How to Prepare the Soil to Plant Grass Seed

Remove all weeds from the area. Kill weeds by pulling them or using a weed killer such as glyphosate, which is a general herbicide and will generally kill all your weeds in about five days. Apply herbicides on a sunny day.

Till the weeds with a rototiller after they have been killed and then use an iron rake to rake out all the dead weeds so you can dispose of them.

Apply a soil amendment at the rate of 6 yards per 1,000 square feet. Use a mulch that is rich in organic material from a local soil distributor or nursery or you can use your own compost. Spread the soil amendment with an iron landscape rake. Then work it in with the rototiller. A good wheelbarrow will aid you in the distribution of the amendment.

Create a rough grade with the iron rake. This will allow you to rake out any clods and rocks from the area. All rocks and clods need to be set aside for disposal. Once you get a rough grade, you need to get your final grade. In this stage you just want all the clods out and the grade to be fairly level.

Grade the soil to the level desired with a landscape rake. This means making sure that the lawn slopes away from the house. For the average homeowner this takes a while to get the slope right, but this is important so that a hard rain won't flood the house.

Compact the soil with a roller. This insures that you have good contact with the seed. Lightly rake the surface with a wire rake to put some grooves in the soil for the seed.