Starting a lawn from scratch can be an intimidating prospect for the average homeowner. But if you take the time to do it right, it will pay you back many times over with a lawn that is much easier to care for then it would be if you cut corners along the way. Of course, the very first place to start is with the soil that you plan to use for your new lawn.

If you're creating a lawn for a newly constructed home, you may want to pay particular attention to the kind of soil that has been left behind after construction is finished. Sometimes the topsoil has almost been completely removed, and in that case you'll need to bring in a good layer of topsoil for the entire yard first.

For most homeowners though, you'll be using the same soil that you've had for a while. So the very first thing that you want to do is to test that soil. There are a couple of ways to go here, one being that you can buy soil testing kits at your local lawn and garden store to test the soil yourself. Another alternative is that many nurseries and garden stores will test your soil for free or for a very small fee, and often that solution will provide the overall best results.

One of the most important soil tests is the PH level of your soil. If your soil turns out to be too acidic, then you need to add lime, and on the other hand, if the soil is too alkaline, then you need to spread sulfur on the soil. One advantage of using a local nursery or garden shop as your soil tester is that they will often be able to tell you exactly what product you need to add, how much of it needs to be added, and then how often you need to continue to add more in order to make sure the lawn grows like it should.

Once you have your soil prepared, it's time to decide on what kind of grass seed you're going to use for your new yard. Often you can ask your local garden store for advice on what seems to grow best locally, or you may even wish to ask a few people you know that already has a nice lawn to see what kind of grass they use. Of course you need to keep in mind that how much sun or shade your particular yard receives will affect what kind of seed you need to choose as well.

The next consideration is when you should plant your seed. For those in warmer southern climates, you'll probably be planting a warm season grass seed which can be put down in the spring. For those in northern climates, you'll probably be using a cool season grass seed, and these should be planted in the fall for the best results.

Spreading the seed can be done either by hand, a broadcast spreader, or a drop spreader. If your yard is small to medium sized, perhaps the broadcast spreader will work best for you. If you have a very big yard, you may want to use the drop spreader instead. After this seed has been planted, be sure to water the yard at least a couple of times every day to help the seeds germinate quickly.

Other alternatives to seeding a lawn is to use either grass plugs or sod to start a new yard. There are some advantages to using these methods too, but keep in mind that they are usually much more expensive than grass seeding.

So in review, the steps for planting the perfect lawn are to test your soil, get the PH where it needs to be, make the choice of which seed you wish to use, spread the seed, and then water and care for the area as it germinates. If you follow these simple procedures you should wind up with a thick, beautiful new lawn that you can be proud of.