How best to plant lawn grass. When to sow lawn grass, the timing of spring, summer and autumn sowing

A well-groomed green lawn around the house can significantly improve the landscape design. In addition, it emphasizes the exterior of the building, helps to create a special aesthetic appeal of the site. But for sowing any lawn grass you need careful preparation playgrounds. The subsequent care of the cover will also require a lot of time and effort from the owners. You can find out more about how to plant a lawn with your own hands and which herbs are better to choose in our detailed article. We also talked about the rules for preparing the site for sowing lawn grass, the requirements for subsequent watering, cleaning and fertilizing the land. Following simple recommendations, you can grow a beautiful and healthy lawn on your backyard land. Don't forget about useful tips care for it at different times of the year and you will be able to achieve the perfect look of your garden and yard.

Lawn advantages and disadvantages

A beautiful lawn near the house will not only help improve the landscape, but will also be really useful. The presence of a lawn will prevent erosion of the earth (both wind and water). Therefore, the planted area will retain its shape throughout the entire period of growing lawn grass. Green spaces will also help purify the air. It is important that constant cutting prevents the appearance of flowers on the lawn and, accordingly, eliminates the formation of pollen. Therefore, resting on the lawn will be completely safe for allergy sufferers. As for the disadvantages of the lawn, they include the need for frequent mowing and watering. Lack of timely watering will lead to drying of the cover and the need to replace it. Therefore, before planting a lawn, it is worth assessing your ability to care for the grown cover.

Lawn types

By choosing suitable view lawn, you need to take into account many factors: will people walk on it, will it be located in the shade or in the sun. There are the following types of lawn coverings:

• landscape gardening (standard, ordinary): it has good resistance to trampling, shade tolerance and frost resistance; however, in spring it will require the most frequent haircuts; forms a dense dark green cover;
• parquet: it is more expensive than usual and does not tolerate trampling; germinates slowly, but upon completion of growth forms a dense, low, bright green cover;
• meadow: includes both grasses and low-growing plants (for example, clover); suitable for planting on a sunny platform, tolerates infrequent trampling well;
• Moorish: it is a cover of a variety of low-growing flowers and grasses, creates a beautiful colorful cover, but needs frequent watering and does not tolerate shade, is unsuitable for trampling;
• sports: forms a low dense cover that is resistant to trampling; needs constant (usually weekly) haircuts to maintain its characteristics.

TO a separate kind can be attributed to a rolled lawn. It can include a variety of herbs (not stunted flowers!). It stands out for its ease of installation.

The composition of the lawn mixture

Resistance to trampling and the possibility of growing cover in the shade or in the sun directly depends on the characteristics of the plants included in the lawn mixture. When choosing the desired composition of the mixture, we recommend using the following hint:

1. For planting on sports grounds or as paths: meadow bluegrass, red fescue, perennial ryegrass.
2. For playgrounds and play areas: perennial ryegrass, meadow bluegrass, red fescue and slender field grass.
3. For a shaded area: perennial ryegrass, forest bluegrass.
4. For a plot with infrequent watering: sheep fescue and red fescue, meadow bluegrass.
5. For plots with high humidity soils: giant bent grass, sandy wheatgrass.

It is also worth considering the simplified classification of mixtures. Road (airfield) includes plants with a strong root system that are well resistant to trampling. The universal mixture is suitable for sowing in open areas where people will not walk. The Mauritanian mix additionally includes forbs, allowing for a variegated cover of grass and flowers.

Selection and calculation of seeds

After studying the information about different mixtures and types of lawn, you can start buying seeds. Define the right amount grass mixtures can be done according to the following scheme:

1. Measure the area to be sown.
2. Calculate its area.
3. For light soil (with a large percentage of sand), you will need about 30-40 g of seeds per square meter. For heavy soil (with a predominant clay), 40-50 g of seeds will be required for each sq. meter. Accordingly, 3-4 or 4-5 kg ​​of grass mixture may be required for each hundred square meters.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that the Mauritanian mixture also includes small (respectively light) seeds of undersized flowers. Therefore, for such a lawn, the mixture is recommended to be taken at a critically low level (for light soil- 30 g per sq. m, for heavy - 40 g). For universal and road mixes, you can take seeds at the upper mark (40 or 50 g per 1 sq. M).

Increasing the number of seeds will not produce a finer or denser cover. On the contrary, this approach will lead to uneven plant growth and germination problems.

Lawn planting methods

There are several ways to plant your lawn to help you choose the best seeding option for your area. You can carry out work using the following technologies:

• Using a seeder.

To get started, you need to put the right amount of grass mixture into the seeder itself and walk with it through the prepared area. Keep in mind that for simplicity and uniformity of sowing, you need to divide the planted area into separate squares and sow on them using the previously determined rate of the grass mixture.

• Manually.

Does not guarantee even seeding, but is the easiest option. Before work, the site is divided into squares, the rate of the grass mixture is mixed with sand 1 to 1 (for 40 g of seeds - 40 g of sand). Sowing is carried out along the selected area, then across. Therefore, it would be rational to divide the prepared combination of sand and grass mixture into 2 parts at once.

• Using a tin can.

Outperforms manual seeding. For work, you will need to make small holes in a tin can (slightly larger than the size of the seeds used). The work is carried out in the same way as manual seeding (including the addition of sand and the passage along the site along and across).

Features of seasonal planting

When sowing, it is also important to take into account the season when the seeds are planted. Depending on weather conditions, planting requirements can vary significantly. So, if the work is carried out:

• in the spring;

Sowing the lawn should be carried out after the temperature has returned to normal and there is no frost. The gentle spring sun will ensure good germination and exclude the death of plants due to the heat. But you need to be very careful: it is imperative to clean the site from emerging weeds, which also germinate well in the spring.

• summer;

Summer planting is attractive for the possibility of complete preliminary cleaning of the soil from weeds. True, planting should be carried out in a well-watered land after 6-7 pm (when the sun does not burn the seedlings).

• in the fall.

Autumn planting is carried out 1.5-2 months before frost, when the temperature is still high enough. Before planting the lawn, the area is cleaned from old grass, weed, mandatory requirement is the introduction of fertilizers that will help strengthen the seedlings. Plus autumn planting lawn is considered the possibility of grass rooting in winter and the maximum increase in germination.

Site and soil preparation for planting

Growing a lawn is not easy, but with strict adherence to the recommendations of specialists, it is quite possible to achieve good germination of seeds and create a beautiful cover. First of all, you need to carry out a complete cleaning of the site from any stones, obstacles, draw up a lawn planting scheme. For example, if the lawn grass will frame a flower bed or trees in the garden, then pegs should be placed to mark the edge of the cover. You also need to think about whether the lawn will closely adjoin the paths and curbs, or flowers and shrubs will be located between it and the fences. Additionally, to prepare the site, you will need to purchase everything necessary materials: cover cloth or drainage pipes, forks, rakes, hand roller and seeder. Such preparation will help to immediately resolve all issues and not be distracted from the process of planting the lawn cover.

Tillage: chopping and weeding

In order for the sown lawn grass to sprout well and at the same time grow quickly, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for it and achieve correct composition soil. So, the first step in preparing the site for planting a lawn will be to remove weeds. They must be uprooted, excluding the subsequent possibility of growth. Special attention at this stage, you should pay attention to weeds with a large root system or scattering shoots over the surface of the earth: they all need to be removed. Next, the site is dug up. It is recommended to dig the soil to a depth of no more than 25 cm. During the digging process, it is also important to remove previously hidden pieces of rhizomes, both from cultivated plants and from weeds. During the digging process, it is important to fluff the soil well to create proper air access to the top layer.

The presence of a drainage system under the lawn is a guarantee of quick drainage of melt and rainwater. There are several ways to organize the correct moisture removal:

• Multilayer soil (natural drainage).

The top layer of soil (about 20 cm) is removed, a layer of gravel and a layer of sand (5 cm each) are laid. The soil is again poured from above. Such arrangement of the site will ensure the timely removal of water.

• Laying of drainage pipes (optimal for wetlands).

Perimeter suburban area where the lawn will grow, as well as inside this perimeter, at a distance of 40-60 cm from each other, asbestos drains are dug in. A cushion of sand and crushed stone with a thickness of about 30 cm should be made under them. Another 10 cm of crushed stone is poured over the drains. Next, a 10 cm layer of sand is filled in, geotextiles are laid. Next, the soil itself is poured (thickness about 20-25 cm).

When laying drains, it is necessary to take into account the slope of the site and equip the correct drainage of water.

After completing the preparatory work, you should start leveling the ground where the lawn will be planted. The work can be done by hand, but land owners should definitely follow our step-by-step instructions:

1. Carry out a breakdown of the site into separate sites: this will ensure the ease of achieving the evenness of the entire soil without sudden changes.
2. Large clods of earth (which may have formed after installing drainage or during the digging process) must be broken up with a shovel.
3. Between the selected parts of the site, you need to install pegs and pull a rope, which will serve as a guide for the evenness of the land cover.
4. With the help of a rake, carry out the initial leveling of the earth. For large areas, a hand-held cultivator is recommended. The method of "smoothing" the surface with a board is very popular. In this case, a rope is tied to the board and the board itself is pulled along the surface, thereby allowing quick and easy alignment upper layer land.

Fertilizer and ramming

The correct "feeding" of the plants will help to guarantee good growth of the lawn near the summer cottage or residential building. To do this, compost or manure can be added to the topsoil. They will enrich the soil and allow the lawn grass to grow quickly. For clay (heavy) soils good decision will be the introduction of a small amount of sand. But in sandy (light) soil, on the contrary, you should add a little clay or black soil. After saturation of the soil, the soil is tamped under the lawn. You can carry out work in the following ways:

• Hand roller (its weight should not exceed 150 kg).

Rolling should be carried out effortlessly: the soil will settle slightly under the weight of the roller itself.

• Board.

The board is laid on the edge of the plot to be planted, and the owner walks along this board. Then he puts another board in front of him and steps onto it. The work is repeated until all the soil is compacted. The main thing is not to leave the board on the ground in order to avoid the appearance of depressions and the creation of drops in the lawn itself.

Parcel hovering - what is it and how to carry it out

To completely get rid of weeds and normalize the soil, fallow is carried out. In agricultural technology, steam is an unseeded field that “gains strength”. That is, it is plowed up and left unseeded. For lawns, the fallowing procedure will not take a whole season, but only 1-2 months. Therefore there will be the right decision to begin work at the end of March, so that by May we will be able to sow the seeds. During the fallowing period, the emerging weeds must be constantly removed. Periodically combing the soil with a fan rake will help awaken the dormant seeds. They will help to saturate the topsoil with air and thereby accelerate the germination process of weeds. Further, it remains only to manually carry out the removal of harmful plants. Sowing green manure can be considered an alternative to fallowing. For example, melilot and lupine are planted 1.5 months before sowing the lawn. After this period, plowing of the site is carried out. Thus, the grown shoots will be "dug" into the soil. They will help enrich the land and create favorable conditions for the growth of lawn grass.

Sowing and its features

After completing all preparatory work by choosing a suitable mixture and calculating optimal way its distribution on the site, you can sow a lawn. It will not be difficult to carry out such a procedure on your own. The following step-by-step instructions will help with this:

1. Divide the entire plot into separate squares and prepare the required amount of grass mixture for each square.
2. Sow the lawn along and across each square, trying not to leave empty areas and at the same time not to "overpopulate" individual parts of the soil.
3. Gently rake over the sown areas: this will help to slightly deepen the seeds into the soil. It is advisable not just to comb the soil with a rake, but also to slightly pierce the ground with them.
4. Go through the roller to tamp the seeds and level the top layer.
5. Water the area with a small amount of water, using a special nozzle with the "fog" mode for the watering hose.

Benefits of laying roll lawn

Unlike a regular lawn, a roll lawn does not require seeding. It is usually sold in small rolls of 0.8-1 m by 2 m in size. But even for such a lawn, you need to specially prepare the soil. In general, the organizational procedures for all types of turf cover are the same and include: cleaning the site, removing weeds and leveling the soil, arranging drainage, fertilizing, and tamping. Further, the rolled lawn just unfolds and fits on the prepared ground. This technology saves a lot of time. In addition, luxurious landscaping can be enjoyed immediately after laying the lawn. Due to the fact that you do not need to plant a roll lawn, you can update the look of the garden or yard of your personal plot in just a couple of days. Another plus is the uniformity of the cover and the absence of "bald spots" on it as a result of poor germination of seeds. True, after receiving the rolls, you should immediately start laying them and primary watering. Otherwise, the grass will begin to dry and may partly disappear.

How to care for

It is necessary not only to sow, but also to care for the lawn correctly and most importantly - on time. Its protection, fertilization and other care at different times of the year are of particular importance. By following simple recommendations and performing each of them step by step, you can avoid problems with the disappearance of the lawn or its partial wilting, freezing.

• Summer and autumn.

After the overgrowth of the grass, it is imperative to organize correct watering... Fertilization may also be required during the summer. V autumn period watering should be reduced (especially in an area with frequent rainfall). Timely removal of emerging weeds will also become mandatory. In November, you should carry out the last mowing and remove the fallen leaves from the lawn.

• In winter.

To prevent the lawn from disappearing in the winter and to be able to grow back in the spring, you need to stop watering. Also, loads are not recommended (for a sports type) - it is better to exclude walking on plants. If snow is rare in your area, covering them with agrofibre will help protect the plants from frost.

• In the spring.

Preparing your lawn for the new season begins with removing the old grass. But work should be done only on dry grass and in dry weather. Germinating old weeds must be removed. Further, the soil is aerated (for example, by piercing the soil with a pitchfork). It is necessary to exclude the accumulation of melt water, but after the formation of dry and warm weather, nitrogen fertilizers can be applied.

Watering

During the germination of the lawn, care should be taken to water it moderately and carefully. That is why the supply of water from a hose to young shoots should be excluded. It is necessary to use a special nozzle with the "fog" mode, which will help to gently spray the grass. Watering the lawn in spring and summer should be done early in the morning or late in the evening. It is recommended to water young plants little by little, but often. But rooted herbs can be watered abundantly once every 2-4 days (depending on the established weather and air temperature). In the autumn period, watering should be reduced: choose the frequency of watering individually. The main task is complete moisture absorption and good drying of plants. As for automatic irrigation (for example, when using an automatic sprinkler), water should be supplied from it in small portions, excluding the formation of puddles on the lawn.

Fertilizers

Lawn fertilization should be done at different times of the year. In this case, the composition of the substances will change depending on the season. The following tip will help you choose the right fertilizer for good lawn growth:

• In the spring.

Immediately after the snow melts, you need to apply liquid fertilizers, which include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. This combination will ensure a strong root system, healthy lawn growth and disease resistance.

• Summer.

Constant exposure high temperatures, bright sunlight can deplete the lawn. The introduction of nitroammophoska will help to maintain its healthy appearance and condition. It is recommended to use it in late June or early July. Potassium salt should be added in mid-July and early-mid-August. But at the end of August, the introduction of potassium-phosphate mixtures is recommended. Such saturation of the soil will provide a dense and dense growth of the cover, its resistance to diseases and negative influences.

Cutting your garden lawn correctly is quite easy using modern trimmers and lawn mowers. The first mowing is carried out when the lawn grass has grown by 7-8 cm. The second mowing is carried out once a week. When performing this work, it is recommended to follow some simple requirements:

1. It is necessary to carry out a haircut no earlier than on the second day after watering in the evening. The lawnmower will not move well on wet ground, and the lawnmower and trimmer will mow wet seedlings unevenly. Grass cut at lunchtime may start to “burn” and turn yellow.
2. Each new haircut should be perpendicular to the previous one. This rule will allow you to make neat cuts, get an even and thick cover.
3. After mowing, it is recommended to lightly spray the lawn with water to maintain the vigor of the shoots. Fertilization of plants is also allowed (unless, of course, it has been carried out in the last 1-2 weeks and will be appropriate).

Combing and aerating

Sweeping the lawn involves removing old plants and weeds, opening up air to the root system of the grasses. Usually, combing is done in the fall after the last mowing of the lawn. But it is also recommended to repeat this procedure in the spring before the start of the new season. Combing will help "revive" the plants and provide them with excellent growth conditions. In summer, combing cannot be carried out, otherwise the whole cover will be broken. As for aeration, this procedure is aimed at breaking up the soil crust that forms during the watering and drying of the earth. Aeration is performed once a season - in the fall, after combing. But it can also be carried out in other periods, if the lawn grass begins to hurt, puddles remain in some areas and the water does not pass. For aeration, you can use a pitchfork or special tool- aerator. The depth of holes created in the ground should be between 7 and 15 cm.

Weeding and weed control

In the first year after planting the lawn, you do not need to pull out the weeds. Timely mowing will help protect the lawn from weeds. They will prevent the growth of weeds (as well as the appearance of new units due to seeds and shoots), help the lawn grass to strengthen and "drive out" such neighbors. In the second year and after, it is necessary to carry out manual removal of weeds - weeding or uprooting them. In the resulting hole after pulling out, you need to sow a new lawn. For lawns that have been growing for more than 3-4 years, the use of pesticides is allowed. But you need to use them very carefully: collect the right amount of pesticide in the Spitz and inject it into the stem of the weed. When moss appears on the site, it is allowed to carry out unscheduled aeration. If the moss has grown on the lawn under the trees, it is advisable to prune the branches and provide sunlight with access to the moss.

Conclusion

Do it yourself a beautiful home or country lawn not easy. But if you follow the detailed tips of specialists and take care of the lawn grass in time, then it will not be difficult to achieve the perfect green lawn around the house. Optionally, you can plant both a regular green lawn, which will complement the flower beds, or create a dense cover where you can walk. Such a lawn will not only decorate the site, but will also create original play areas for children and recreation areas for adults. Among the variety of grass mixtures, one can also find original covers with different meadow flowers. Such an ensemble will unusually decorate a personal plot and help to distinguish artificial reservoirs or small garden forms... The main thing is not to forget to remove weeds in time, carry out fertilization and, of course, water the lawn on time. Then it not only forms a dense cover, but can also become even brighter and denser in subsequent years.

To get a high-quality green lawn in the country, you will need to stock up on some baggage of knowledge and carry out preparatory work before sowing. The set of collected information on how to plant a lawn with your own hands must necessarily include information about the composition and preparation of the soil, about tools and the choice of seeds, about when it is better to plant grass - in spring, summer or autumn.

Getting the right seeds is very important. Not only the decorativeness of the grass cover, but also its winter hardiness and durability depends on the composition of the lawn mixture. Sowing seeds and subsequent care of seedlings have their own rules, following which you can get a high-quality sowing lawn.

Site selection and preparation

The best time for sowing a lawn

The place where you can plant lawn grass must meet a number of conditions:

1. Sufficient illumination- one of the main conditions for successful growth. The best lawns are obtained in areas that are exposed to sunlight most of the day. In the deep shade of buildings or under large trees, grass grasses do not create dense turf and gradually die. The best option for shady areas - replacing grasses with shade-loving ground covers (periwinkle, hoofed grass, etc.).
2. The territory of the site must be leveled. A horizontal surface without bumps and holes or a small, even slope is a guarantee of high-quality grass cover. Before sowing the lawn grass, they carry out a thorough cleaning: they remove construction debris, stones, uproot hemp, level out hillocks and holes. On large areas, for leveling the ground, you can use the help of special equipment with a horizontal knife loader. When the site is small, they struggle with irregularities with sharply sharpened shovels.
3. Choosing a favorable landing time. Already in the middle of spring, when the snow melts and the excess water leaves, you can start preparing the soil and planting the lawn. The grass sown in May, like everything that is planted in spring, grows and develops much better and forms a strong sod by autumn. Sowing a green lawn can be done almost the entire warm season. The last date is the first days of September. Later crops, although they will sprout, will not have time to develop vitality in the cold autumn before the onset of frost.

Seed selection for sowing lawn

Let's talk about the varieties of lawn mixtures, so as not to get confused by the variety of colorful packages with grass seeds. Perennial breeding work allowed to select varieties and varieties of cereals in order to obtain different qualities of the grass cover:

1. Mix for sports turf made up, most often, of hardy varieties of red fescue, bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. They stand up to short hair and are resistant to trampling.
2. Mix for parterre lawn includes the most decorative varieties of cereals. Bright emerald color, silky delicate leaves - it is customary to plant such a lawn to decorate the front entrance to the house. It is not used for walking. It contains varieties of red fescue and fine bent fescue.
3. Versatile lawn- a mixture under this name is more suitable than others for a summer cottage. From it, a beautiful but practical grass cover is obtained, which can not only be admired, but also used for recreation, playing with children and animals. The herbs that make up it are durable, devoid of tough shoots, form a dense emerald carpet.

You should not buy seeds without labels indicating the manufacturer and the composition of the varieties. So you can buy lump grains that are not suitable for lawns from an unscrupulous seller. When choosing a mixture for the middle zone and more northern regions, ryegrass content of more than 10-15% should not be allowed, since it does not have the necessary winter hardiness.

Creating a soil layer under the lawn

It takes a lot of work to create the right soil for growing lawn grass. After hard work on clearing and leveling the site, it is worth digging up the ground and looking at its quality. It's good if there is fertile garden soil under the shovel. It is enough to dig it up on a bayonet and select the roots perennial weeds... Otherwise, you will have to improve the soil layer.

Leveling the plot with a rake

Organic matter (compost, humus, peat, leaf litter stored in the fall) must be added to the low-fertile loam. For better permeability, coarse sand is added. By adding components and mixing the soil, at the same time continue to level the surface. With the help of a cord and pegs, they expose the horizontal, without neglecting building level or with a level. It is convenient to finish leveling the surface by pulling a long flat strip or using back side rake.

The garden roller compresses the soil for sowing

When the soil is dug up and leveled, it is tamped with a special hand roller. Filled with water, it weighs about 100 kg. A small area can be compacted with a piece of thick plywood and its own weight. After tamping, the area is thoroughly moistened so that the entire thickness of the plowed layer is saturated with water. Watering will reveal any remaining irregularities that need to be corrected.

Prepared the soil - you can plant seeds

There is a simple method on how to properly plant lawn grass for an inexperienced person:

It is necessary to measure the amount of seeds required for sowing on a household scale 1 square meter... The norm is 35-50 g per 1 m². Having measured the required volume, a suitable measuring glass is selected for it in order to take the same amount of seeds each time.

Weighing seeds for sowing 1m²

A square frame with a side of 1 m is made from thin wooden slats. This will be a template for sowing seeds. The frame is placed on the ground and seeds are scattered inside it. Sowing is performed with a "salting" movement of the hand. Half the rate is rolled along, half across the template for greater uniformity.

How to Plant Lawn Seeds Using a Pattern

The square is covered with a thin layer of sifted peat or fine-structured soil and rolled with a lightweight roller. The frame is moved and all operations are repeated until the entire area is sown.

The first shoots begin to appear on the 4th day.

Young lawn care

It is necessary to clearly understand not only where and how to plant lawn grass correctly, but also how to provide it necessary care so that the young lawn grows stronger, survives the first winter and pleases for many years.

Watering

In the first month of life, shoots of young grass require special attention to maintaining moisture in the soil. The surface should not be allowed to dry out, some varieties of lawn grasses are late in germination, and their fragile sprouts can be ruined in dry soil.

Water spray torch suitable for young seedlings

Waterlogging is no less harmful for delicate young leaves; it can provoke the appearance of mold, rot, and the formation of moss. On average, when there is no extreme heat and drought, watering is required once every 3-4 days. Water the lawn with a soft stream of water with a fine spray.

Weeding

A considerable upset for a summer resident can be caused by the appearance of shoots of lawn grass mixed with the same cheerful green weed leaves. You can start dealing with them only after waiting for the lawn to grow back, when it will be possible to step on the grass. Weeding should be expected for at least a month.

To reduce the pressure of the feet on the shoots, weeding is carried out by placing a piece of thick plywood or a wide board under the feet, trying not to stand in one place for a long time. The lawn pressed down by plywood, as a rule, quickly recovers.

Even if the area was treated with herbicides before planting the grass, weeds will appear from time to time. Healthy lawn grass planted at the correct density will displace most of the weeds. Systematic mowing will prevent swan and other annual weeds from scattering seeds.

Mowing

The first mowing is done when the leaves of cereals grow 12-15 cm, and cut off no more than 5 cm for the first time. Be sure to check the sharpness of the mower knives so that they do not pull out the undeveloped roots of young cereals from the soil. The next mowing is carried out every 7-10 days, in spring and summer - more often, in autumn - less often.

Lawn after the first cut

For a new lawn to survive its first winter, some preparation will be required in the fall. Under the snow, the lawn should go combed and trimmed, without leaves flying off the trees. The snow cover in winter will protect from freezing, save you from the big hassle of repairing the grass cover next spring.

The lawn on the site is like a green island. Many owners of backyard plots dream of having such, with evenly trimmed grass, fragrant with field aromas. Currently, it is not difficult to sow it on your own, having determined the place. True, you need to be patient - you will only get a full-fledged lawn of your dreams in three to four years. proper care... And in this article we will tell you how to choose and plant the right grass with your own hands in your own dacha.

What is the use of a lawn on the site?

1. Beauty and aesthetic appearance. The plot is transformed and looks well-groomed when minimum costs time and effort.
2. Comfort in use. Unlike open ground, when walking on a grassy area, dirt does not stick to the soles of shoes and is not carried by feet into the house. And in this case, much less dust rises.
3. Benefit for health. It's no secret that foot massage has a positive effect on the work of internal organs. Walking barefoot on the lawn will massage the underside of the feet, which in turn normalizes blood pressure, helps with insomnia and has a calming effect on nervous system generally.
4. Caring for the soil. Open land vulnerable to external factors. The soil is weathered, washed away by rains. Under the cover of grasses beneficial features soils are not lost. On the contrary, it guarantees the necessary work of worms and microorganisms for their enrichment.
5. Organization of playgrounds and other areas... A thick green carpet will be soft enough for children to play and picnic. Recreation areas, areas near pools and gazebos, ornamental ponds are also decorated with a lawn.

When should you plant your lawn grass: in spring or fall?

Sowing seeds is recommended in spring or in the first half of summer. During the warm months, the lawn will have time to ascend and sufficiently grow stronger before wintering. If you plant in August or September, then it will not be able to grow enough to painlessly endure the winter months.

Types of lawns for summer cottages

Exists different kinds lawns for gardens and personal plots. Each of them has pros and cons in their content.

First of all, you need to decide for what purpose you need a lawn. Depending on the purpose, the choice falls on one type or another.

1. Parterre. Perhaps the most spectacular view of all. It looks like a velvety surface and is distinguished by the uniformity and density of the grass. It is usually placed near the front door. Also found in front gardens and home rose gardens, filling the space between flower beds and trees. It consists mainly of cereals. Since cereals germinate slowly, landscaping of this type of lawn can be delayed. Among other things, he needs a frequent haircut, about 2-3 times a week.
2. Ordinary. The best thing given view suitable for summer cottages... He is not picky about grooming. It is recommended to tonsure it once a week. Ideal for children to play and rest in a company.
3. Sports. Good to use for landscaping sports grounds, golf courses, for organizing a tennis court. Such grass is resistant to trampling and can withstand heavy loads.
4. Mauritanian. It is a flowering type of lawn grass. You can cut it only a few times a season. It is not whimsical and does not require an investment of a large amount of time and effort to maintain it. The appearance of such a lawn is very remarkable - among the green grass there are bright spots of flowers of various colors.

Correct planting of the lawn

The first priority before sowing a lawn is to level the area. With the help of pegs, markings are made around the perimeter, pulling the fishing line between them.

Soil preparation

The site planned for planting is cleared of weeds.

15-20 days after such treatment, the land on the site is dug up onto a half bayonet of a shovel, if the soil is soft enough. If stony rocks are present, then the upper part of the soil is removed and a fertile layer of earth is brought into the vacant place. Thus, a stony layer remains below, which acts as a drainage.

After the preparation has been completed, the site should rest for two to three weeks. It is even better if you carry out all the indicated procedures before winter. It is preliminarily recommended to add fertilizers to the prepared substrate. What kind of dressing to use depends on the initial composition of the soil.

Before planting, the entire area planned for sowing a lawn is fertilized with compost. Then the earth is carefully compacted. For this purpose, you can use a garden roller or compact the soil with your feet.

Sowing seeds

At the end of all the preparatory procedures, an easier, but no less important part remains - sowing lawn grass. First, you need to choose the right planting material. To do this, you should take into account the climatic conditions of your region, soil density, and your own gardening experience.

It should be borne in mind that the number of seeds should be taken with a margin. As a rule, some of the seeds are washed off with water, eroded, destroyed by birds and insects.

In this regard, the number of seeds required for sowing a square meter of land, double.

Seeds are recommended to be sown, after mixing them with sawdust to simplify the process. After that, the seeds are mixed with the ground using a rake. With light movements, they make forward and backward movements. Then the planted area is compacted.

Caring for the planted grass on the site

Lawn maintenance includes the following steps.

1. Weeding. After the appearance of the first shoots, weeds are weeded from the sown area. The most efficient way is manual weeding. At the end of the procedure, the soil should be compacted and watered.
2. A haircut. Depending on the type of lawn you choose, you need to mow from 3 times a week to 1 time a month. For this, it is recommended to use a lawn mower to achieve the uniformity and beauty of the lawn.
3. Top dressing. To keep the grass bright and juicy, you need to fertilize regularly. In spring, for the growth and density of the lawn grass, you can use nitrogen fertilizers... In the fall, preference is given to potassium-phosphorus fertilizing, so that the plants are prepared for wintering. All fertilizers are applied to wet soil.
4. Cleaning. To maintain an attractive decorative look lawn, it is periodically cleaned of moss, debris, weeds and yellowed grass. To do this, they pass through the site, raking up unnecessary litter with a rake.
5. Watering. Watering is mandatory in the following cases:

• after landing;
• during the period of active growth;
• after weeding;
• after a haircut.

Also water the lawn grass during a long dry period, heat. Watering should be abundant. To prevent moisture from stagnating on the surface, the ground is pierced with a pitchfork in several places.

Soil preparation Tamping the top layer Seed preparation Planting grass with a special sprayer Watering a fresh lawn Watering the lawn required at least once a week The need to mow the grass as needed

The main mistakes when planting grass with your own hands

Consider the most common mistakes summer residents make when sowing:

1. Wrong backing. If the basis of the soil is made up of light and porous soil based on sand or peat, then the grass will certainly dry out. Such soil does not hold water. Therefore, before planting, add loamy components to the soil. If the problem was not discovered immediately, but in the second or third year after planting, then the earth is covered with loam on top of the grass with a layer of 1-2 cm.
2. Overgrowth. To protect the existing plantings from overgrowing with lawn grass, it is necessary to put curbs and other fences.
3. Moss. Improper or insufficient care can be the cause of this problem. Moss appears when there is insufficient lighting, lack of fertilizers, rare haircut... Also, the reason can be a violation of watering and ideal conditions are created for the moss.
4. Trees and other plantings. If lawn grass is planted around existing shrubs or trees, the latter are buried in the ground. Subsequently, the problem of decay of the root neck arises. To avoid this, when planting seedlings, it is worth considering this factor and planting trees on small elevations.
5. Wrong choice of herbs for planting. In this case, the lawn can die completely or some areas are damaged and unaesthetic bald spots are formed. In the spring, sow other species that suit your climatic conditions.

A smooth green lawn is not a dream at all, but a reality. The main thing is to choose responsibly planting material and thoroughly conduct everything preparatory activities before boarding. This is the key to the future well-being of your lawn. As you can see, growing grass is not difficult and even a lazy gardener can do it.

Before sowing lawn grass with your own hands, you should decide on the size and shape of the lawn, outline a place for it, mark the boundaries and completely clear the area from debris, stumps, stones, plants and turf. Groundwater drainage should be considered before creating a lawn; this is a complex and expensive, but necessary measure. With a high level of groundwater, you can raise the entire site by bringing soil to it, or you can make drainage.
If the area of ​​the future lawn is large, and you decide to arrange an underground irrigation system, then do it before creating the lawn.

If you want to use the sod that grows in your area, mow the grass on it, then cut the sod into ribbons 25-30 cm wide, then cut each tape into pieces 50 cm long and about 5 cm thick.Place these pieces of turf in the shade and regularly water before placing in the desired location. If the sod is not supposed to be used to create a hectare zone, make compost out of it by placing pieces of sod according to the method - grass to grass, earth to ground, then water the resulting pile, and you will get excellent compost.

We remove weeds and all excess from the soil

In a small area, it is quite possible to select the weed rhizomes by hand. You cannot skip this operation, the "undefeated" weeds will surely take revenge and cause you a lot of trouble.
If the area for the lawn is large, you can use chemical methods weed control - treat the entire area where the sowing lawn will be sown or the rolled lawn will be spread with a general herbicide, such as Roundup.

Read the instructions carefully and use individual methods protection! After 4-5 weeks after treatment, the weeds will die off. Remember, if a drop of herbicide accidentally falls on some growing next to the future lawn garden plant, it will die off too. Sometimes (especially if the weather is warm and rainy), re-treatment with herbicide is required.

Burying any foreign objects such as stones, stumps, tree roots, construction waste! Unfortunately, sometimes this rule is neglected and in such places you get spots of a lawn of a different color of greenery, you look unsympathetic. Remove everything unnecessary from the soil under the lawn - there are no exceptions to this rule.

Preparing the soil for the lawn

You need to assess the soil that your lawn will grow on. If you have a loamy, fertile soil with neutral acidity, then this is just what you need! It remains to fertilize it a little and the lawn is ready for sowing. For fertilization, you can use humus or compost, at the rate of 1 bucket per square meter.
Unfortunately, such soil is extremely rare, so you will have to create the soil for the lawn yourself. If you work hard, you can create a good lawn in any soil situation, you just need to carefully prepare the soil, sow good seeds, do everything carefully and on time.
If the soil is clay, before digging it is necessary to add, in addition to the above fertilizers, a bucket of coarse river sand per 1 m2.

Sandy and sandy loam soils are light, it is a pleasure to work them, but nutrients there is little in them, and even they are quickly washed out, work and work with such soils - apply a lot of organic and mineral fertilizers, and also water often. To "weigh down" such soils, you need to add clay and compost to them.

Not the best way and the creation of a lawn on drained peatlands. Peat is not a suitable soil for a lawn, it consists of non-decomposed organic matter... Plants (and lawn grasses, including!) On peat starve. Such soil should be dug up with sand, compost, humus, as well as mineral fertilizers with a predominance of phosphorus and potassium.
Acidic soil must be deoxidized using ground limestone or dolomite flour by adding doses corresponding to the initial acidity.

So to the surface existing soil Pour soil-improving additives in layers - sand or clay, peat, if necessary, deoxidizers, do not forget about mineral and organic fertilizers- and dig thoroughly with a shovel (this is best) or a walk-behind tractor (this is easier and easier) until complete homogeneity, carefully selecting the weeds.

Digging the soil

Digging is the hardest physical job to create a lawn. You need to dig up to the depth of the shovel bayonet! In the process of digging, be sure to select the remaining weeds, roots and stones, and also carefully break up the clods of earth, the clods should not be more than 1 cm (it is convenient to remember - no more than corn grain).

Lumps of soil are broken with feet, a rake or a cultivator. If this work is carried out by hired workers, carefully monitor the process, careful digging is one of the most important operations when creating a lawn.

Leveling the soil (grading)

Next important step- leveling the soil with a rake. The soil should be perfectly level, without depressions and mounds. Lawn soil preparation must be carried out in dry weather.

Leveling the soil

When leveling and subsequent tamping, be sure to make a slope from the house of 3-15 degrees. If you are developing a new site, and it is supposed to lay utility lines, a road and path network, an automatic irrigation system, then this is done after vertical layout, but before the device of the lawn.

Leveling the soil

Soil rolling

It is absolutely necessary to further compact the soil well with a roller or rammer. The rammer is a log, to the bottom of which a sheet of thick plywood is nailed (it will ram it!), And a small stick is nailed to the top, which you will hold with both hands. Lightweight plastic rollers are now being sold and filled with sand or water on site.

The site should be tamped down so that no shoe marks remain on the soil prepared for sowing the lawn. Walk around in running shoes and you will see if the planted area is properly prepared. It is good to wait a month or a month and a half after that, moistening the soil and destroying the emerging weeds, but as a last resort, if it is completely unbearable to wait, water the soil and wait at least a week or two.

How to sow a lawn with your own hands?

So, the soil for the lawn is prepared, the mixture of lawn grasses is selected, purchased required amount... How to calculate this required amount?

The seeding rate for lawn grasses in the literature ranges from 30 to 50 g / m2, it seems to me that the most optimal seeding rate is 50 g / m2. My own experience, as well as the experience of my neighbors and garden friends, confirms this. When calculating the weight of seeds for your lawn, be sure to add in reserve seeds (1 kg / hundred square meters), next spring the lawn will have to be sown somewhere. For example, if you need to sow a hundred square meters of land, then you need to buy 0.05 kg / m2 x 100 m2 + 1 kg = 6 kg of lawn seeds.

Sowing the lawn can be done at any time, starting from spring (when the ground has already dried up) and up to the end of August, the main thing is that the weather is calm and not rainy.

On a base carefully prepared according to all the rules described above, we sow seeds of lawn grasses. A lawn with an area exceeding one hundred square meters can be divided into several equal parts by making borders with thin sticks or shallow grooves.

Then divide the seeds into the same number of equal parts, this technique will help you sow more evenly if you are not yet an experienced lawn seeder. Along the paths, blind areas and borders of flower beds, you need to sow thicker. Use it if you are planting by hand or if you are using a lawn seeder. It is necessary to sow in such a direction as to go from the sown part to the not yet sown part, and not vice versa.

Sowing the lawn

After sowing, it is advisable to either rake the area slightly with a rake (shallow, to a depth of no more than 1 cm!), Or sprinkle it with a thin layer of humus, compost or black peat (0.5 cm). For light soils, you can roll the soil with the sown seeds again, this accelerates the emergence of seedlings and increases the intensity of their growth, on heavy clay soils it is better not to do this. The seeds will germinate better if you cover the freshly seeded lawn with white lutrasil, in addition, the lutrasil will protect the seeds from birds.

Lay the sheets of lutrasil with an overlap, connecting them with metal studs or long nails, inserting them into the ground.
Make sure that the soil remains moist at all times. This is very important, the seeds lie almost on the surface, so the top layer should not dry out. If the weather is dry, then daily watering is required using a watering can or a hose with a sprinkler, a strong stream is completely unacceptable.

Watering the lawn

If there is no watering during this period during a drought, the seeds may sprout and dry out, and the lawn will not work. Good fresh seeds begin to germinate 5-14 days after sowing. When the grown grass begins to lift, remove it. If you delay and do not remove the lutrasil in time, the grass will sprout into it, and you will remove non-woven fabric along with newborn seedlings.

At first, lawn seedlings look unsightly, this is usually very frustrating for the owners, but do not worry if you look after and care for them correctly, it will not take much time and the lawn will become one of your garden treasures. The first 3-4 weeks after the emergence of seedlings, walking on the lawn is strictly not allowed, try not to walk on the lawn of the first year of life at all!

If you need to destroy a suddenly formed weed, walk up to it on the laid wide board. If the weather is dry, daily watering of the young lawn is absolutely necessary! When the grass grows to the width of a palm, it is about 10-12 cm, it should be cut the first time, most often this happens about a month after sowing.

The first mowing is best done at the highest mowing level of your mower, most often 6-7 cm. The lawn mower knife should always be sharp, this is especially important during the first mowing, a blunt knife will simply tear out the grass that is still weakly rooted.

Only use a lawnmower with a collection container. Well, then you should mow weekly, gradually lowering the cutting height, bringing it eventually to the lower level, somewhere around 2-3 cm. A young lawn requires careful manual weeding. At proper preparation the soil for the lawn does not need top dressing in the first year.

Video: how to sow lawn grass with your own hands

So! You have decided to acquire a lawn on your site. A reasonable question arises - when and how to plant lawn grass correctly?
Let's start in order.

The decisive question for choosing a lawn grass mixture is its intended purpose.

Usually the name of the lawn grass that you see on the package speaks for itself. For example:

Sports turf- lawn for places subject to high stress. It can be sports and playgrounds, playgrounds for active games dogs. Such a lawn is resistant to trampling, but grows back quickly, which requires frequent mowing.

Parterre lawn- a lawn with a decorative function, serves as a background for specimen plants and flower beds. It has bright color and beautiful luster. Requires regular watering and an area open to sunlight.

Dwarf lawn- a lawn containing undersized and slowly growing types of grass, which makes it easier to care for and minimizes the need for a mowing. It is more often used as a decorative one, because it is subject to trampling.

Slope lawn- in this lawn, the grasses are selected in such a way as to form a strong root layer (turf), which is able to keep the soil on the slope and prevent erosion.

V middle lane Russian lawn grass seeds can be planted immediately after the snow melts (late April - early May) and until the very end of the confidently warm season (usually October). In a later period, sowing the lawn is not recommended, since the plants will not have time to fully grow stronger before wintering and, as a result, in the spring it will be necessary to overseed, or even resell the lawn again.

The most favorable period for sowing lawn grass is late April - May and September - early October

If fresh fertile soil has been brought in, it is worth waiting 1-2 weeks before sowing. After spilling the soil, wait 3-4 hours, then sow the lawn.

If the sowing of lawn grass is carried out in summer period, it is worth waiting for rainy, cloudy days.

Don't overdo it with watering. Before germination - watering every day, then no more than 1 time per week.

First mowing of the lawn at a grass height of 15 cm.

Before planting a lawn, you need to create a drainage system, if provided, a power supply system, an underground irrigation system.
In order for the lawn to look perfect, it is necessary to level the soil. The slope can be 1-3% to facilitate surface water runoff. Large area the lawn can be given a larger slope, but not more than 30%.

Weed removal

Removing weeds will ensure friendly shoots, an appearance of the lawn and facilitate further care behind him.

Weed control methods:

Freezing is death underground parts weeds in the winter, for this in the fall it is necessary to carry out a deep digging of the soil.

Strangulation- a long-term method based on multiple pruning of weeds at a shallow depth (harrowing for 2-3 years), the effect is achieved by depleting the rhizome.

Provocation- a couple of weeks before sowing, it is necessary to prepare the soil, and when a lot of weed sprouts appear, surface loosening is carried out, thereby destroying them.

Mulching- covering the soil, depriving weeds of light. For this purpose, matured compost is well suited, and shredded bark under trees and shrubs.

New soil- the most effective, but time consuming and more expensive method. Removing old soil and laying out new soil with drainage system- the soil is removed to a depth of 30 cm and layers are laid out: crushed stone, sand and black soil, and a roll lawn is laid on top or seeds of a lawn grass mixture are sown.

Herbicides- The treatment of weeds should be carried out during the period of their active growth, but at the same time they should not be mechanically damaged. Within 5-10 days, the herbicide spreads over the entire area of ​​the plant and after 20-30 days the plant dies entirely. Approximately 15 days after the action of the drug, the land can be cultivated. It is better to use herbicides in the fall if sowing of lawn grass is planned in the spring.

Areas where weeds have already been removed would be good to protect from not yet cultivated.

The surface of the soil for the lawn must be leveled - there should be no bumps or holes. Subsequently, water will accumulate in the pits, which will lead to soaking of the grass, and the bumps will make it difficult for the mower to work.

The thickness of the fertile layer for the correct development of the lawn grass must be at least 10 - 15 cm.
The soil should be improved depending on its characteristics.

The soil mixture and all its components should be mixed well and carefully embedded in the soil, loosened to a depth of about 40 cm, so that the lower layers do not subsequently move upwards. When carrying out these works, it is necessary to remove from the ground all parts of the plants that were previously treated with chemicals, especially carefully remove their roots.

In order to make it convenient to care for the edges of the lawn, it is better to fix them. To decorate the borders, they usually use such materials as: gravel, crushed stone, you can also use a stone border or lay tiles - this will look advantageous in decorative terms and will provide you with access to mowing the edges of the lawn, which will greatly facilitate mowing.

• Level the soil with a fan rake. There should be no bumps or depressions left.
• The seeding rate for lawn grass is usually indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging. Sowing is done by hand or with a special manual seeder, the area should be passed several times: in different directions (left to right, right to left and diagonally). This is done for uniform distribution seeds over the entire area.
  For convenience, the seeds can be mixed with sand before sowing. Then the seeds will not stick together, it will be convenient and even to sow.
• Then you should roll the seeds with a special roller or close them up with a rake.
• Be sure to shed the soil well with a fine spray nozzle.

How to care for your lawn grass

During the period of growth of a young lawn, he needs to provide:

• sufficient watering
• removal of weeds that will attack an immature lawn
• mowing the lawn to a height of 5-10 cm

A mature lawn is considered a lawn 2-3 seasons after sowing.