Late summer (August) is easily the best time to seed cool-season grasses, but sometimes turf must be seeded in the spring. The following points should help improve the success of spring seeding:
1. Seed as soon as possible (now is not too early) so the seed is in the ground and ready to germinate as soon as the soil temperatures rise.
2. Improve the seed-soil contact by raking or disturbing the soil before seeding. After seeding, a light raking will further mix the seed and soil or a light rolling will push the seed into better contact with soil.
3. Water lightly to keep the seedbed moist as soil temperatures warm to 50 o and the seed starts to germinate.
4. Avoid any preemergence crabgrass or postemergence broadleaf herbicide applications to the seeded areas until the seedlings are established and mowed at least 3 or 4 times, which might be May or later depending on the weather. The exception to this is any preemergence products containing siduron. Since all herbicides have slightly different restrictions, be sure to check the label of your specific product for specifics.
5. Since the seedlings will not develop a good root system until next fall, keep the newly seeded areas well-watered all summer.
Much more information is available in “AY-20: Seeding a Turf Area in the Spring”.