Turf grass can be established a variety of ways. The method you choose will be determined by the situation your lawn is in. Do you have a new construction? An existing lawn that is thin and rough? A fair lawn that is just a little thin? Depending on what condition your lawn is in will determine where to start. Let's say you have a lawn that is in fair condition but needs thickened up. An easy way to do this is to Aerate and overseed. An aerator is a machine that will poke a hole in the ground (thousands of them actually) and remove a core of soil and leave it laying on the surface. These are called core aerators. Some aerators will simply push a spike into the ground creating a hole; this type is not as good. To start with, mow your grass as low as you can safely, don't throw rocks and dig dirt with the mower, but get it down to about 1" high.
This will stunt the grass and slow its growth allowing the new grass that you will seed to get started with limited competition from the existing grass. After mowing take an aerator, rent one, buy one or borrow one, and go over the entire lawn at least twice. Depending on the model you use, the aerator will poke holes every 2 to 8 inches apart. I like to be able to look down at the lawn at any point and not see spots that don't have holes larger than 6". If you have a spot larger than 6" without holes in it, you won't have very much grass come up in that spot, so go over the lawn as many times as it takes to be sure you have holes everywhere. Once you're done aerating, spread your seed. The amount of seed you use is important. If you don't use enough you won't get the desired results. Professionally, we use 25 kg per 1000 meters square for lawns. This brings up an important point, measure your lawn accurately and write it down. Every thing you do in lawn care will ask for how large the lawn is. Spread the seed with a spreader of any type, do not use your hand and just throw it around, you won't get even coverage. Spread the seed using half of the required amount spreading it in one direction, use the other half spreading the opposite direction creating a cross hatch pattern on the lawn. This way you are assured of getting even coverage. After spreading the seed take a drag of any type, a piece of chain link fence, a board with a rope tied to it, or what ever you can drag behind your mower. Drag the lawn, this will push and drag seed into the holes you created and break up the little plugs of soil that the aerator left on the ground, it will cover up most of the seed giving much better germination and a thicker lawn. After dragging, spread a starter fertilizer. A starter fertilizer has a higher middle number than first and last numbers. (More Phosphate) For complete explanation on what the numbers mean on fertilizer bags, how they affect grass and what micro-nutrients grass also needs, refer to a Lawn Care Manual. This will give the ground the nutrients needed to germinate and start a turf lawn, thus the name "starter fertilizer". After about a month the new grass will start to yellow off some or maybe turn pale green, this is showing you that it is time to fertilize again. Apply fertilizer to provide the nitrogen for green and growth and phosphate and potash for root growth and overall vigor. After the grass is about 3 weeks old you should be able to start mowing. CUT IT HIGH!!!
Fertilizing the grass does more than just make it green. Of course it will make it grow too, but lots of things happen when you fertilize. Going back to our establishment, fertilizer makes the seed germinate faster, and get started out of the ground. After the grass has a good start fertilizer will make the grass get thicker send off Rhizomes, Stolons or Tillers all making the grass thicker and healthier. What most people want to know is how much and when. Simply put, most grasses will benefit from four applications of fertilizer per year. Spread out 60 days apart starting in early spring approximately 30 days before the growing season starts in your area, continuing through the growing season until fall. Spring fertilizing gets the grass off to a fast start giving you that rich green color everyone wants. A word of warning though, don't use too much fertilizer, follow the listed guidelines on the bag, or these generic instructions. Too much fertilizer will cause excess growth, lead to Fungus growth and weaken the grass. Careful not to spill fertilizer – you will end up with a burn in your lawn
Mowing is the most misunderstood part of lawn care, and the most often incorrectly performed part of lawn care. Far too many people will set their mowers too low or "scalp" the lawn. This leads to thin and dying out grass, shallow root systems, and in the long run, NO GRASS.
At the height of summer, leave the lawn even a little longer. Change the setting on the mower to allow for a little water conservation.