Lawn Seeding Sheet
Read the rate off the bag, measure the area, and resist the urge to round up — this is one job where extra makes it worse.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/grass-seed-calculator
The lawn
- Location
- Date
- Length
- Width
- AREA (sq ft)
- Grass type
- New lawn or overseed?
- RATE from the bag
- POUNDS NEEDED
- Bag size
- BAGS
Areas — measure irregular lawns as rectangles
| Section | Length | Width | Sq ft | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Typical rates — lb per 1,000 sq ft
- Tall fescue, NEW
- 8-10
- Perennial ryegrass, NEW
- 7-8
- Kentucky bluegrass, NEW
- 2-3
- Tall fescue, OVERSEED
- 4-6
- Perennial ryegrass, OVERSEED
- 3-4
- Kentucky bluegrass, OVERSEED
- 1-2
- Seeds per lb — bluegrass
- about 2,200,000 — about 5,500 seeds/sq ft at 2.5 lb
- Seeds per lb — tall fescue
- about 230,000 — about 2,070 seeds/sq ft at 9 lb
- ⚠ Bluegrass is sown THICKER
- ~2.5x the seeds on a quarter the weight
- ⚠ The BAG's rate
- beats every table, including this one
- ⚠ More seed
- makes a WORSE lawn, not insurance
The parts that actually decide it
- Rate read off the BAG, not from a general table
- New-lawn or overseed rate chosen deliberately
- Soil contact made — raked, scarified, or thatch removed
- Timing right — early autumn for most cool-season grasses
- Soil test done, or at least pH considered
- Watering plan for the next few WEEKS, not the next few days
- Seed spread in two passes at right angles for evenness
- Spreader setting checked against the bag
- Surplus stored sealed, cool and dry
- Mowing height raised until the new grass establishes
The rate belongs to the seed, not the lawn
Kentucky bluegrass goes down at about a quarter of the fescue rate BY WEIGHT because its seeds are roughly ten times smaller — 2.2 million to the pound against 230,000. But it is not the same number of seeds: bluegrass at 2.5 lb/1,000 sq ft is about 5,500 seeds per square foot against fescue's 2,070 at 9 lb. It is deliberately sown thicker, because its seedlings are small and slow and it fills in by rhizome rather than seed by seed. Apply a bluegrass rate to a fescue bag and you badly under-seed; the other way round and you bury it.
More seed is not insurance
Over-seeding produces crowded, spindly seedlings competing for light, water and nutrients, and the stand that results is weaker than a correctly seeded one. Buy what you need, apply the stated rate, and keep the surplus sealed for patching.
Water is what kills new lawns
Not the rate. New seed needs consistent moisture for weeks, and the second week is when people stop paying attention. Soil contact and timing come next — seed lying on thatch, or sown in the wrong season, will not germinate however carefully you measured it.