The Differences Between Overseeding and Slit Seeding
Are you seeing bare patches on your lawn? Is your grass not as dense as it once was? These common problems may be caused by a variety of factors, including dense or dry soil, insect damage, or too much shade. The solution may lie in seeding your lawn. Overseeding and slit seeding are the two most common methods, and both are effective in not only restoring uniform lushness to your lawn, but improving its overall health and resistance to insects.
What is Overseeding?
Overseeding involves the dispersal of grass seed over an established lawn without turning the soil. Rather than a targeted seeding to fill in bare spots overseeding is done on the whole lawn. Overseeding promotes new grass growth among the existing turf and is a great way to introduce new types of grass that complement the existing variety to fill out and strengthen your lawn. A lawn care expert is your best resource in determining what type of grass should be used in overseeding, and the timing of the overseeding process.
When Should I Overseed My Lawn?
Depending on your location, overseeding should be done either in the fall or spring. In cooler regions, late summer and fall are the best times to overseed. In warmer regions, early spring is the optimum time to overseed.
What is Slit Seeding?
Where overseeding spreads grass seed over existing turf, slit seeding plants grass seed into thin furrows sliced into your lawn. While more expensive than overseeding, the advantage of slit seeding is a more reliable germination rate since grass seeds inserted directly into the soil are less likely to wash away or be eaten by birds. It’s less expensive than resodding bare patches on your lawn, and is overall the most effective way to repair damage to your turf. Like overseeding, slit seeding can also be used to introduce new varieties of grass to your lawn.
What Time of Year Should I Do Slit Seeding?
The timing of slit seeding is the same as the timing for overseeding - early spring for warm regions, and late summer or fall for cooler regions.
Preparing Your Lawn For Seeding
It’s important that your lawn is healthy before beginning either overseeding or slit seeding. If weeds or grubs are the cause of your thinning or patchy grass, these problems should be remedied before you seed your lawn. A Suffolk, VA, lawn care expert can assess and identify what’s at the heart of your lawn’s failure to thrive.
Once your lawn is healthy enough for reseeding, the next step is to get up any sticks, rocks, leaves, or thatch - patches of thick, dead turf - that could compromise the effectiveness of either process.
Cut your grass the day before your grass is to be seeded and rake up any clippings. If your lawn is to be slit seeded, it is beneficial to give your lawn a thorough watering since it’s easier for the blades of the slit seeder to penetrate the ground that’s not dry and packed.
Sign Up for Expert Slit Seeding
While both overseeding and slit seeding can be effective ways of improving your lawn, slit seeding yields more effective results. If you want those results to be guaranteed and professionally delivered, consider Agronomics Lawn Management to do the job. We use quality, top-of-the-line products in our slit seeding process and offer free reseeding if you aren’t 100% satisfied.
FAQs
Where overseeding spreads grass seed over existing turf, slit seeding plants grass seed into thin furrows sliced into your lawn.
Is slit seeding better than overseeding? ›
Benefits of Slice Seeding
Because the seeds are nestled carefully in the soil slits, they have a greater chance to germinate than if you just sprinkle seeds over your lawn.
What are the benefits of slit seeding? ›
Using a slit seeder is one of the best ways to overseed established turf because it drops the grass seeds deeper into the soil, which ensures better growth and protects the seeds from birds and other animals.
When should you slit seed your lawn? ›
The two best times to seed or overseed lawns are early fall and early spring – when temperatures are cool, the ground isn't frozen, and soil moisture is better than in summer. Before using the machine, make sure the cutting depth is set correctly.
What is slice seeding? ›
Slice seeding is the best renovation technique for repairing damaged sections of turf or areas that need complete turf replacement. Slice seeding is done with a machine that slices into the ground and deposits seed into the slit giving direct seed to soil contact.
Can you slit seed over existing lawn? ›
Slit-seeding with a mechanical slit-seeder
This is the best method for overseeding established turf. Slit-seeders such as the Ryan® Mataway®Overseeder have verticutting blades that cut through the thatch layer and open up a slit or miniature furrow in the soil.
Do I need to aerate before slice seeding? ›
Generally, if the lawn is 30% or more thick/dense/present we recommend Triple Core Aeration and Seed. If your lawn is made up of less than 30% desirable grasses, we like to go with Slice Seeding. For the best results with Slice Seeding, we core aerate first.
How deep should you slit seeds? ›
Our slit seeder cuts about ½ inch into the soil and drops the seeds directly in. This depth makes for excellent growing results. Another plus is that existing grass doesn't need to be pulled up to use a slit seeder on it.
When to use a lawn slitter? ›
If you have a slitter then spring or Autumn is great. Late autumn, October to November is also good as the 'pruning' effect of these tines works well on root development throughout the cooler months. Watch out when it gets colder or warmer as the slits can open up quite badly with frost or during dry weather!
What to do after slit seeding? ›
Watering Your Slice Seeded Lawn
Keep your lawn wet for the first two weeks. It should never be bone dry. Apply about 1/4"-1/2" of water each day, spread over one or two sessions. That's enough water to fill half of an empty tuna can set under the sprinkler.
However, if you have areas with visibly thin grass or no grass at all, you might want to boost grass growth with slice seeding. This method will get seeds in the soil most efficiently and more thoroughly. This will give you much quicker results.
What is the best seed for slit seeding? ›
The type of seed you use will determine your level of success when slit seeding. Our recommendations are to use Kentucky Bluegrass in sunny areas, and a blend of Rye and Fescue grasses in the shadier areas. Areas with thick, dense shade will prove difficult to keep any turf thriving, regardless of seed variety.
Do you need to dethatch before slice seeding? ›
Should You Dethatch Before Slice Seeding? It depends on the thatch thickness. With a thin layer of about ½ inch, the slice seeder's blades can cut through the thatch to plant seeds directly into the soil. However, a thicker layer or clumps of thatch on the lawn might reduce seed-to-soil contact and seeding efficiency.
Is a slit seeder the same as an overseeder? ›
Where overseeding spreads grass seed over existing turf, slit seeding plants grass seed into thin furrows sliced into your lawn.
How to prepare a lawn for slit seeding? ›
Prepare your soil for grass seeding by removing any weeds, trash or rocks in the way. Your new grass seeds will grow best if there's no competition, so you want a clear area.
What are the results of slit seeding? ›
Soil compaction limits results: Slice seeders dig shallow grooves that help germination. If the soil underneath is compacted, the new grass can't develop proper roots. You'll see a good germination rate but slower and less healthy grass growth. Aerate compacted soils before seeding to get the best results.
How well do slit seeders work? ›
By creating these deep slices, the seed ends up in contact with the soil, where it will germinate best. While it's effective, slice seeding is also one of the most intense lawn seeding methods for established lawns. If your lawn is in half decent shape, there's really no need for something so intensive.
How deep should you slit seed? ›
Our slit seeder cuts about ½ inch into the soil and drops the seeds directly in. This depth makes for excellent growing results. Another plus is that existing grass doesn't need to be pulled up to use a slit seeder on it.
Is power seeding the same as slit seeding? ›
Power seeding, which has also been called “slice seeding” or “slit seeding,” is the process of using a machine to cut rows into the soil and plant seeds. It's a service used by golf courses to achieve some of the thickest, healthiest turfs around.
What is the germination rate for slice seeders? ›
You may not be familiar with slice seeding, but hopefully the words “80% germination rate” will grab your attention. The process involves a mechanical slit-seeder machine with vertical cutting blades. These blades cut through the thatch to create tiny furrows that will expose the grass seeds directly to the soil.
