Grass Seed Calculator
Estimate the amount of grass seed needed for new planing or over-seeding by entering the size of the land and selecting the variety of grass.
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How to Find the Amount of Grass Seed Needed
Grass seed is a cost-effective alternative to sod, and also has the added benefit allowing the grass to develop in the environment in which it will live. There are also many more varieties of seed than there is sod. Some drawbacks to seed are the long time it can take for the lawn to fill in and the critical timing of the planting season. If you’re going to be planting seed, you need to decide how much to order to ensure you have enough coverage without excess waste. If you do choose to use sod, use our sod calculator to estimate the amount of sod needed for your lawn. Learn more about lawn and landscaping pricing in your area and find contractors that can assist with seeding your lawn.
Find the Coverage Rate of the Seed
The amount of grass seed needed to plant is based on the size of the land and the variety of grass being planted. Different varieties of grass have varying coverage rates, texture, hardiness and drought tolerance. There is also a different coverage rate when planting a new lawn and over-seeding. Your supplier should know the coverage rate of the variety you’re purchasing, which is often indicated in pounds of grass seed per 1000 square feet of land to be covered. Refer to the table below for the coverage rates for common varieties of grass.
| Variety | Pounds of Seed per 1000ft2 |
|---|---|
| Bahia | New Lawn: 10lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 5lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Bermuda | New Lawn: 2lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 1lb per 1000ft2 |
| Buffalo | New Lawn: 3lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 1.5lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Centipede | New Lawn: .5lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: .3lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Creeping Red Fescue | New Lawn: 5lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 2.5lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Fine Fescue | New Lawn: 5lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 2.5lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Kentucky Blue Grass | New Lawn: 4lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 2lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Perennial Ryegrass | New Lawn: 10lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 5lbs per 1000ft2 |
| St. Augustine | New Lawn: 2lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 1lb per 1000ft2 |
| Sun & Shade Mix | New Lawn: 6lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 3lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Tall Fescue | New Lawn: 10lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 5lbs per 1000ft2 |
| Zoysia | New Lawn: 2lbs per 1000ft2 Overseeding: 1lb per 1000ft2 |
Find the Square Footage of the Land
Once the coverage rate has been identified it is time to find the total area that needs to be planted. If you don’t know how many acres you need to plant use our acreage calculator to find out. There are 43,560 square feet in an acre. If you know the acreage of your land, multiply the acres by 43,560 to get the square footage or use our acres to square feet conversion calculator. If you know the length and width of the land you can multiply them together to get the area in square feet.
Find the Total Amount of Seed Needed
The final step to finding how much seed will be needed is to divide the total square footage by 1,000 and then multiply by the coverage rater per 1,000 square feet. This will give you the total number of pounds of seed needed for the project. Seed is usually sold by the bag, often in 10lb, 20lb, and 50lb bags.
After your done planting use out our lawn mowing calculator to estimate how long it will take to mow your new lawn.
