By Gary Deters
Establishing lawns from seed can sometimes be difficult even under ideal growing conditions, and there are many considerations when putting seed on the ground for small repairs as well. Spring is a time when successful lawn seeding is possible, but soil temperatures in early spring are cold which can prohibit rapid germination and establishment. We have now entered the beginning of summer when growing turfgrass from seed becomes even more difficult and we do not normally recommend seeding your lawn this time of the year.
There are a number of challenges when trying to establish a lawn with new seed in the summer. Hot, windy days could potentially kill the new seedings if they do not receive timely water applications. City watering restrictions might not allow the homeowner to consistently water new seed to optimize growth; for some cities there might be an irrigation exception form which allows irrigation use for new lawns for a limited time. Even when plants are receiving water from rain or irrigation they might be vulnerable to other problems; for example, a hot and humid week can create high disease pressure for newly germinated seedlings. Another challenge with the beginning of summer is the development of annual weeds like crabgrass which can outcompete immature grass seedlings (Figure 1).
We have resources on this website and University of Minnesota Extension's Lawn Care webpage to help you plan your project and successfully manage it as well. You can also use our Lawn Care Calendar for guidance for when it’s a good time to seed.
- Renovating a lawn for quality and sustainability from UMN Extension
- Planting and maintaining a fine fescue lawn from UMN Extension
- Planting and maintaining a bee lawn from UMN Extension
- Finding the right grass seed by Dr. Eric Watkins
It has been a difficult start to the 2023 growing season with winter carrying over into spring until the middle of April. May has been dry and we have seen extremely warm temperatures for the time of the year. With the lack of rain going into summer it could be a tough year for many lawns. One of the key times of the year we encourage seeding is late August because of the warm soil temperatures, cooler nights, and less competition with summer weeds. If you feel like you missed the window to seed and do not want to fight the battle, take the time in June and July to come up with a great seeding plan for late August.