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Calculators / Ground cover

How much sod or seed for your lawn?

Measure the lawn and pick sod or seed. You'll get the pallets of sod, or the pounds of seed for your grass.

These are example numbers. Put in yours.

Your lawn

Shape of the lawn
ft
ft

Sod or seed

Sod or seed
Grass type

Check the bag or ask the garden center what grows near you.

New lawn or overseeding

Buy this much

16 lb of tall fescue seed

A new lawn takes 6 to 8 lb per 1,000 sq ft. We planned on 8.

Lawn
2,000 sq ft
Rate
6 to 8 lbper 1,000 sq ft
Seed
16 lb
See tall fescue seed on Amazon

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area = 50 ft × 40 ft = 2000 sq ft

seed = 2000 sq ft ÷ 1,000 × 8 lb = 16 lb, rounded up to 16

When

Sow tall fescue in late summer to early fall. Spring works, but crabgrass and heat beat a lot of it.

New lawn

Rake the seed into the top ¼ in and roll it. Keep the top damp every day until it's up.

Coated seed

Coated seed is about half coating by weight. If the bag says coated, plan on close to double the pounds.

Spreader

Use a broadcast spreader and go over it twice, the second pass crossways. You get even coverage and fewer bare stripes.

See broadcast spreaders on Amazon

How we work it out

Sod is sold by the square foot and the pallet. We add 5% for cuts around beds and edges, then divide by the pallet size.

sod = sq ft × 1.05

pallets = sod ÷ 450 sq ft, rounded up

Pallets run 400 to 500 sq ft depending on the farm. Ask yours what they stack.

Seed goes by the pound per 1,000 sq ft, and the rate depends on the grass. We plan on the top of the range.

seed = sq ft ÷ 1,000 × rate

New lawn rates per 1,000 sq ft: tall fescue 6 to 8 lb, Kentucky bluegrass 1.5 to 2, perennial ryegrass 7 to 9, hulled bermuda 1 to 2. Overseeding a thin lawn takes about half that. Coated seed takes close to double.

Where the numbers come from

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