Planting a lawn
Emerald lawn - the best decoration of the suburban area. It is not necessary to be an agronomist and possess an entire arsenal of special tools to create a grass lawn by yourself even for a beginner gardener. It is only necessary to plant the lawn strictly according to the rules, and further care of the lawn will not take much time. The main thing is to do everything carefully, exactly according to instructions and with love.
To begin with, you need to decide on the type of lawn. It can be a short-cropped sod layer or a motley Moorish meadow of flowers and grasses, a sports or garden turf. Different lawns are planted with special seeds, and care for the grass mixture is different. According to a single technology, only the preparation of the soil for planting is carried out.
Preparation of soil for sowing
Work on the site, intended for the lawn, begins with the preparation of the soil. Lawn grass grows much better on sunny areas, so when you are going to ennoble the yard, you should take this into account. Only 3-4 hours a day lawn can be in the shade, in other conditions it will not be rich green and attractive. Choosing a place for a lawn, it is worth paying attention to the stagnation of rainwater. If moisture leaves slowly, then it is not superfluous to install drainage.
With what begins the planting of lawn in the country, how many stages and in what sequence are the works carried out, we will consider in more detail:
- From all over the site you need to remove rubbish and excess shrubs. Completely get rid of weeds will help the methods of professional landscapers - chemical herbicides. For a couple of weeks unwanted vegetation is completely destroyed. If desired, you can do without chemistry, digging the site by hand. After that, it's time to go to the ground treatment. On the site there should be no stumps and weeds, in the future they can harm the grass cover.
- Tips for planting a lawn: if you plan to install an automatic irrigation system, it is recommended that appropriate work be done before processing the land.
- A week before sowing the mixture should be fertilized with mineral fertilizers.
- After this, crush the lumps and level the soil with rakes. In large areas, the motoblock or hand cultivator will be more effective with this task.
- To improve the fertility of the soil, the soil should be dug to a depth of 25 cm and fertilized with compost or manure. If the earth is heavy, then pour it with sand, and in the sandy soil it is necessary to add chernozem or clay.
On this preparation of the land for planting a lawn does not end. Next, it is necessary to level the soil. It will be easier and faster to do this using a wide board. One edge is tied to the rope, and drag the board flat across the perimeter of the lawn. It is important to carry out leveling in dry weather, and not to walk on the treated area. For a few days before sowing, pour the soil.
Planting a lawn in spring
For spring planting of a lawn preparation of a ground is better to begin with the autumn. You will have enough time to remove weeds, digging and ramming the ground, replenishing the soil with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
- If the decision to grow your own lawn was born with the advent of spring, then the first work can begin as soon as the snow comes down. The procedure for conducting the procedures for preparing the soil for planting sod is the same for all seasons.
- Lawn planting begins in March - the first half of April. Prepared grain is sent to the ground. To save moisture, the site needs to be rolled. If you do it right, then in two - three weeks, the grass will be born. By the summer you will enjoy the beauty.
- Behind the grass it is necessary to take care of: moisturize and cut, feed and loosen, remove weeds and remove pests.
- By following the rules of planting, you will create a beautiful lawn. The well-groomed spring turf will turn green until the frosts.
Planting lawn in summer
Having a huge desire to engage in planting a lawn, you can easily overcome the heat and grow an excellent sod. For this, it is necessary to sow with some precautions and certain tricks. In summer, moisture does not stay long in the ground, so it must be protected from rapid drying.
- On the site, remove the soil to a depth of 30 cm, stamp the bottom and in several layers, cover it with cardboard from the boxes. Even newspapers will go to the course, only they will need quite a few. So you create a breathable layer, but it will hold moisture in the upper layers. The grass will have enough water, and eventually the cardboard will simply rot. Layer the earth and roll it.
- After preparing the soil, it's time to sow the seeds. Planting a lawn with your own hands should be carried out according to the norms indicated on the package with herbal mixture. In the summer planting of turf has its advantages: in the heat badly weeds rise, so the grass has time to gain strength and suppress them. It is best to sow the mixture in the evening, in the previously irrigated soil. On small plots, it's best to start sowing from the edge, and then go to the central part. So you will ensure an even distribution of the grass. In the summer it is important to know where to begin planting a lawn and not to miss a single point, otherwise all work will be in vain.
- After seeding, the seeds should hide from the sun, for this use peat or dry soil. It is not necessary to water the ground so that it can well press the seeds into the wet surface. Saving the future lawn from burnout, you need to cover the entire area with a white nonwoven material. It perfectly repels rays, moisture evaporates less and soil temperature decreases. For this, put pegs in the corners and pull the twine around the perimeter, through the center. Fasten the fabric and lower the rope so that it presses the material and prevents it from rising from the wind.
- In anticipation of the first shoots, you need not forget about watering the lawn. Irrigation is more rational to conduct early in the morning and after sunset. With careful care the first shoots will go through in seven days. As soon as the grass rises to 3-4 cm, remove the shelter. Then you need to tear out all the weeds and hold the first haircut. Blades of grass on the summer lawn are thin, so it is desirable not to trample the glade. As soon as the turf turns juicy, you can spend a picnic in the clearing.
- An important detail of the summer planting: do not apply nitrogen fertilizers when planting a lawn, as they can burn out the root system. It will be right to wait for the rains, and then fertilize with the filling. If in the process of preparing the soil you have managed to feed up the land in advance, then in the summer you can not contribute additional nutrients.
- Grass planted in early summer, already in September will be fully formed. Summer lawn easily tolerates wintering, less often thins from freezing. If the grain rises weakly, before the arrival of cold weather you will have four months to sift it. In this case, to ensure a normal climate, you will have to stretch the white fabric over each restored place, as was done during the first sowing.
Planting a lawn: the technology of growing the autumn turf
An alternative to a spring planting of a lawn can become an autumn sowing. At this time the soil is warm enough, although the sun is not as scorching as in the summer, and the air is warm and moist. In the autumn, weeds do not grow so intensively, so less time will be spent on their destruction.
- In the autumn sowing, the root system of the grass is formed very quickly, the greens rise even before the first frost. You can start work at the end of August or in September, the main thing - to the first minus temperatures. By this time, the lawn has to grow stronger and grow by 10 cm. The planting of a lawn in autumn is convenient because summer residents can prepare the soil without sowing during the summer for sowing. By the time of autumn planting of seeds, the earth will be fully adapted for laying a lawn.
- Most of the seeds consist of many different varieties of herbs, but most have the same requirements for climate conditions. Planning the time of planting the turf, you need to adhere to the general rule for any kind of grass: sow seeds 40 days before the first frosts. This is enough to allow the lawn to rise and gain strength for wintering. Preparing the land for the autumn sowing, do not forget to make fertilizers, they will improve the growth of the mixture at the initial stage.
- Sowing the grass mixture along and across the site, the consumption of seeds when planting a lawn will be significantly smaller. The weather should be chosen without wind and dry, so that the seeds fall evenly, scatter them fan. From above, the grass mixture must be sprinkled with earth, covered with peat and compacted with a roller. After the bookmark, the entire site must be watered. It should be borne in mind that in the autumn rains are frequent, therefore irrigation should be carried out only if necessary.
Planting a lawn for the winter
Many gardeners consider the autumn weather to be unpredictable, so they prefer to plant a lawn for the winter, right before the first frosts. It is important to have time to sow the grass before the appearance of the snow cover. The correct scheme and advance preparation for planting lawn grass is a guarantee that there will be no problems in the process. The lawn will rise before our eyes, and frost will give the seeds more strength and stability. In March, you will rejoice in active shoots, and snow will additionally moisten the grass. In the summer you will have a beautiful, strengthened lawn, hardened by frost and moistened with thawed snow.
Important! Planting grass for a lawn in the winter way is not suitable if the sod layer will be located under the slope, since in the early spring the streams of water will destroy the soil along with the grass. Such seeding is considered risky, as often the temperature of the air rises at the end of autumn, as a result, the seeds germinate, and the first frosts injure the grass, preventing it from settling. In the spring, the affected lawn will need time to recover. But risk is a noble cause, besides, keeping to the timing and technology of planting a winter lawn, you can be calm for the health of your grass. If you decide to try pre-winter planting, then select seeds that have the qualities of endurance and frost resistance.
Rules for planting a roll lawn
In order to save time, gardeners can green their areas with a roll of lawn. The turf layer is grown in nurseries. Ripe grass with the top layer of soil is cut with a special machine and rolled into rolls. In this form, the grass cover is delivered to customers, it is laid on the prepared soil, and the turf continues to grow in a new place.
- The soil under the roll grass is prepared according to the same principle as under the sowing campaign. And how to prepare the ground for planting a lawn you already know. To accomplish each stage it is worth to approach responsibly, this will help to avoid problems and enjoy an ideally green meadow.
- The roll-up lawn is convenient to use on the relief terrain and in shaded courtyards. The sowing grass in this territory grows unevenly, slowly gaining strength. The roll turf is unpretentious, since it is formed in the nursery. On the site, it comes in perfect form, that is, without weeds, trimmed and fed. The best time to plant a rolled lawn is the day after cutting off the field.
- When purchasing a roll lawn, do not forget to make sure of the quality of the goods. The representative of the supplier firm is obliged before the buyer to check the state of the turf, roll it and shake it. The plate should not crumble and tear. The thickness of the mature and well-formed layer is about 10 cm. Be sure to specify the composition of the herbs and the conditions for their growth. Make sure personally that the cut is not damaged by the roots, otherwise the turf will not settle on your site.
- Planting of the rolled lawn is carried out on the surface, previously cleaned of debris and stumps. If the soil is depleted, it should be poured with fertile black soil. There should not be any weeds on the lawn area. Cleaned area should be scoured and slightly rolled. The ideally prepared surface is the guarantee of an attractive and even turf. A week before laying the roll grass, the soil must be fertilized with fertilizers.
- Unevenness on the surface is poured with earth or cuts excess, the soil is compacted with a roller. At the edges, the lawn is leveled with a knife or bayonet shovel. After laying the turf, the whole area must be watered abundantly. In order for the rolled lawn to take root, irrigation should be carried out for two weeks. Then the grass should be moistened as needed. In another ten days the lawn will be ready for a haircut.
Planting lawn: instructions for caring for the grass
The first weeks after planting the grass should be kept in perfect condition. He needs constant care, otherwise he will quickly lose his beauty.
- Regular watering during heat and drought is necessary for the normal appearance of the turf layer. In such conditions, irrigation is carried out 2-3 times a week, in the morning and in the evening. To do this, use stationary systems or hoses with a sprinkler. For the lawn is equally harmful excessive watering and insufficient, so you need to monitor the level of soil moisture. For normal growth and development it is quite sufficient to regularly moisten the soil to a depth of about 15 mm.
- Regardless of whether the lawn was planted in March or winter, the herb needs useful substances all year round. Fertilize soil best of all by humus, but not fresh, but two years ago. During the vegetation period, top dressing of the lawn grass is best carried out with complex mineral fertilizers.
- The first haircut is carried out when the grass stand is 12-15 cm high. The lawn needs to be cut for 4-5 cm. The process is repeated depending on the rate of growth of the grass. The last mowing is carried out after the active growth of grass, so that the lawn could grow slightly before the onset of frost. It is important to ensure that the grass does not overgrow, otherwise it will stick under the snow. Parterre and sports lawns are cut more often, up to twice a week in the period of intensive growth, maintaining a grass height of 3-4 cm. A typical lawn can be cut less often, depending on the intensity of growth and weather conditions.
- It is absolutely necessary to take care of the health of the lawn grass. The growth of young grass is negatively affected by weeds and pests. To eliminate them, herbicides of selective action are used. Formed and strengthened turf itself suppresses the growth of weeds.
- In the process of development of grass stand on the lawn appears felt - the remains of shorn grass and moss. It hinders the growth of young shoots, so it must be combed. It can be done by special rakes, either by electric or gasoline aerators.
These are just the main activities for lawn care. The main thing to remember: the end result depends largely on your desire and quality of the work performed.
