Making sure the grass is always greener isn’t always easy, but some products like Sunday lawn care kits can make it easy. From figuring out the best lawn fertilizer for your needs to knowing when to apply it, achieving a healthy lawn is the result of a long process and many steps. Problems like dead grass, a heat-stressed lawn, damaging pet messes, and weeds can make knowing how to treat your lawn even more complicated. Applying chemicals may seem like a quick fix, but this has long-term repercussions for the environment and can negatively impact the health of children and pets living in the home.
Sunday Lawn Care is a subscription service designed to streamline the entire lawn-care process by providing users with a customized DIY treatment plan made up of eco-friendly ingredients—all delivered precisely when your lawn needs them.
Although I’m fairly knowledgeable about lawn care (meaning I know what the steps are to maintain a lawn), I’ve never quite managed to get my front lawn looking great. I decided to put Sunday Lawn Care to the test. I ordered the Smart Lawn Plan including grass seed. Here’s what happened to my lawn.
Our Verdict: Sunday Lawn Care’s top offering, the Smart Lawn Plan, is a convenient lawn-care subscription box that provides customers with a customized lawn-care plan based on factors such as location, climate, and soil quality. The boxes are delivered seasonally right to the customer’s doorstep, so it’s easy to know when it’s time to use the products. The Smart Lawn Plan subscription primarily offers liquid nutrient pouches (along with the sprayer attachment to use with your own hose) formulated to address a customer’s lawn-specific needs, based on a soil sample as well as climate. All of Sunday’s products are pet- and child-safe and focus on improving soil to sustain a lawn’s health without the use of chemicals. It is a worthwhile purchase for someone who wants to maintain a beautiful lawn but doesn’t have the knowledge or time to get the right products at the right time. Sunday also carries products such as fertilizers and nutrients, grass seed, weed killers, and pet spot treatments in addition to a variety of tools and garden accessories.
A lush green lawn can greatly enhance the beauty and curb appeal of any landscape But establishing and maintaining grass in areas that get both sun and shade can be challenging This is where a quality grass seed blend like Expert Gardener’s Sun and Shade mix can help,
We tested this popular grass seed mix over a full growing season in zones with full sun, partial shade and moderate shade. Here is an in-depth review of our experiences and results along with tips for success.
Overview of the Sun and Shade Grass Seed Mix
Expert Gardener designed this mix to perform well in lawns and zones that get varied light exposures. It contains 5 different grass varieties selected specifically for their sun and shade tolerance:
- Improved tall fescue
- Fine fescue
- Perennial ryegrass
- Kentucky bluegrass
This diversity of grasses gives the blend resilience. The mix is formulated to offer 85% sun tolerance and 60% shade tolerance. It can be used to overseed thin lawns or establish new lawns in challenging areas.
Some key features of this seed mix:
- Grows in sun, partial shade and moderate shade
- Contains 5 turf-type grass varieties
- Good for clay, sandy or loam soils
- Fast germination in 10-21 days
- Bag covers up to 1500 sq ft
Our Hands-On Review and Experience
We tested this seed mix for a full season in lawn zones that ranged from full sun to moderate shade under trees. Here is an overview of the results:
Germination & Establishment – We seeded in early fall after aerating and prepping soil. The grass emerged nicely in about 14 days. With proper watering, it filled in bare spots well.
Sunny Areas – Grew thick and lush in full sun exposures. Needed a bit more mowing and maintenance to stay trim. No disease issues.
Light Shade – Performed well in morning shade or dappled afternoon shade. Slower growth but filled in decently.
Moderate Shade – Struggled more in dense shade under trees with limited sun. Coverage was noticeably thinner and required overseeding.
Growth Habit – The fine fescue and bluegrass filled in bare spots nicely. But some of the bunch-type tall fescues left more bare patches showing in very shady zones.
Weed Resistance – The density of growth in sun did well at suppressing weeds. But some weed pressure in more shaded thin spots.
High Traffic – Durability only moderate in high traffic zones, some thinning observed over time. The added ryegrass improves wear recovery.
Disease Resistance – No fungal issues in sunny zones. But some occasional issues in dense shadier areas despite disease resistance breeding.
Appearance – Overall the grass blends established a nice emerald green lawn with a pleasing fine-medium leaf texture.
Tips for Success with This Grass Seed
Based on our experience, here are some tips to get the best results from this seed mix:
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For shady zones, increase seeding rate by 10-25% for thicker growth. Plan to overseed each fall.
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Water new seedlings daily until established, soaking soil 6 inches deep. Don’t allow drying out.
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Apply starter fertilizer at seeding to aid establishment. Ongoing fertilization 3-4 times per year.
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In shady areas, improve airflow and avoid excess moisture to prevent disease issues.
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Mow to a height of 3-4 inches for health and vigor. Never cut more than 1/3 of blade height.
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Dethatching and aeration in spring and fall helps with better rooting and growth.
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Manage weeds before seeding. Selective herbicides can be used after grass is established.
How it Compares to Other Seed Mixes
We also tested a few other leading grass seed mixes for sun and shade performance. Here is how Expert Gardener compared:
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Density – Better density and coverage than basic home center mixes, but not as thick as some premium northeast mixes.
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Shade Tolerance – Better than basic mixes, but fine fescue mixes perform even better in dense shade.
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Durability – Improved wear tolerance over basic mixes but not as hardy as elite sports turf mixes.
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Appearance – Blends well visually with common cool season turfgrasses. Fine fescues offer finest leaf texture.
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Value – A quality mix at a reasonable price point compared to basic and premium brands.
The Bottom Line
Overall, Expert Gardener’s Sun and Shade grass seed mix performs well in areas with some sun or light shade exposures. It establishes quickly and blends nicely into lawns. But for heavily shaded areas under dense trees, a specialty fine fescue mix may work better. With careful prep and proper ongoing care, this versatile mix can create lush resilient grass in challenging zones. Just adjust expectations in deep shade and plan to overseed often. For most homeowners with a range of light conditions, Expert Gardener seed is a quality choice worth considering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much seed is needed?
A: The recommended seeding rate is 5-8 lbs per 1000 sq ft. The 3 lb bag covers 500-750 sq ft. Purchase according to lawn size.
Q: How long until I can mow the new grass?
A: Let the grass grow to 3.5-4 inches tall before the first mowing. Never cut more than 1/3 of blade height.
Q: Does this work for a bermuda lawn overseed?
A: Yes, this cool season mix can be used to temporarily overseed warm season bermuda grass in winter.
Q: Can I mix in other grass varieties?
A: Small additions of compatible grasses like fine fescue can add diversity. Limit to 10% of mix.
Q: Is reseeding annually needed for shade?
A: Overseeding thin shady spots each fall helps improve density. But reseeding the entire lawn annually is not necessary.
Q: Should I use peat moss when seeding?
A: Applying a thin 1/4″ layer of peat moss over seeded areas helps retain moisture for better germination.
Unboxing My First Sunday Lawn Care Order
I ordered my Smart Lawn Plan on May 4 and received everything by May 17.
The first box in my Smart Lawn Plan subscription had everything I needed to use the nutrient pouches and take a soil sample.
- A soil test kit and small soil-sampling tool
- A lawn starter kit containing two hose-end sprayers
- Two Mighty Green nutrient pouches, which is a high-nitrogen, low-phosphorus liquid fertilizer that helps grass green up in the spring. My grass covers 4,346 square feet, so I need two pouches for coverage.
- A 5-pound bag of Fescue Rescue Grass Seed, a low-maintenance lawn seed suited for northern climates that can tolerate full sun to partial shade
- Instructions for application
The process for taking and sending the soil sample really couldn’t be easier. You simply take the little provided tool and take samples from at least three different sections of your yard. You may need to do it several times to fill the bag up enough. There’s a provided pre-addressed box for the pouch, so all I needed to do was send it off. I was worried the box would split open, so I added some extra packing tape to seal it, but it was probably unnecessary. I sent the soil sample in on May 23 and the results came back May 31, just over a week later. Of note, Sunday’s predicted soil composition based on the initial survey was nearly identical to the soil sample results. The soil samples do help to customize future Sunday lawn fertilizer nutrient packs to address any nutrient gaps.
Signing Up for Sunday Lawn Care
The sign-up process for Sunday’s lawn care subscription was incredibly user-friendly: I simply answered a few questions about the state of my lawn and what my trouble spots were and entered my address. The satellite of my home was used to give an estimate as to how many square feet of lawn I had—this was the basis for a recommendation for how much product I needed. I was able to adjust it based on my own knowledge (for example, one section of what looks like my lawn in the is actually maintained by my neighbor). Sunday then recommended a specific Smart Lawn Plan for me. I opted to upgrade to include a bag of seed to fill in the larger patches in my lawn, and Sunday calculated the Fescue Rescue (the lawn seed) for my northern climate.
Within a couple of days of ordering the plan, Sunday let me know that, though items ideally ship together, because of existing supply chain issues, my seed may come later. The company sent numerous updates about where and when to expect my shipment.