When your lawn is green, healthy, and full, it adds a beautiful display out your front door. Lawn maintenance is required all throughout the year, and taking steps to keep your yard up requires time and energy every season.
After you overseed your yard, you can let your seeds germinate for a few weeks and then mow your yard and use the grass clippings as mulch. You always have the option to bag your grass clippings, but mulching them in your yard can provide plenty of nutrients for your grass and seedlings.
In this article, we will dive into if you should bag your grass clippings as well as what your seedlings need to thrive in your new yard. We will also explain what overseeding is and how to germinate your yard correctly.
Should I Bag My Grass Clippings After Overseeding
Directly after seeding your yard, it is recommended not to bag the grass clippings from your yard. Once you throw out seed for your yard, you need to give your new grass time to make it to the surface and grow strong, so waiting some time after overseeding is recommended. When you do mow, grass clippings can be mulched into the yard and add water retention as well as plenty of nutrients for the tiny seedlings.
After your seedlings have had some time to establish, you can easily add grass clippings to continue to provide nutrients with grass clippings as mulch. There is a great debate on whether or not grass clippings should be dispersed back in the yard or whether you should bag them up. Grass clippings have many incredible benefits for your yard and will add valuable nutrients to your grass.
As a homeowner, you have to make the ultimate decision on when you should use grass clippings and when you should bag them up. There are a few reasons that you would likely want to bag your grass clippings instead of using them as mulch on your yard.
One reason is if your yard is covered in weeds, you, of course, do not want to respread the grass that is full of weeds back on your yard. It is often recommended to bag your grass clippings and dispose of them properly and away from your yard.
Another reason is if you just recently overseeded your yard, you want to give your new seed some time to establish and develop with adequate sunlight and space. After they have established a bit, you can absolutely use grass clippings as mulch and provide your seedlings with plenty of nutrients.
How Long Should I Wait to Mow After Overseeding
To give your seeds a chance to germinate and begin growing, you should wait to mow for at least one to three weeks. After those seven days, you can mow your yard, but make sure to remove any grass clippings.
If you mow too soon, you risk damaging seedlings before they are set and growing strong. Allowing two to four weeks ensure your seeds have adequate time to grow as well as the right conditions to flourish.
The adequate conditions for seedlings to germinate well include, but are not limited to the following:
Sunlight
If you are aerating and planting new seedlings, they need sunlight to grow properly, so making sure you refrain from mowing and covering your grass with anything is crucial.
Water
You cannot just drop the seeds and leave them to fend for themselves. Watering your grass seeds weekly is essential for their growth and development.
Space
A lot of times, people aerate their yards before they seed, allowing plenty of spaces for their seeds to fall in their yard. If your grass is incredibly dense or covered by leaves, your new seedlings may have a hard time getting to the surface.
If you mow too early after overseeding, the roots of the grass seeds won’t have time to become established and will likely be picked up and scattered throughout the yard or destroyed.
What Steps Should I Take To Overseed my Yard
If your yard is thinning more than normal, many opt to overseed their yard with new seeds. Overseeding your yard is a process to give your yard fullness and a healthy look all year. There are multiple steps you can take to ensure your seeds take off and grow well.
Before overseeding, you can cut your grass short to give your new seedlings a proper place to grow strong. Mowing your yard to a shorter length will allow your seedlings easy access to water, sunlight, and space.
The first step you should take to overseed is to aerate your yard to give the seeds a place to fall when you throw the seeds out. Aerating your yard allows air to circulate, through your soil and gives your seed soil that is soft and not compact.
Next, you are able to seed your yard, and the process is called overseeding for a reason. Overseeding your yard means picking the grass seed you want to have grown and dispersing more than normal around your yard. When you sprinkle more than is needed, you give the seeds plenty of chances to germinate and provide an adequate foundation for strong growth.
You then need to make sure you water at least twice a day during the first week after overseeding. Keeping up with watering is imperative and gives your seedlings a great start and adequate moisture to establish roots well. The main reason seedlings don’t germinate correctly is because they are not getting the right amount of water.
Although water is the most important aspect of overseeding your yard, you also need to be mindful of giving your grass seeds plenty of time to establish before you mow. Seedlings typically take 14 to 21 days to germinate and establish properly.
Once your seedlings have germinated and given time to establish, you can mow your yard. Waiting for your seeds to germinate is imperative; allow the seeds to settle and the roots to begin to grasp onto the soil below. Many people recommend mowing on a longer height when you first mow your yard after you overseed.
Conclusion
Overseeding your yard provides your outdoor space a chance to grow full and dense throughout the year. After you overseed your yard, you have to take proper steps to make sure your seeds germinate correctly and appropriately.
After you allow your seeds to germinate, you can mow your yard carefree and simply use the grass clippings as mulch on your yard. The grass clippings as mulch is a great addition to your freshly seeded yard.
Overseeding your yard requires adequate moisture, mowing, and care to make your yard grow to a full and dense and transform your yard into a beautiful landscape to surround your home. Watering your seedlings and giving them everything they need to grow well will help roots establish and substantially increase height.
Once your seeds are established, mowing over them adds a mulch that will act as a protective layer as they continue to grow. Make sure to mow on a day that is dry and that you don’t cut your lawn too short when you mow.
