How to Plant Grass Seed Before Thunderstorms

Grass needs water in order to grow, so watering grass seeds after planting them helps them to start germinating. Depending on the size of your yard, however, watering with a hose could be a time-consuming task. You'll save yourself time and money on your water bill by coordinating your grass seed planting with the next predicted thunderstorm. Heavy rains ensure a thorough soaking of the ground, but there remains the risk that seeds could wash away if precautionary measures aren't taken to hold them in place.

Garden rake
Garden hoe
Tiller
Plow
Fertilizer spreader (optional)
Topsoil (optional)
Compost (optional)
Cultipacker
Lawn roller
Straw

Instructions

- 1
  Gather all of the materials needed so that you will be ready when a thunderstorm is in the forecast.
- 2
  Monitor the weather forecast to find out when a thunderstorm is expected; wait for a storm with a few days of rain for best results. If flooding is expected with the storm, wait for the next storm.
- 3
  Turn the soil with a garden rake or hoe to loosen the top 2 to 3 inches for planting. If the soil is not freshly turned or packed hard, you may need to use a tiller or plow to loosen large areas of soil.
- 4
  Broadcast the seed over the loose soil either by hand or with a fertilizer spreader.
- 5
  Cover the seed with 1/8 to 1/4 inch of fertile topsoil or organic compost. Alternatively, you can scratch the seed into the soil with a garden rake.
- 6
  Pack the soil down slightly by running a cultipacker or roller over the soil. Packing the soil around the seeds improves germination.
- 7
  Cover the ground with a thin layer of straw to keep birds from eating the seed before the storm and prevent erosion during the storm. Without this step to prevent erosion, there is a greater chance that the seeds will wash away in a moderate to heavy storm.

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