Lawn Grass Seed Mats
When a gardener faces a problem of bare spots on their lawn, or they want quickly to establish a lawn, they’re advised to use lawn grass seed mats, also known as grass seed blankets, to deal with the problem.
How do lawn grass seed mats help gardeners?
Published: October 21, 2022.
Benefits of Lawn Grass Seed Mats
Lawn grass seed mats, also called erosion control mats/blankets and grass seed germination mats/blankets, help rectify the problem of drying up and losing the color of patches of grass. Also, they help gardens to quickly establish new lawns.
They can do this because:
- They permit water and light to reach seeds beneath them so the seeds can easily germinate.
- Soil too gets warm due to these mats which in turn quickens seed germination.
- Even they can help prevent soil erosion and act as an alternative to spreading grass seeds straight in the soil.
- Heavy rains may wash away seeds, but seed mats hold them in place and prevent them from getting washed to a single spot, germinating in clumps and leaving other areas blank which happens when one scatters grass seeds.
- Besides preventing seeds from washing out by rains, they also lock in the necessary amount of moisture for the sprouting grass.
- Seed mats hide seeds and emerging blades so birds and animals cannot eat them.
- As they hide the seeds underneath them and lock in moisture, they also protect seeds from sun and heat damage.
- They can be used in thinned areas over existing grass to help one’s lawn grow evenly.
Germination mats also have another great advantage; they make it difficult for weeds to grow around the newly developing grass.
Conditions like tilled soil and regular watering needed by grass seeds are very favorable for weeds, but seed mats stop weeds from being benefited by these conditions.
Disadvantages of Lawn Grass Seed Mats
Seed mats come with a lot of advantages. But they have a couple of disadvantages.
- When compared with the price of seeds, grass seed mats cost more.
- One gets a limited choice of seed types.
Pre-seeded and Bare Mats
Not all lawn grass mats come pre-seeded. One can even get ‘bare’ mats that can be used only to cover the planted seeds and help generate the correct environment for successful sprouting and growth. They can be useful when one just wants to patch up a few areas or if one wants to grow a particular type of grass.
Whether one uses a pre-seeded mat or a non-seeded one, they should not walk or do any other activity on the mats once they are laid out.
When to Use Lawn Seed Mats?
One can use lawn seed mats on existing lawns.
If one has some thinned out or bare spots on their lawn that they want to cover, they can use a lawn seed mat to make sure their new seeds grow successfully.
How to Start?
One should start using lawn seed mats by nicely mowing their entire lawn. After this, they can either cut-up a pre-seeded germination mat or sow seeds in the ground and cover them with pieces of bare mats.
The latter method is better when one has a more particular type of grass which they don’t want to mix with any other variety. The mat pieces can be held in place with biodegradable stakes.
How to Use?
Using a lawn seed mat on one’s lawn is extremely easy. This is one of the reasons why gardeners have started using them in increasing numbers.
Depending upon whether one chooses a pre-seeded mat or chooses to seed first and then cover their lawn area with a non-seeded mat, there are two approaches to start with.
Starting a New Lawn
If one chooses to use a pre-seeded mat, it’s pretty straightforward. These mats are also known as ‘seed rolls’ and come with seeds impregnated and fertilizers included in them. They are generally biodegradable and an easy and quick way to start a completely new lawn.
- Firstly, one should measure their lawn area to find out the amount of seed mat they’ll need.
- Once they buy the mats which come usually in rolls, growers should unroll the mats across the soil carefully so they don’t skip any patches or form unsightly seams.
- They should secure the mats in place with biodegradable stakes.
- Now they should water the mats well.
The length of time between laying out mats and the establishment of lawns differs among manufacturers. Some even claim that gardeners can get a lush green thick lawn within as little as five weeks after laying their mats.
Pre-seeded germination mats are an excellent way to ensure everything remains in place until the seeds germinate and produce beautiful shoots if gardeners have a banked area to grass or a sloping lawn or any tricky patch of land.
Repairing a Few Patches of Lawn
Here too one can use a pre-seeded mat. However, the lawn may look patchy if the variety of grass included in the mat is not the same as that of the lawn.
Therefore, the gardener can seed a lawn and then use a non-seeded lawn mat for coverage:
- The gardener should first mow and rake the bare spots with a garden rake to remove any stones, sticks, grass clippings, or dead grass.
- Then they should till the soil there to loosen it about 2 inches deep so it will be aerated and grass seeds will be quickly established.
- Then they should add a lawn starter fertilizer to the bare patches while following the package directions carefully. They can do this either by hand or with a broadcaster which will feed the entire lawn and rejuvenate the existing grass too.
- They should measure the thinned patches and cut pieces of mats to fit them.
- They should take seeds of the same grass variety as that of their existing lawn and sow them in the bald patches. They should take care not to overseed, because it will make the grass grow in clumps and look uneven.
- Now they should cover the patches with readily cut pieces of the non-seeded mat.
- Then they should secure the mat pieces with biodegradable stakes.
- Finally, they should water those patches well.
They should allow the grass to grow up to at least 2-3 inches before mowing the areas.
One can even use hay to cover the seeds while they grow instead of a non-seeded mat. However, it doesn’t provide the same protection that a proper lawn mat does against erosion and other factors.
Is Removal of the Lawn Seed Mat Necessary?
Fortunately, most lawn seed mats are biodegradable and so, the user doesn’t have to remove them. Also, most of them have a green finish and therefore, the yard doesn’t look weird while the mat is laid and the young grass is growing.
Moreover, removing the mats has a risk involved as the young seedlings are sure to get eliminated with the mat. Therefore, the best thing to do is to let the mat stay. It’ll gently biodegrade into the lawn once all the grass grows through it.
Stakes to Secure the Mats
The biodegradable stakes mentioned above are used to secure the mats in place are quite strong and sometimes take a long time to break down. Therefore, the gardeners can use conventional stakes and remove them once the lawn is established.
Lawn grass seed mats are extremely advantageous to a gardener to make their lawn look evenly thick, green, and healthy. In addition, they are easy to apply too.
All in all, gardeners have an excellent solution in the form of lawn grass mats to correct their thinning lawns or even to start new lawns.
