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Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard

This beautiful weed-free, well-maintained lawn belies the steps taken throughout the garden season to prepare the soil, plant the lawn and care for it.

The key to a successful new lawn is preparation – from leveling and raking to rolling and topcoating. Planting a new lawn requires effort and commitment. Depending on the size of your yard and whether you need to take out old turf first, the process can take up to several months from start to finish. While most of the effort is done up front, if you do it right, your efforts will be rewarded for years to come.

Unfortunately, you can’t just dig up an old lawn, lay down new turf and have instant success. If you’ve decided to completely replace your worn-out turfgrass, you’ll first have to kill it. If your yard is small, you can smother the grass and heat the soil with a plastic covering, or you can till it all under. Another option (or if you have a large yard) is to use grass-killing herbicides, which can take a week or more to work.

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Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing

While soil preparation is an important step, lawn success is also determined by the type of grass you pick. Make sure your turf of choice is ideal for your climate and site conditions.

Once your old grass is gone, you should have your soil tested (either with an at-home test kit or with the help of your local Extension Office) to determine what nutrients your ground may be missing. You also need to check the grading of your site. A lawn should slope slightly away from your home’s foundation to avoid drainage issues. If swampiness, puddling or flooding have been a problem in the past, you may need to install a drainage system to remove excess water. If you have a deeply sloping site, you may want to terrace it or have it professionally engineered before you start your new lawn project.

Once your plot is graded, you need to till the soil to break up any compaction. This also allows you to amend the soil with any texture agents, pH adjusters or fertilizers, as indicated by your soil-test results. After all this is done, you’re truly ready to plant (a whole process in itself).

Putting in a new lawn clearly takes planning and effort, and it’s a project best done only if you have sufficient time to complete it correctly. The more diligent you work upfront, the better the results. Be honest with yourself about the time and energy you can put toward the task, and enlist helpers (or professionals) if necessary. The fact is, your lawn is probably the dominant feature in your yard – and a major factor in curb appeal so it’s worth taking the time to do it right!