Overview

The Lawn Renovation Planner turns a single measurement — your lawn's area — into a complete, shoppable materials list for renewing turf. Whether you're thickening a tired lawn by overseeding or starting over on bare soil, it tells you how much seed, starter fertilizer, and compost to buy, how much water the new seedlings will need, and roughly what the seed will cost.

It's built for homeowners, renters tackling a yard project, and lawn-care crews who want a fast, defensible estimate before heading to the garden center. Because the seeding rates are drawn from university extension recommendations and adjusted for whether you're overseeding or seeding from scratch, the output reflects what actually works in the ground — not an idealized textbook figure.

How It Works

1. Enter your lawn area and pick the unit (square feet or square metres). Measure length × width of each section and add them up.
2. Choose your renovation type — overseeding an existing lawn uses roughly half the seed of a full, bare-soil renovation.
3. Select the grass type you're planting. Each species has its own recommended seeding rate.
4. Optionally enter a seed price per pound to get a cost estimate alongside the quantities.
5. Click Calculate to see your full breakdown, or Reset to start over.

Formula Explanation

Every result scales from your area normalised to 1,000 sq ft, the standard unit for lawn products.

Seeding rates are per 1,000 sq ft and are halved (roughly) for overseeding versus full renovation. Other outputs follow from the same area:

• Starter fertilizer: ≈ 4 lb of product per 1,000 sq ft — a common starter-bag rate. The actual nitrogen delivered depends on the blend, so always follow the label.
• Compost topdressing: ¼ inch for a full renovation, ⅛ inch for overseeding. One cubic yard covers ~1,296 sq ft at ¼ inch.
• Water during establishment: the equivalent of 1 inch per week — 623 gallons per 1,000 sq ft — applied as light, frequent waterings.
• Seed cost: seed pounds × your price per pound.

Practical Benefits

• Buy once, correctly. Avoid the two classic mistakes — sowing too thin (patchy, weed-prone turf) or too thick (seedlings that choke each other out).
• Budget before you shop. See the seed cost up front so a big renovation doesn't surprise you at the register.
• Plan the whole job. Fertilizer, compost, and water are easy to forget; seeing them together keeps the project on schedule.
• Right rate for the method. Overseeding and bare-soil seeding need very different amounts — the planner handles that automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions