Lee Reich: Before planting grass, consider the options

Does your lawn need a makeover? Are you putting in a new lawn? You're now in the one month window of best times to do it. But wait! Before you scatter handfuls of seed on bare soil, check that you have, first, chosen the right kind of grass seed, and, second, prepared the soil correctly.

The most common grasses for lawns here in the northeast are Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, creeping red fescue and bentgrass. Which grass to choose for a lawn will depend on whether the site is sunny or partially shaded, and whether you want to play volleyball and croquet on it, or just admire and occasionally walk upon it. Soil also matters but that can be modified if necessary. If the site is in deep shade, forget about a lawn and plant a groundcover instead.

Among the grasses, bentgrass is the prima donna, needing frequent and regular mowing and rich, fertile soil. For that you get a fine, tight, uniform lawn.

Kentucky bluegrass produces a fine-textured, dense turf under average conditions of care and maintenance.

Perennial ryegrass establishes quickly, but does not spread and usually dies out in a few years so is usually planted to cover the ground quickly while other grasses are getting established.

For the toughest lawn, one that you might, for example, use for your volleyball court, plant fescue, which also tolerates partial shade, and dry, poor soils. But don't plant just one of any of these grasses. Plant a mix suited to the conditions and intended use.

With seed chosen, the next step is to prepare the soil. If the soil is too compacted, dig organic matter into the soil - four bales of peat, or a half-ton of manure or compost, per 1,000 square feet, for example. Organic matter also enriches the soil, which all grasses appreciate, but is especially important for Kentucky bluegrass and bentgrass....