For those homeowners who pride themselves on their lush green lawns, a hole or dead spot may be a little discouraging. I, for one, like to look out the window and see bright, green grasses versus dull, brown dirt, but with two outside dogs, it can be hard to keep grass alive, much less any plants and bushes.

Recently, I have blocked off a small portion of my backyard in hopes to keep the dogs off the dirt long enough to grow grass seeds. I feel that the best to keep the lawn is to let the grass seeds get well established before letting the dogs back on the lawn.

Below, you'll find my technique for growing grass seeds. Remember what has worked for me may not necessarily work the best for you. I've found this is the easist and most efficient technique to growing grass from grass seeds.

If you end up trying my method and do not succeed, try another method. If that does not work, you may want to consider having your soil tested to check to make sure that it contains the essential minerals to establish a lush, green lawn.

• Female dog urine kills grass quicker than male because they squat versus spray, which causes the concentrated nitrogen within the urine to soak directly into the lawn versus spray over it.
• Male dog urine over time can kill areas of grass, but usually not as quickly as female dogs.
• Weather extremes such as heat, cold, hurricane, snow, etc.
• High traffic areas (dogs that pace throughout the yard, walkways, etc.)
• Other wear and tear (heavy machinery pulled or driven over lawn, etc.)

Because there are many different types of greass, you'll want to consider which grass species you want to grow in your lawn.

Consider the lighting and climate.

Best Cool Season Grasses:

• Bentgrass
• Bluegrass (Kentucky)
• Bluegrass (Rough)
• Fescue (Red)
• Ryegrass (Annual)
• Ryegrass (Perennial)

Typical Transition Zone Grasses

• Bluegrass (Kentucky)
• Fescue (Tall)
• Ryegrass (Perennial)
• Thermal Blue Grass
• Zoysia Grass

Best Warm Season Grasses:

• Bashia Grass
• Bermuda Grass
• Buffalo Grass
• Carpet Grass
• Centipede Grass
• St. Augustine Grass
• Zoysia Grass

Other Common Types of Grasses:

• Beach Grass
• Canada Grass
• Crested Wheatgrass
• Monkey Grass
• Seashore Paspalum
• Traff Grass

After picking the grass species that you want to see flourish in your lawn, you need to prepare the lawn. For example, if you are working with a high-traffic area, you'll want to mark off the area with a fence or barricade to prevent people or animals from walking within the area.

What I like to do when laying grass seeds is to work on one section at a time. When I notice a decent amount of grass growth in one section, I begin the next row.

By using the width of the rake, I can keep the rows an even width.

I start at one end of the area and rake the dirt from side to side. This sets the area for the seeds and loosens the dirt for easiery grass sprouting.

Next, I evenly spread the seeds throughout the area. Make sure not to be skimpy with the seeds.

Once, you've distributed the seeds from one end of the area to the other, I like to use a leaf rake (versus the heavier reake to dig up and loosen the dirt) and push the seeds into the dirt, lightly. This prevents the seeds from being left out in the open for birds to pick up and the wind to blow away.

Another option is to cover the seeds with straw instead of pushing them into the dirt. (My brother tried this, but hasn't had any success growing his grass seeds, whereas my grass seeds have sprouted.

After lightly pressing the seeds into the ground, I like to water the dirt and seeds. Every few days thereafter, I like to water the ground, unless the ground is still moist from the last day's watering.