My yard was covered with a number of overgrown raised beds. Exactly one week ago, I:
- Pulled out the more noxious weeds (grapevine, milkweed, creeping charlie)
- Chopped down the remaining weeds and raked them away (mostly overgrown grass)
- Roto-tilled the soil, in two steps: once, a few hours after it had rained, then again the next morning once the top layer dried out. The beds had been filled with topsoil and mulch so I didn't add either of these.
- Raked away the sticks and clumps of old sod
- Raked out a gentle grade
- Put down seed (Scotts sun and shade mix) with a fertilizer coating
- Watered lightly
- Used a roller half-filled with water once the soil drained.
Since then, I've been consistent about watering morning and evening just until I see puddles starting to form. We've also had about 2" of rain over the same time period, so the ground has been damp or wet the whole time. Highs have been in the low 90s F, and it has been very humid.
Having never planted a lawn before, I don't know what I should be looking for. The grass is coming up (yay!), but do I have too much? not enough?
Does the week-old lawn in my picture look about like it should? And if not, is there anything I can do at this point to fix it?
- I am in Madison, WI (USDA plant hardiness zone 5a)
- Highs have been in the 80s F this past week
- The lawn has morning and evening shade, with direct sun for several hours each day
Most of the new lawn looks like the picture above -- a few dense spots, a few thin spots.