When to Start

The life-cycle of the lawn in the middle to northern US starts in fall, and ends in summer. The best window to start is after the summer heat, and just as the fall rains are starting. This give you maximum time to establish roots before any winter weather, while still taking advantage of Mother Nature's sprinkler system. This is true whether you're starting from scratch, or rehabilitating an existing lawn.

Also, the earlier you can start in the fall, the less you have to worry about what will happen to the new grass when the trees dump leaves all over your lawn. If the leaves are small enough, and few enough, don't worry too much about them. But you don't want your new lawn to be smothered by a heavy cover of big leaves. Those will need to be removed, but I don't suggest raking. It's too hard on the lawn. I'm not a big fan of leaf blowers, but this is one case a leaf blower is useful. Better yet, a leaf vac. I have a push behind vac that shreds the leaves, which I then use for leaf mould, a special form of compost. (We can talk about that more in another class.)

We don't always get to pick and choose, especially with the first lawn. Sometimes the timing of construction is such that spring would be a better time to start. You don't want to leave the land bare longer than you need to, so go ahead and start in spring. Just don't start in the heat of summer, or the dead of winter. In the dead of winter, just leave the snow cover if there is one. In the heat of summer, avoid disturbing the soil in bare areas, lest weeds get a chance to germinate.

If you're rehabilitating an existing lawn, you can skip over the section about the first lawn. Or you could totally strip away the existing lawn, and start over. If you choose to strip away an existing lawn, take extra care regarding tree roots that may be near the surface. Also watch out for shallow irrigation pipes, or cable, such as cable TV, telephone, or even electric power. Have your property marked for underground utilities before stripping off the surface, or doing any digging or trenching.

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Recommended Products

WOLF-Garten Dethatching Rake This Dethatching Rake from WOLF-Garten is recommended for clearing small areas of grass of destructive thatch and moss. Do it twice a year for a beautiful, lush, and healthy lawn. Part of WOLF-Garten's Interlocken system: A mix-and-match assortment of comfortable handles and quality tool heads. It's a snap to lock together the tool you need with the handle you like. Handles and tool heads lock together for use, unlock for changing tool heads or for convenient storage. Carry just one handle and all the toolheads needed to do all of your gardening. That means fewer trips back to the garage or tool shed. And no more tangle of long-handle tools! Simply brilliant.

Troy-Bilt 5HP Chipper Shredder Push Vac Troy-Bilt Chipper shredder vac comes equipped with a 5.5hp B&S engine. This remarkable unit is actually 4 machines in one. It will vacuum with its 24-inch extra-wide vacuum width for bigger clearance. Makes quick work of large areas. On-board vacuum hose is included so you can get into hard to reach areas such as flower beds, shrubs or under decks and fences easily and quickly, with no difficult and time-consuming attachments to deal with. A 1.5-inch chipper chute turns bbranches into useful wood chip mulch. Heavy-duty, cast-aluminum impeller with hardened-steel flais and chipping blades reduce sticks leaves and light debris into fertilzing mulch and compost at an 8:1 ratio. Attach a blower chute and turn your CSV into a high-velocity wheeled blower for easy yard clean-up. Other features include a 2-bushel, felt-lined collection bag, fingertip height adjusters, eight-by-two-inch semi-pneumatic front wheels, and nine-by-two-inch semi pneumatic rear wheels. Safety goggles are also included in the carton.