufficient moisture to germinate. If it is very dry, the only thing that helps is to water the area regularly. This should be done very carefully and evenly so that no waterlogging develops.

If it rains heavily for days, the moisture can cause the seed to rot. Then only another sowing at a later date will help.

Inferior seed

It is worth paying attention to the quality of lawn seeds. Cheap seeds germinate much worse than high-quality ones.

bird food

Birds love lawn seed and like to pick it up. To prevent them from doing so, it helps to stretch a net over the newly laid lawn.

tips and tricks

In practice, it has proven useful to rake in the lawn seed with a rake after sowing. This protects the seed from bird damage and does not dry out as quickly. The raking in is also a good protection against heavy downpours, which can wash away the seed.

Category:

Garden design