Solve backwards
How much lawn will my bag of grass seed sow?
- 5 lbThe example worked below
- Grass Seed CalculatorEvery figure is its own
You have
How much grass seed?
That is 5 lb(2.3 kg). Worked by the Grass Seed Calculator at the settings below.
The settings it uses
- Seeding Rate (lb per 1,000 sq ft)
- 5
What it will do
1,000 sq ft of lawn
92.9 m²
One lawn. Enough for a lawn 36 × 28 ft.
Or several. About 1 lawn of the size the Grass Seed Calculator opens on: a lawn 33 × 26 ft.
Check it forwards
- Lawn Length
- 35.6 ft
- Lawn Width
- 28.1 ft
- It asks for
- 5 lb
- You have
- 5 lb
The Grass Seed Calculator asks for 5 lb at that size.
If you had more, or less
Around your amount
Each worked by the Grass Seed Calculator at the same settings.
Half
2.5 lb
500 sq ft
a lawn 25.2 × 19.8 ft
Yours
5 lb
1,000 sq ft
a lawn 36 × 28 ft
Half as much again
7.5 lb
1,500 sq ft
a lawn 44 × 34 ft
Double
10 lb
2,000 sq ft
a lawn 50 × 40 ft
Common amounts
What each amount of grass seed covers
The sizes it is usually sold in, each worked by the Grass Seed Calculator at the settings above.
| You have | It covers | As one lawn | Average lawns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 lb(0.5 kg) | 200 sq ft(18.6 m²) | a lawn 15.9 × 12.6 ft | under 1 |
| 3 lb(1.4 kg) | 600 sq ft(55.7 m²) | a lawn 27.6 × 21.7 ft | under 1 |
| 5 lb(2.3 kg) | 1,000 sq ft(92.9 m²) | a lawn 36 × 28 ft | 1 |
| 10 lb(4.5 kg) | 2,000 sq ft(186 m²) | a lawn 50 × 40 ft | 2 |
| 25 lb(11.3 kg) | 5,000 sq ft(465 m²) | a lawn 80 × 63 ft | 5 |
| 50 lb(22.7 kg) | 10,000 sq ft(929 m²) | a lawn 113 × 89 ft | 11 |
Five pounds a thousand square feet
At 5 lb per 1,000 square feet, a pound sows 200 square feet and a kilogram about 41 m². A 5 lb bag sows 1,000 square feet (93 m²) and a 50 lb bag about 10,000 — nearly a quarter acre. Rates run roughly 2 to 8 lb per 1,000 square feet by species, and fine fescues and many cool-season blends take 5 to 8 (24 to 39 g/m²) for a new lawn, so the label's rate moves the answer a lot.
Overseeding is a lower rate
Overseeding a thin lawn uses a lower rate than establishing a new one, and a shaded strip you would sow heavier needs its own run, because the rate multiplies the whole lawn at once. The rate stays in pounds per 1,000 square feet in both unit systems, where 5 lb is about 24 g/m². Beds, paths, tree rings and patios inside the measured rectangle are not seedable lawn — take them out.
Weight is not live seed
The weight is bulk product, not live seed. The germination percentage and purity on the lot's tag never enter the arithmetic, so a tired bag and a fresh one of the same species give very different stands at the same rate. Nothing is added for spreader overlap and calibration spill, seed washed off a slope or taken by birds, so buy the next bag up rather than the bare decimal shown.
How the answer is worked
Nothing here is a second formula. The Grass Seed Calculator runs forwards — a size in, a quantity out — and this page grows its own starting lawn in proportion until the quantity it asks for is what you have. Where it rounds up to whole containers, the answer is the largest size before the next one would be needed.
Where the calculator adds an allowance for cuts or breakage when you order, the same allowance comes off here, because it is the same calculator: a stack you already own finishes less than its face value. Where it adds none, neither does this page — the settings beside the answer say which.
Grass Seed Calculator
runs it forwardsEstimate how many pounds or kilograms of grass seed you need, based on lawn area and your seed product's recommended rate.
Work out what to buy insteadSolve backwards
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Solve backwards
Start from what is already in the yard
Paint, sheets, rolls, bags and pieces, each read the other way by the calculator that orders it.
The calculator's own figures
Nothing is estimated twice: the page runs the same calculator you would order with.
The largest size that fits
Where a calculator rounds up to whole containers, the answer stops before the next one.
Both unit systems
Gallons and litres, square feet and square metres, side by side.
Frequently asked questions
- How much lawn does 5 lb of grass seed cover?
- At the Grass Seed Calculator's own settings, 1,000 sq ft (92.9 m²) — a lawn 36 × 28 ft. That is about 1 lawn of the size the calculator opens on: a lawn 33 × 26 ft. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How much lawn does 2 kg of grass seed cover?
- At the Grass Seed Calculator's own settings, 81.9 m² (882 sq ft) — a lawn 10.1 × 8.1 m. That is about 1 lawn of the size the calculator opens on: a lawn 10 × 8 m. Every figure follows the settings, which you can change in the calculator.
- How much area does a 50 lb bag of grass seed cover?
- At 5 lb per 1,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet (929 m²) of new lawn; at 8 lb it is 6,250 square feet and at 3 lb about 16,700. The label's rate is the one to use — it varies with the species and with whether you are seeding a new lawn or overseeding.
- How much grass seed do I need per square metre?
- About 24 g/m² at the calculator's 5 lb per 1,000 square feet; fine fescues and cool-season blends for a new lawn run about 24 to 39 g/m². A kilogram at 24 g/m² sows about 41 m², and a 10 by 8 m lawn needs just under 2 kg.
- Can I put down too much grass seed?
- Yes. Sowing well above the label rate crowds the seedlings, which then compete for light, water and nutrients, and it wastes seed. The calculator uses the rate you give it and adds nothing, so follow the label's rate for a new lawn or for overseeding rather than doubling it for luck.