How to prepare the soil for a lawn. Preparing the ground for the lawn: surface runoff

This article contains information on how to properly prepare a site for a lawn. We will tell you about the sequence of actions and describe in detail what needs to be done at each stage.

Preliminary work

In order for a beautiful grass cover to appear on the site, you first need to decide how this will be done. There are two options: sowing special seeds and using a ready-made roll lawn. And although the preparation of the foundation under rolled lawn it is practically carried out in the same way as with the sowing option, there are still some nuances. They relate to the composition of the soil that will accept seeds or grown grass rolled into rolls.

In general, the soil for the lawn should be fertile or neutral. The main criterion is at least 50% of chernozem. If seeds are used, then the remaining 50% should contain 10% sand and humus, as well as 30% peat. For the roll option, humus is not required, because the base has already been grown. Therefore, 25% of sand and peat are added to black soil.

But this is done when black soil is present. If the soil on the site is clay, you will have to add fertile land to it. In the presence of sandy soil, sand is not additionally applied. Only peat and humus are used. Therefore, before you start preparing a plot for a roll lawn or sowing seeds, you need to determine the type of soil available.

Step-by-step actions

When the choice of lawn material has been made, it is necessary to determine the size of the area on which it is planned to make the lawn. Then the following is done:

Markup places and its cleansing.

Alignment plot.

Digging.

Formation the desired percentage of soil, fertilization, drainage.

Sealing.

Cleaning and leveling

Preparing the soil for a lawn begins with cleaning the allotted area. If grass grows on it, it must be cut. There may also be old shrubs, trees, stumps. In order for the site to have a harmonious look, it is necessary not only to cut down their visible parts, but to uproot everything together with the roots. This is a hard work, but it will bear fruit in the future.

Attention is drawn to the degree of surface evenness. Sometimes there are elevation differences, bumps, ruts. In this case, it is better to plan the site so that it becomes homogeneous. If desired, you can make a slope, but it should also be uniform. This option is convenient in places where a lot of moisture accumulates. All protruding parts of the surface are removed.

If you have normal grass cover, you need to decide how to remove it. This can be done in two ways. The first is that a small layer of sod is removed from the topsoil. It is beneficial in that this mixture of earth and grass will produce good rotten soil in about six months. To do this, the sod must be folded in a distant place on the site.

The second method is the use of modern chemicals that destroy not only the upper part of the plants, but also their root system. It is more reliable, because in the first version, the roots remain in the ground. They are removed when further work with soil. But chemical substances do not act immediately. It takes time for them to saturate the entire system. This usually takes several days, after which it remains to remove the dry residues. The disadvantage of the second method is the presence of a waiting period before sowing. lawn grass... It must be at least three weeks old.

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Digging

The next step in cultivating the land for a lawn is digging. It is mandatory even if the site has been cultivated every year. Then a single-tier option will be enough. It consists in the fact that a layer of soil is removed and turned over, the depth of which is approximately equal to the bayonet of a shovel. At this time, additionally, the roots remaining in the soil are removed. If this is not done, they will sprout through the cultivated lawn.

The two-tier digging option is used in areas that have not been previously processed. It is also used if the treatment was carried out for a long time or the soil is heavy. This is done in the following sequence:

A furrow is dug across the area of the site. The depth is done as in a single-tier digging. The earth is pulled to the side.

Remaining bottom soil layer exposed to loosening... This can be done with a pickaxe or pitchfork.

Parallel to the first the next furrow is dug... The soil removed from it is placed in the initial furrow.

The process repeats until the end of the section is reached. The soil removed from the first furrow is placed in the last furrow.

In both digging options, large lumps of earth are broken. When completed, the ground is leveled with a rake. At this time, the process of removing the roots of plants that were previously on the site continues. As a result, you should get an even piece of clean land.

Soil shaping, drainage

The upper part of the area allotted for the future lawn should have the same soil that was written about at the beginning of the article (black soil, sand, peat, humus). It is recommended that its layer be about 15 cm. When preparing the soil for a roll lawn, the thickness can be less - 12 cm. This is due to the fact that the rolls are ready-made turf mats. If the underlying soil is loose enough and is a clay-sand mixture, lawn grass will grow well. If sand or clay predominates in it, additional drainage is required. To do this, before pouring the fertile upper layer, small pebbles and gravel are stacked. The thickness of this part is usually 5 cm. In the case when the soil is too clayey, the thickness increases to 15 cm. In this case, sand is additionally poured between the stones. It can be replaced with fine screenings. If there is always a lot of moisture on the site, drainage ditches are made. In the most difficult cases, special pipes are laid, with the help of which water is removed.

Fertilization, compaction

Before proceeding to the final stage of preparing the land for the lawn, it is necessary to apply fertilizer to the topsoil. The main thing is phosphorus, thanks to which plants accumulate nutrients, their root system, new shoots are being formed. Nitrogen is also important to promote growth. Additionally, potassium is added, which makes the grass resistant to diseases and unfavorable conditions Wednesday.

When these works are completed, watering of the site is done so that the earth settles. Then you need to wait until it is completely dry and start tamping the soil. Garden rollers are used as a device for this. This important stage, especially if seed sowing is to be carried out. Plants root better in dense soil. After all the manipulations carried out, the area should look like an even, clean field and resemble a cake, on top of which small crumbs are poured.

Prices and terms

The cost of preparing the selected area for a lawn depends on how large its area is. The configuration of the site is also of great importance. If it is a hilly area to be leveled, it will be higher than for a normal level surface. On average, the price for 1 m 2 is 70-80 rubles. It's for light soil- the one that was processed last year. For complex soils (clay, swampy, virgin), the price increases to 90-100 rubles per square meter.

It matters whether it is necessary to uproot stumps on the site, cut down trees, take out garbage. Such work has been carried out since May. It is necessary to establish dry weather. The end may be October if it is not rainy. When the work is completed, it is advisable to immediately start sowing seeds or laying rolls. Otherwise, weeds will begin to appear, because on free land this process is inevitable.

Video description

In the video you can see the preparation of the site for the lawn:

Conclusion

When there was a desire to make a beautiful one on the site grass lawn, you must first select for it comfortable spot and decide how the grass will appear. After studying the composition of the soil, you can start preparatory work. This is a standard set of manipulations that can vary depending on the complexity of the soil and the presence of plants that interfere with the appearance of a level lawn.

How to level the area under the lawn? This question is not as simple as it seems at first glance. After all, preparing the ground for sowing lawn grass cannot be reduced to the formation of a simple flat area. Alignment lawn area includes not only "shoveling" the soil, but also the creation of a fertile layer. Preparing a plot for a lawn is a laborious and painstaking undertaking, but then it will delight the eye for a long time, to the envy of all neighbors.

As you know, a lawn is a flat area of land on which special lawn grass is planted in the form of a green even carpet. It is due to the evenness of the surface of the green vegetation that an attractive look is created, which, in various combinations, is included in the overall landscape design.

In order for the lawn to be pleasing to the eye, a perfectly flat piece of land must be formed. Above, a fertile soil layer is needed, on which lawn grass grows well. At the same time, an irrigation system is provided, as well as a drainage system that does not allow sediment and flood water to accumulate on the site. In addition, the soil on the lawn must be compacted to such an extent that it can be actively resting on and can be easily serviced using a lawn mower.

In general, the preparation of the site for planting a lawn includes the following activities:

clearing, planning and preparation of the site;
leveling the surface of the site;
digging up the soil and backfilling the fertile layer;
soil compaction;
creation of irrigation and drainage system;
planting lawn grass.

What activities can be included in the concept of "leveling the site"? They depend on the topography of the site, the degree of unevenness (tuberosity), the composition of the soil and the size of the site.

The planning of work depends primarily on the size of the site. If the site is small, then all work is carried out manually using a shovel and a rake. On a large site, you will have to attract equipment. The area for the lawn does not have to be strictly horizontal. Lawns with a slope also look good, but in any case, the surface itself should be flat, i.e. without bumps, holes, ravines.

How are the preparatory work being carried out?

Preparation for planting a lawn begins with defining the boundaries of the site: size, configuration and relief. Then the thickness of the fertile layer is determined. Such a layer must have a thickness of at least 14-16 cm, otherwise it will be necessary to fill up the enriched soil to the required minimum. Next, work planning is carried out, i.e. the slope, the degree of unevenness is determined. In the presence of significant depressions, the issue of importing soil for filling ravines and pits is being resolved.

The permissible slope of the lawn is considered to be no more than 7 cm per meter of length. If the slope is greater than the permissible, then the vegetation cover will not stably cover the area, and a shift in the fertile layer is possible. In this case, you will have to make a terrace on the slope.

Directly preparatory work start with marking the site, for which the stakes are hammered and the cord is pulled. The site is completely cleaned of all types of vegetation, except for trees and bushes, which fit into the developed design. All stumps and roots of plants are uprooted, the grass is mowed and harvested.

When leveling the area for the lawn in manual mode with your own hands, you should take care of such a tool in advance:

shovel shovel (for filling and extracting soil) and bayonet (for digging);
rake;
pitchfork;
wheelbarrow or stretcher;
building level;
ice rink;
pegs with marks.

How is the alignment of a site without a slope carried out?

The leveling of the area for the lawn is carried out in order to form the surface of the earth, close to perfectly flat. At the same time, a general slope of the order of 1-2 ° is created for the removal of sedimentary waters. The most dangerous is the presence of holes, as they become a reservoir of stagnant water, which leads to decay of the root system.

1 On small area all work is done manually. In the presence of uneven terrain, work begins with the removal of a fertile layer about 15 cm thick. The removed soil is carefully poured for storage at the site's borders for a period of no more than 1 month, since various pests may appear in the soil in the future. Then the site is leveled: cutting off the bumps and filling in the holes. In the presence of large holes, additional soil is brought in. If the soil is too dense, it is recommended to dig it up with a shovel and spread it with a rake.
2 The next step is planning the site. Pegs with marks are driven into the leveled platform different levels heights, not less than 9 points in the form of squares. To obtain a perfect surface, a building level should be used. At the height marked with pegs, the previously removed fertile soil returns to its place. Leveling it during filling is done with a rake. After laying, the earth is given time for shrinkage - 12-15 days.
3 At the end of the shrinkage period, the formed surface is checked by the marks on the pegs; one must not forget about the need for a slight slope for drainage. If necessary, additional filling of the soil is carried out. An important event is being carried out: leveling the surface with a bar (board). At this stage, it is imperative to control the leveling process. After that, the pegs are removed, and the soil is evenly compacted with a roller, so that in the future there is no subsidence of the soil under the influence of precipitation. Compaction of the soil with a roller is desirable after rain, but in dry weather in the absence of wind.
4 The final stage is exclusively manual labor. The entire surface is inspected and all stones, stems and weed roots are removed and removed. Final control is carried out using a building level.

What if there is a slope?

In the case when the clone of the selected area for the lawn exceeds 25-30 °, it is necessary to redevelop it, i.e. decrease the angle of inclination.

In this case, first of all, the entire fertile layer is removed and sent for temporary storage. The required level of elevation of the earth's surface is marked at the lower boundary, and the upper boundary is marked. Then the soil is gradually moved with a shovel from top to bottom, starting from the most elevated area. Thus, a terrace is formed with a slope of no more than 20-25 °.

When creating an artificial deck, it is important to reinforce the bottom and top border. At the bottom, a curb of the required height is being erected, taking into account the backfill of the soil. Digging at the upper border drainage ditch for drainage of sedimentary water entering from above, and strengthening of the formed soil wall is carried out. After that, the previously removed fertile layer is returned to its place, and measures are taken to level the site in the same way as in the above case.

Manual digging of land is carried out taking into account the neglect of the site. If the land was previously used for any planting, then, as a rule, a single-tier digging of the soil is carried out. It consists in overturning the earth layer with the burrowing of the shovel to the height of the bayonet. The lifted pieces are loosened. If there are a lot of stones, you can use a pitchfork to sift through the soil when turning over.

When you have to deal with a neglected area on which only a weed has grown for a long time, you will have to carry out a two-tier digging. It is done in the following order:

1 Dig a furrow one shovel bayonet deep and wide. The soil from the first furrow is removed and transported to the side, where it is carefully sieved and moved.
2 Next, a second similar furrow is made, but its soil turns over into the previous ditch. All roots are removed from the soil and introduced organic fertilizers... Thus, the entire site is dug up.
3 The last furrow is filled with soil from the first furrow after cleaning and fertilization.

Preparing a site for shaping a lawn is a laborious task. In order for the lawn to please the eye with its ideal forms, it is necessary to carefully plan and level the site, without rushing to plant the grass. Accuracy in this matter is the key to the formation of a beautiful green "carpet".

You probably already realized that for the sake of a good lawn, you have to work hard. If you properly prepare the site, the grass will be healthy and beautiful, otherwise your lawn will be a miserable sight. The lawn can be seeded or rolled, but in both cases it is necessary to prepare a plot for it in the same way.

Clearing the site

Using pegs, twine, and sand lines, draw a plan of the lawn at the planned location. Now it's time for the hard physical work. First of all, you need to clear the site of all previous inhabitants: bushes, trees and flower beds.

If grass is already growing on the area intended for the lawn, you will have to get rid of it. This can be done in two ways: bayonet shovel remove the top layer of turf (while trying to capture as little soil as possible) or destroy the grass with herbicides. If you choose the first method, the removed sod can be turned into a valuable source of fertile land; with the second method, you will have to wait 6-8 weeks before sowing new grass or laying a roll lawn. Weeds that will appear on the site during this time must be weeded out or also treated with herbicides.

All other coverings of the area intended for the lawn, such as concrete, stone or brick, will have to be completely removed, including solid foundation under them. This is hard work and you may need to hire assistants for it. Old blocks, stones or slabs can be saved and used elsewhere, but concrete will have to be ruthlessly broken.

On a note

Work methodically and make sure you don't have any unexploded areas. Never dig in wet weather; it is tough and you also compact the soil unnecessarily.
To turn the removed sod into fertile soil, turn it over with its roots up and stack it according to the principle brickwork somewhere in the far corner of the garden. In six months or a year, the grass will rot, and you will get quite fertile soil.
Digging can improve almost any area. Stony soil will need to be thoroughly loosened with a rake so that the grass grows on a flat surface.

Digging

If you have already cleared the site, it's time to start digging it. Be warned, the work is tough and you may have a strong urge to skip this stage of preparation. For the health and beauty of your future lawn, don't do this! You can dig up the ground different ways, some of them are heavier, others are lighter. If the soil in your area is good, a simple digging will be enough. But if it is too heavy or light, you will have to resort to a two-tiered digging, which is, of course, more difficult. To make it easier for yourself, you can use a rotary tiller ( rotary cultivator), although on heavy soil it will be a little confusing.

Simple one-tier digging

This method means digging the entire area under the lawn to the depth of one bayonet. When dug up, the earth turns over and pieces of it break. On stony or heavy soils, forks can also be used for this treatment. In this way, you can prepare the top layer of the soil for sowing seeds, but this does not affect its lower level in any way, therefore the method is recommended only in cases where you have very good drainage or when you know that this land was cultivated in the past. For example, simple digging is sufficient if you are creating a lawn in place of an old vegetable garden or flower bed.

Two-tier digging

requires a lot of effort. With its help, a plot is prepared for sowing a lawn, which for a long time not treated, or an area with poor drainage. Working across the area, dig a furrow to the depth of one bayonet, and take the soil removed from it on a wheelbarrow to the side. Then, using a pitchfork or pickaxe, loosen the bottom layer of the soil well. Make the next furrow, fill the first with soil taken out of the second, and continue to dig up the entire area in this way; Fill the last furrow with soil from the first. In the process of two-tier digging, well-rotted compost or manure can be added to the soil. If you have a severe clay soil and very poor drainage, pour gravel or crushed stone on the lower level.

Dig a furrow to the depth and width of one bayonet. Take the soil selected from the furrow in a wheelbarrow or on a sheet of plastic to the side. Remove all weeds from it.
Dig a second furrow close to the first, pour the soil from it into the first. Add organic fertilizers if required. Continue this way until the last furrow.
Fill the last furrow with soil from the first. Walk all over the area and use a shovel or rake to break up large clumps of dirt.

Parcel alignment

A smooth lawn looks lovely, and on uneven lawns, some (high) areas will be cut almost bald, while on low ones the grass will be too long, which does not look particularly beautiful. It will be much more difficult to deal with bumps and depressions when the grass is already growing, so take your time now. Do this work with great care and keep in mind that after the earth subsides, the bumps will reappear.

After digging, go over the entire area with a rake, select stones, old roots, and so on from the surface. Step aside more often and check the level of the plot from different points. Level the highest and lowest spots by transferring soil from first to last.

After leveling, it is necessary to trample the ground and thus create a layer in which the grass or rolled lawn can take root well. After that, level the area again well.

Leveling the topsoil

The top, fertile soil layer is like a layer of cream on milk, and therefore should not be mixed with the lower layer, which is noticeably different in appearance and touch. If the soil level on your site needs to be changed by more than 5-8 centimeters in order to level it, it is best to first remove the fertile layer and fold it somewhere to the side. Then all the leveling work can be done at the level of the lower layer, and when it is finished, again pour fertile soil on top. This will create the most favorable conditions for the roots of the new lawn.

If your area under the lawn is very uneven or the fertile layer on it is very small, less than 15-22 centimeters, it may make sense to purchase fertile land... Be sure to mix it with the old one, since two completely identical types of soil simply do not exist. In addition, mixing will ensure uniform drainage.

Top dressing

Once the soil is leveled, it's time to add some kind of grass fertilizer. Adding fertilizer at this stage ensures that it mixes evenly with the soil.

Soil compaction

Between the first rake for leveling and the last one, which finally prepares the soil for sowing, it is necessary to compact the soil so that it does not sink too much after the first rain. To do this, trample the entire area, making small steps and transferring the weight of the body to the heels. Do not do this after the rain and in any case do not rush. Walk slowly and try not to miss an inch. The neighbors may think that you are crazy, but they will understand how wrong they were when they see your magnificent lawn.

Final loosening and leveling

After you have trampled the ground, you need to walk on it with a rake again in order to level the newly formed irregularities and remove stones. Here I must warn you: the more you rake, the more stones appear on the surface. But you don't need to turn the soil into a kind of fine powder; it should look like the top of a crumbled fruit pie, while remaining firm enough on the inside.

On a note

If in order to work on the bottom layer of soil you need to remove the top one, never pile it higher than 30 centimeters and do not leave it that way for more than four weeks. In either case, the bacteria that make the top layer so fertile and biologically active will die due to lack of oxygen.

Of course, a green lawn overgrown with dandelions, burdocks and weeds is unlikely to please the owner with its aesthetic appearance. To create an attractive look for your suburban area a special place in the complex of all measures should be occupied by the preparation of a plot for a lawn (he himself will only after them). Preparing the soil for planting green vegetation is a certain sequence of works, which are recommended to start about a month before laying the lawn.

The lawn is given one of the first places in the creation garden- landscape design, since its correct creation and placement helps to emphasize the shades and textures of the leaves of other plants. In addition, a beautiful green lawn increases air humidity and improves the microclimate on the site.

Preparing the site and soil for planting a lawn is not so easy as it might seem at first glance. Work on the principle "Dug-seeded-and ready" is unlikely to bring its owner a positive result. The more thoroughly the preparation of the site and the soil is carried out, the better and more beautiful the lawn will be.

The initial stage in the preparation of a plot for a lawn is its choice () and the choice of a place for a green lawn, which will harmoniously look in the interior of the suburban area. After that, the entire sequence of activities can be divided into the following stages:

After determining the location of the lawn, it is necessary to clean the area from all the debris on it: branches, stones, chips, paper bags. To facilitate your work, you should not bury garbage in the ground, since this will negatively affect the growth of green vegetation, and later you can stumble upon its fragments. It is also necessary to remove all unnecessary trees and stumps from the site, and start uprooting the stumps.

Weeds will look completely unattractive on a green lawn, so site preparation includes getting rid of this unattractive vegetation. The simplest and most environmentally friendly in a clean way is cutting off the surface layer of soil to a depth of 2-2.5 cm using a conventional shovel. You can get rid of weeds on the site with the help of chemical preparations, among which Roundup, Ground and Dalapon have proven themselves especially positive. Decomposition chemicals occurs in the soil for several weeks, therefore, all work with their use must be carried out in accordance with the proposed recommendations and sowed vegetation at a certain time.

Parcel surface leveling

In the presence of uneven terrain, as well as pits and bumps, it is necessary to level the soil. This will save in the future from stagnation of water in the pits, and the absence of tubercles will facilitate the process of mowing the grass and keep the lawn mower knives intact. The alignment of the site is carried out in the following way: the top layer of the soil is removed and folded next to the treated area. After leveling the soil, all the removed topsoil is returned to its place. In most cases, this procedure is combined with soil drainage.

Drainage

In order to provide the plants with a sufficient amount of moisture, as well as to avoid the accumulation of water on the surface of the lawn, drainage is used. As drainage, you can lay coarse sand or gravel, the layer thickness of which should be more than 5 cm.

Preparing the soil for sowing lawn grass

Digging a site

This is one of the laborious steps towards creating a beautiful green lawn and the most necessary procedure is digging the soil. Many for her relief resort to the help of a cultivator, but a better result can be achieved with the help of a shovel. During work, it is necessary to free the soil from foreign objects and plant roots that did not die during processing. It is recommended to start digging the soil in the spring or autumn, when it is dry enough. All large earthy clumps, which may interfere with the normal growth of plants, must be broken down to small sizes. The depth of the dug soil should be about 20-25 cm, and in the presence of a small fertile layer, attention should be paid to adding nutrient soil.

Fertilization

While digging the soil under the lawn, you should also take care of introducing the complex mineral fertilizers at the rate of 25-30 grams per square meter. It is better to give preference to compost, but in no case is it recommended to add fresh manure to the soil, which in the future can become the main reason for the intensive growth of weeds. Fertilizer is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the site and thoroughly mixed with the soil.

Leveling the lawn surface

The next step in soil preparation is leveling and rolling the surface. This will ensure normal growth and development of green plantings, since carrying out these types of work helps prevent excessive penetration of moisture to the root systems of plants, as well as prevent its stagnation in the surface layer of the earth. Leveling the soil is not a simple procedure that requires certain knowledge and skills.

What to use

Even the most careful leveling of the soil using a rake does not give the desired result. Help in this matter can special device made of timber or thick boards. An even long board, the ends of which are tied with ropes, is dragged across the entire surface of the lawn in different directions. Carrying out such work will help identify all the irregularities in the area, which should be eliminated. To compact the soil, special lawn rollers are used, a good alternative to which can be an ordinary heavy log or a gas cylinder. In addition to these devices, the soil can be compacted by trampling it down in small steps, and then leveling the pits with a rake. Well-tamped soil ensures uniform placement of seeds in the soil, which allows them to swell and germinate well.

We keep the ground under steam

To obtain a beautiful and attractive lawn, it is recommended to carry out another fallowing procedure, that is, the prepared soil is kept under steam for several months. Carrying out such a procedure gives a natural shrinkage of the lawn, and all its defects become obvious. The positive aspect of this procedure is the ability to destroy the remaining weeds in the soil, which will begin to grow on the prepared soil.

Of course, in order to get beautiful green lawn will have to spend a lot of effort and energy, but it's worth it. The green lawn will become not only a real decoration of the summer cottage, but also a place of rest and relaxation.