When Can You Walk On New Grass?

When can you walk on new grass

A fantastic way to liven up the look of your lawn is by growing new grass. You want it to grow uniformly thick and robust. If you have spent your effort and time on a new yard, temptations to start using it immediately will kick in once the grass begins sprouting. 

However, walking on it or allowing your pet to play too soon is the reason why your lawn will not turn out as you desire.

Though nothing appears to be growing on the surface, rest assured that the action is still on beneath the soil. Hence human and pet traffic will destroy the baby grass before it sprouts. Read on.

Avoid walking on the lawn until you have mowed it at least 3 to four times. You can walk on it carefully as you water, but active usage should come after you have mowed. You can wait until its 1/3 longer than the preferred height before mowing.

 Tips to Ensure Your New Grass Becomes an Admirable Yard

  1. Pick the right seed: Select a seed that is best suited for your zone. If you are clueless about this, ask your local agro vet’s advice. This way, you will be sure to purchase one that is 0% weed seed.
  2. Prepare your lawn: Before you plant, it’s advisable to install your irrigation system first if you plan on using it. Make sure the ground is level; there should be no furrows or raised areas. Level ground is easy to mow and water.
  3. Plant the seeds: Mix the seed with the soil for good results about a quarter to half-inch deep. If the seed is on top, it will not grow well hence die. Use a garden rake for small areas to mix the seed with the soil and a power-rake for large areas.
  4. Keep off Your Freshly Planted Ground: Once you plant the seeds on your lawn, try as much as possible not to walk on it. Sprouting seeds are fragile. Even though they are under the soil, the pressure of walking on seeds is enough to crush them. 

After you have finished planting, what’s the next? You can fence off the area to prevent any form of intrusion. 

Tip: Use a water sprinkler instead of a hosepipe for watering your yard to avoid stepping in the area.

  1. Look for a Substitute Playing Area for Children: There’s nothing wrong with kids playing outside. However, children playing on a lawn with young, growing grass can ruin or pull out the grass sprouts. So, it’s advisable to prevent any human traffic on the lawn when the grass is young. Keep your kids busy by taking them to the park or any outdoor activity to keep them away from the yard during the day.
  2. Restrain your pet: Your furry friends need the outdoors to relax, exercise and relieve them. However, pets can cause severe damage to the young grass. Hence you will have no choice but to redo the yard again. For this reason, find ways on how to prevent your pets from damaging your lawn.
  3. Weed control: Applying a weed control chemical when the grass is still young is not advisable. Why? This chemical will destroy some of the seedlings, which will result in your lawn having holes. You should apply the chemical twice after mowing your lawn twice.
  4. Mow the grass: Don’t be in a hurry to start mowing your young grass. Why? The force of the mower blades can pull out the sprouts from the soil. Also, the mower wheels can squash the young grass. To prevent this, wait for the grass to grow to a height of 3.5 inches before mowing.

Moreover, it takes 30 days for the grass to start emerging and an additional 30 days for the roots to be firm in the ground. Therefore, you should mow after 60 days of planting.

When you start trimming, place the blade at the highest level. Make sure to cut not more than a third of the grass height.

3 Mowing Tips You Should Use On New Grass

With the correct mowing blades and technique, you will enable the blooming of healthy-looking grass. Therefore;

Be gentle: When mowing for the first time, be careful not to make abrupt moves. A sudden motion or anything weighty can ruin the grass. Use very gentle movements as possible. 

Don’t cut wet grass: Grass leaves bend easily when they have moisture. Also, they tend to attach themselves to a mower blade when wet. Hence, a disaster!

Ensure your mower blade is sharp: Imagine mowing with a blunt blade! A blunt blade causes more harm than good to the newly planted lawn. It spoils the grass leaves as well as the roots. It also affects the evenness of the grass’s height.

Why Is It Essential To Monitor Grass Height?

Grass height mirrors the health of the roots. The longer the grass leaves grow, the stronger the roots are.

The roots are responsible for providing nutrients and water to the growing grass. For this to happen, the roots need to be healthy. Be attentive to notice in case there’s stunted growth. This will be a pointer that something is wrong with the roots hence the need for immediate remedy.

3 Ways That Will Help Your Grass Spring Up Faster

You’ve got your seeds in the ground, and the sprouts are out. By taking a few steps, you will have the healthiest and greenest lawn ever. 

Here’s what to do!

Watering When Necessary

Water is life! Newly planted seeds are no exception; hence need moisture to start growing. Water activates the sprouting process, which makes the grass healthy and robust. If the soil is dry, your seeds will die, leaving you with bare ground. Read on.

 Always check if the soil feels dry to touch or discolors to a lighter shade. If so, then it’s the right time to water it. Be careful not to over-water. Besides, your grass only needs moisture, not a flood.

For the first few weeks, water the seeds daily. After three weeks, you can change to skipping one-day intervals. As the grass progresses, miss two days. At this point, leveling your lawn will be an advantage to you. You will not have water flooding in low areas causing the seeds to decay.

Finally, if it’s during the wet season, you can cut back on the watering frequency but keep checking if the soil is moist.

 Use Natural Feed

Natural manure works well on grass. Why? The raw feed is safe for everyone and the environment as well. Also, they work better than synthetics by producing greener lawns. 

Use natural fertilizer a few times in the year. Preferably feed your grass during the spring and fall seasons. During the spring, your lawn needs extra nutrients to grow and thrive throughout the growing season. Whereas in the fall, it will need fertilizer to help it survive the upcoming winter. Spread it out uniformly on your lawn. Then, water the leaves to allow the soil to absorb the waste.

 Use Grass Trimmings

Grass trimmings will decompose quickly and return nutrients to the soil. After trimming your grass, collect all the pieces and spread them equally around the lawn or use them to make compost. What’s more?

Grass clippings act as a natural mulch and help your grass retain moisture. Also, they help improve the soil texture and reduce the need for fertilizers. Leaving behind grass clippings when you mow saves time and waste you take to the landfills. The best type of mower to get grass clippings is the reel mower. A reel mower leaves the grass behind after cutting, unlike a lawnmower that bags the clippings.

Are You Ready To Walk On New Grass?

After the seemingly long wait of mowing and caring for your new grass appropriately, it is ready for you and your pets to step on it. However, do not be in a hurry if you still feel uncertain about your fresh grass’s readiness. Why?

Stepping on an unready lawn will create patches that will encourage a fleet of weeds to cover the spots and attack the entire yard. Well, that’s how quickly your efforts will go down the drain.

Preferably, hold your horse until you mow new grass three to five times before opening up your yard for everyone.

Depending on your care tips like watering schedule, soil condition, fair weather, and the type of seeds, grass seeds take just about eight weeks to reach three to four inches in length.

Verdict

Give your newly planted grass time and space to grow strong. At this crucial point, walking on the lawn can cause permanent damage to the developing leaves and roots. Also, ensure you are using the correct mowing method to protect the grass.

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