How to grow grass from seed

After you've measured the area you want to sow and chosen the lawn seed that best suits your needs, the first job is to prepare the soil. Make sure your soil doesn't have any rocks, scattered debris or grass in it. Use a rake to clear it out and flatten the surface as much as possible.

Next you need to add some fertiliser to your soil. Give the area a few good handfuls, evenly shaken out across the surface.

Tip: some lawn seed products already contain fertiliser. Check yours, and if it does you can skip this step.

Give your seeds the best chance by weighing them down. You can keep your lawn seed from blowing away and stop the birds getting to it with a top dressing of lawn soil. You should try to cover your seed by a couple of millimetres of top dressing. 

Next you need to add a wetting agent to your surface. They often come in pre-mixed packages that you attach to your hose and spray. A direct hit of water from the hose will wash the seed away. So try and apply the wetting agent evenly as a fine mist. Give it a moderate soak – there's no need to overwater it in.

Add a stringline barrier around the edge to keep people from walking across your newly planted seed. To do this put plastic stakes in the four corners of your lawn and a few extras down the sides. Then connect with some stringline. You could even tie a few small rag strips to your corner stakes to draw more attention to your barrier.