As tempting as it may be to walk on your budding grass seed blades, it’s not a good idea to take a stroll on your lawn just yet! It would be best to wait 3-4 weeks.
Your primary goal of planting grass seed is to achieve a lush, even turf, and walking on it in less than four weeks could literally ruin your efforts.
It’s also worth mentioning that young grass sprouts are also susceptible to damage if you mow or walk on them.
Rather than walking on grass seed during this four-week period, you should focus your efforts on handling and caring for your newly planted grass.
When Can I Walk on My Newly Planted Grass Seed?
Even though I mentioned earlier that you should wait for at least four weeks, the formula to follow is when your grass seed has been mowed a minimum of three to four times.
Until your grass reaches this point, which could be roughly three months, you should restrict any foot or vehicle traffic on your grass, because the seedlings below the topsoil during this period are still extremely fragile.
Remember, longer grass blades result in stronger roots, which is why it’s recommended that you wait for a minimum of three to five weeks before walking on your new turf.
The first time to cut grass is when it reaches at least 3 ½ inches in height, if not more. Additionally, when cutting grass for the first time, you want to employ good cutting practices, and needless to say—mow high.
How to Accelerate New Grass Seed Growth?
Just like caring for an infant, you don’t want to be too rough with newly planted grass, therefore should mow with a sharp blade, and slowly and gently.
With regards to when and how to sharpen your blade, the ideal time is every 20 hours of use. You can sharpen a mower blade yourself or have it sharpened for a small price at your local hardware store.
The last thing you want to do is mow with a dull blade, because doing so will rip up the healthy grass at its roots, and destroy new growth completely. Be sure to purchase new blades on a yearly basis.
As surprising as it may sound, and a great way to accelerate grass growth is to avoid cleaning up the grass clippings after mowing your lawn.
Grass clippings decay quickly, hence leaving them behind returns nutrients in the soil, and speeds up grass growth.
You should mow your lawn when it’s dry, and never after a watering session or rainstorm, because wet grass tends to become tangled and torn easily, leading to uprooting.
When you mow, vary your mowing pattern, because mowing in the same pattern week after week will cause the grass to grow at an angle, which is not the most aesthetically pleasing, and healthy to say the least.
Final Thoughts:
You can play on your newly planted lawn after it has been mowed three times. Apart from using the right fertilizers, aerating the soil, and removing weed growth, you can speed up grass growth by watering properly and adding mulch.
