Whether you have a small spot or a whole yard that needs reseeding, the job at hand will be easier with the right tools (by a landslide). Most garden shops and home improvement stores carry the tools homeowners need to plant grass seed. With that in mind, you’re only one trip to the garden department away from your dream yard.
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Landscape rake
A helpful tool to prepare your yard for region-appropriate grass seed is a landscape rake. This rake has a wide head with thin teeth to move the tiny seeds. You can also use a landscape rake to loosen the soil before spreading the grass seed.
Tiller
Landscape rakes are good tools to loosen the soil in small spaces. But if you need to prepare your entire yard, using a tiller is more efficient. Tillers can be electric or gas-powered, and some are hand tools like rakes. All tillers use metal tines to loosen and aerate the soil before laying grass seed.
Grass-seed spreader
If you have a whole yard to seed, a grass-seed spreader makes the job quick and easy. Most spreaders have a handle, allowing you to push the wheeled device around your yard. The spreader has a caster that throws the seed around your yard in a circular pattern. If you don’t want to buy a spreader, you can rent one from a local hardware store.
Spreaders look like little wheelbarrows, but they have a hole in the bottom for the seed to spread. After you use the spreader to seed your yard, you can use this same tool to distribute fertilizer.
Garden hose with an adjustable nozzle
Grass seed needs regular watering. If you have a large yard, you’ll want a long garden hose equipped with an adjustable nozzle that spreads water over a big swath of land. Note that a garden hose without a nozzle can overwater areas of your yard, and the force of the water can damage fragile grass seed.
Homeowners with large yards should use sprinklers with a gentle spray to cover large areas of new grass seed.
Hand caster for small spots
If you have a small space that needs new grass seed, a hand caster is useful. These garden tools closely resemble larger flour sifters and are relatively inexpensive. To operate a hand caster, you squeeze a trigger, and the hand caster sprinkles the seed around your yard.
Poly film
Because grass seed can be a tasty treat for birds and other wildlife, many homeowners put the poly film over their new grass. The film covers the seeds to protect them from hungry critters. It also serves as a temporary greenhouse, focusing heat, sunlight, and moisture in the area under the film.
You can hold the film in place with rocks or small stakes. If the afternoon sun is too hot, you can fold back the cover to cool the ground and protect the new seed from the heat.
Conclusion
Spreading seed is easy when you have the right tools like rakes, spreaders, and garden hoses. It’s wise to prepare your soil and use a hose with a gentle spray to help your new grass seed grow effectively.
Featured Image by Reijo Telaranta from Pixabay
