Growing a brand new lawn from seed

Early to mid-autumn is a great time to start a new lawn from seed. Air temperatures are milder, but the soil is still warm, which encourages lawn seed to germinate, and the lawn will have time to start establishing before the cool winter weather arrives.

To get the best possible results from sowing your new lawn, there are a few important steps to follow:

• Weed control – weeds will compete with the new lawn so should be controlled 2 weeks before sowing lawn seed (this allows the weeds to die completely). Yates Zero Weedkiller can be used a general spray over the area to kill any weeds and existing grasses.
• Soil preparation - lawn seed should be sown into well drained, firm but not compacted soil that is rich in organic matter. An application of lawn top dressing can also benefit lawn establishment where the existing soil is heavy clay or poor and sandy or the surface is uneven.
• Measure – measure the area and calculate the correct amount of lawn seed.
• Sow - rake the soil surface in straight lines to create shallow furrows. Mixing lawn seed with Munns Superstart Organic Based Seed & Turf Starter Fertiliser makes sowing lawn seed much easier and encourages better germination and root development as well as providing the grass seedlings with nutrients as they establish. Broadcast the seed and Superstart mix evenly over the area. It helps to halve the seed mix and sow half in an east west direction and the other half in a north south direction.  After sowing, lightly cross rake the area to mix the seed into the topsoil.
• Water - water the area with a fine mist spray. It is very important that the top soil remains moist for the first 14 – 21 days to complete germination. This may require watering several times a day if the weather is hot or windy. As the grass establishes, the number of waterings can be reduced but increase the volume of water at each watering.

Whether your lawn is in sun or shade, needs to be tough and hard-wearing or you're craving a soft-to-walk-on backyard, there's a lawn seed to suit. Here are some favourites from the Munns Professional lawn seed range:

All Munns Professional lawn seeds are coated in an advanced multi-purpose coating to boost germination, deter birds and allow you to see where you've sown seed. They also contain a professional grade soil wetting agent and premium slow release fertiliser, to provide nutrients to the establishing grass seedlings.

Mow your new lawn when seedlings are about 5 -6 cm high, even if this entails only partial mowing of the area, removing only about 1cm.  To keep your lawn in maximum condition, mowing should take place on a regular basis, ensuring that mower blades are not dull or blunt, as this may damage and pull the new grass out.  Dull blades can tear the grass rather than give a clean cut. When first mowing try to mow when the soil is moist but the leaf is dry this reduces pick up of grass and improves the quality of cut.

Once your lawn has germinated Munns Professional lawn seeds incorporate enough nutrition to get your lawn moving. For the first 12 weeks it's important to use a low salt lawn fertiliser so as not to damage the new seeds roots structures. During this time a starter granular fertiliser like Munns Professional Buffalo & All Lawns Turf Starter Fertiliser can be applied at the time of seeding. If you forgot to apply the starter fertiliser or simply want to take your newly growing lawn to the next level than fortnightly applications of Munns Professional Lift Off can help give your lawn that needed boost up until the 12 week mark.  After 12 weeks that nutrition will have run out and your lawn will need a good feed to finish filling in. We recommend applying a fertiliser like Munns Professional Golf Course Green to get your lawn moving and filling in.