Mitch Baker: Hi! Im Mitch Baker with American Plant. With shorter days and cooler nights, its the perfect setting to repair sun-damaged lawns.

So, our first step is to remove all of the dried-up grass, all of the weeds, all of the unwanted vegetation. Weve stripped it clean basically down to bare soil.

Our next step is to apply a thin layer of something composted, biologically active soil amendment. In this case, weve used composted leaves, but just a thin layer. This is not for the grass seed to grow in, its just to nestle around the grass seed and retain that moisture.

Our next step is to go ahead and apply lime or calcium. In this case, the calcium will lower the pH, make it more favorable for the grass to grow, and less favorable for the weeds to grow.

The next step is to apply fertilizer. Were going to use a low-fertility, slow-release, organic lawn food. That can go down the same time as were putting down the lime. There is no need to wait between these applications.

Our final step would be to apply the grass seed. Were going to put that down last, so that were not walking over top of it several times. Were going to sow this grass seed by hand, because it does distribute evenly.

Last step, of course, is to rake it all out smooth and evenly, so that everything is applied at the same distribution rate.

Watering then would be the final process to settle everything in and consistent moisture necessary for rapid germination of the grass seed. So, that means watering lightly, daily, 7 to 10 days for the grass seed to germinate.

Now, since this is a flat level area, were not concerned about all of this washing away, after weve worked so hard to achieve this new lawn.

With a little effort now, you can have your lawn looking great for the whole season.