How to sow a lawn in the country with your own hands. How to sow lawn grass yourself in spring? Meadow and Moorish lawn look

Nowadays, the lawn has become popular not only in city parks and squares. More and more summer residents give preference to him, taking away a place from traditional beds and bringing to life comfort zones recreation. The lawn is an essential element landscape design, linking together flower beds, compositions from bushes and krupnomerov. Due to the property of lawn grasses to evaporate a large amount of moisture, even on hot days, a comfortable microclimate is maintained on the green lawn. In the article, we will consider not only how to plant a lawn with our own hands in the country, but also how to properly care for it throughout the year.

The choice of grass for the lawn

There is a wide variety of lawn grasses, each designed to certain conditions operation. To achieve the desired result, it is not enough just to read the name of the herbal mixture on the package, you must carefully study its composition, having a clear idea of the properties of each herb in its composition.

According to functionality, it is customary to divide lawns into three types:

decorative;
sports;
specialized.

Grass for sports turf

As the name implies, such lawns are planted on sports and playgrounds.

They differ:

resistance to mechanical damage;
resistance to trampling;
fast recovery.

It is for this reason that most summer residents choose these grass mixtures for their plots. But it should be borne in mind that ryegrass is always present in their composition, which dies during cold winters. Therefore, in the northern regions, it is advisable to abandon it or be ready to re-sow every spring.

As a rule, the following set is present in a sports grass mixture:

perennial ryegrass. It germinates most quickly, has a bright green color, which persists throughout the season;
meadow bluegrass. It withstands both heat and cold very well. Forms a dense cover that perfectly resists trampling;
red fescue. This is the least demanding cereal with good frost resistance;
meadow fescue. In most cases, it is the least in the composition of the mixture, since it does not resist trampling well, but at the same time it responds well to mowing.

The sports turf should be planted as thickly as possible, at least 50 grams per 1 m2 is recommended. In areas with increased load, this rate doubles and is already at least 100 grams per m2.

The best time to plant it is early autumn.

Grass for a specialized lawn

These grass mixtures are used for landscaping roadsides, industrial facilities, etc. Their direct purpose is to absorb dust and purify the air. Therefore, you should choose the least demanding herbs that are able to filter polluted air and be resistant to burning.

They include:

awnless rump. This is an undemanding cereal that easily tolerates drought and frost;
shoot-forming bent grass. It is optimal for those areas that cannot be mowed often, as it slowly recovers after mowing. It does not tolerate drought, but is extremely hardy.

Grass for decorative lawn

Decorative lawn, in turn, is divided into three types:

meadow. As the name suggests, it mimics a natural grassland landscape with a large combination of herbs, wildflowers and some weeds;
ordinary. Consists of several herbal mixtures. In the softness of the turf, it is inferior to the parterre lawn, but surpasses the sports one. A lawn from an ordinary grass mixture is able to withstand light loads, but will require regular self-care;

parterre. These are elite lawns that are extremely demanding for care. They are meant only to be admired. Parterre lawns are unstable even to minimal loads, as they consist of one type of grass, which has only decorative features. Therefore, it is often placed in front of the main facade of the house as a rich green background for flower, tree or shrub arrangements.

separate from all moorish lawn. It is characterized by the widest composition of herbs: clover, cereals, wild flowers and many other herbs. It is sown only once in the middle of spring (depending on the weather conditions of the region), and then it propagates independently - by self-sowing. Such a do-it-yourself lawn does not require regular mowing.

In addition to the classic mixtures of cereal grasses, there are lawns of chamomile, clover, thyme or yarrow.

Recommended composition of grass for certain areas:

for a shaded area, the composition of herbs is suitable: meadow fescue 60%, white bent grass 20%, meadow bluegrass 20%. Or red fescue 50%, perennial ryegrass 25%, bluegrass meadow 25%;
for a plot in the open sun, you should choose a herbal mixture of bentgrass shoots 60% and comb 30%;
for full shade, shoot-forming bent grass is intended;
a mixture of: meadow bluegrass 60% and red fescue 40% is planted along the fence.

It is also worth mentioning the rolled lawns. There is a misconception that this is an option for the lazy. In fact, it requires exactly the same serious soil preparation as a regular seed lawn. The only difference is that with rolled lawn immediately a ready-made thick turf is obtained.

When buying domestic grass mixtures, one must be prepared for the fact that fodder cereals will certainly be added to their composition. Also, the presence of a certain amount of weeds is not ruled out.

Lawn location plan on the site and soil preparation for it

Before you plant a lawn, you need to carry out a number of preparatory work.

First of all, even before preparing the land, a plan is drawn for the location of the lawn on the site. It is also important to take into account the location of flower beds, trees, small architectural forms, etc. on it. This is necessary so that in the future there are no problems with mowing the lawn.

Stages of soil preparation for the lawn:

cleaning the area under the lawn from debris, which includes branches, stones and various household waste. This must be done with high quality, without dropping anything into the ground;
remove all unnecessary trees and shrubs;
clear of weeds. There are several ways to do this:

the first is regular weeding by hand. To do this, in the spring, the earth is watered abundantly in order to accelerate the growth of the weed, after which they are weeded and the earth is carefully shed again. This will need to be done several times;
in the second case, any aggressive green manure, for example, rye, is planted in the fall. In the spring, she will come out first, and will “strangle” most of the weeds. It must be dug up at the stage of young shoots and embedded in the ground. It will not only help to cope with most of the weeds, but also additionally loosen and enrich the land;
the third way is to remove weeds with herbicides. The most popular of these is roundup. But it negatively affects any vegetation, so today chemicals have appeared that only remove weeds without harming lawn grass;

prepared land is dug up. If necessary, new fertile soil is brought in, for the development of good sod, a layer of 10 cm thick is enough. At the same stage, mineral complex fertilizers are introduced;

Now it's time for alignment. With the help of a rake, all lumps and cavities are broken and leveled;
the ground leveled under the lawn is tightly compacted with a roller. If a large area is cultivated, then it is most rational to rent a special ice rink from any landscape gardening company. When arranging a small area, you can do on your own, for example, using a barrel of water or making a skating rink out of a log;

before sowing seeds, the surface of the earth must again be slightly loosened with a rake and covered with a film for a couple of months. Due to this, some of the remaining weeds will pereperet and die.

How to sow a lawn with your own hands

It is best to sow grass mixtures at the end of spring in calm and dry weather, which will ensure an even distribution of seeds over the soil surface.

Today, for uniform sowing of lawn grasses, special devices are sold - seeders.

Their absence does not matter, all the work can be done manually.

Stages of work:

for the convenience of work, the lawn is visually divided into longitudinal strips. At first, the grasses are sown moving along them, without missing even a small area. And then they go across. In this way, a uniform and dense distribution of seeds is obtained;

now the seeds must be protected from birds and possible erosion by rain. To do this, they are slightly buried with a rake into the ground. Here it is very important to do all the work carefully so as not to disturb the sowing density;

to speed up the germination of the lawn, it is not enough, just to rely on weather conditions. Be sure to water it immediately. First, it must be shed at least 5 cm, but at the same time make sure that puddles do not form. In the future, it will also be necessary to ensure regular watering, the frequency of which depends on the season.

Mistakes when creating a lawn and caring for it

Wrong choice of grass mixture

Before buying, you need to have a clear idea of the conditions in which the lawn will be used. As well as the features of the herbs in its composition.
You should not choose a lawn designed for open sun and plant it in the shade.
Not all grasses that grow in ready-made lawns can winter even in central Russia. It is important to consider that in the spring they will no longer ascend.

Wrong timing for sowing

Sowing in autumn before winter is possible only in the southern regions of Russia. Otherwise, the lawn seeds will freeze out, not having time to gain strength before winter. Or early spring frosts will kill young shoots.
Spring is also not the best good time. Since, together with a young lawn in in large numbers weeds will start to grow.

Tip: The best time to sow lawn grass seeds is late summer.

Mistakes in care that lead to the formation of moss

Due to the fact that it disrupts air circulation, the lawn begins to turn yellow and die in this place.

Reasons for the appearance of moss:

very short regular lawn mowing;
swampiness of the site;
acidic soil;
high soil density;
round-the-clock shading;
insufficient amount of nutrients.

But all these troubles can be corrected by determining by the type of moss what the lawn lacks:

undersized or creeping moss - a disadvantage sunlight and high humidity soil;
tall moss indicates too acidic soil;
dense, small size and low islands of moss - a sign of too short a haircut.

To prevent this, the lawn needs constant maintenance, consisting of combing, fertilizing and piercing to improve aeration.

Untimely application of nitrogen fertilizers

Nitrogen helps to stimulate the growth of the above-ground, green part of the lawn, it is useful as a spring top dressing. But it will be a mistake to apply it in the fall, thereby reducing the winter hardiness of the turf.

Tip: at the end of autumn, it is necessary to apply a complex of fertilizers from phosphorus and potassium, which help strengthen the roots.

Improper lawn mowing

Too short - will weaken the lawn, making it more vulnerable to diseases and weeds;
it is not recommended to cut more than one third of the plant height for simultaneous mowing. In a severely neglected case, the haircut is performed in several stages at intervals of a couple of days. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the lawn to recover;
do not mow the lawn after rain, as it is more susceptible to damage when it is wet.

Wrong actions when preparing the lawn for winter

There is an opinion that the cut grass and foliage left on the lawn for the winter will protect its roots from frost. But it will hurt him more than help. Dense turf does not need this kind of protection, but fungi can develop on the left greenery, which will cause plant diseases. In addition, such a covering layer prevents the penetration of air into the soil.

Tip: before winter, the lawn should not only be fertilized, but also trimmed and combed out.

Lawn care in winter

Until enough snow falls (and this is at least 15 cm), you can’t walk on the lawn.
When an infusion or ice forms, they need to be loosened, as they block the access of air.
You can not equip the ice rink on the lawn, because in the spring, due to the slower melting of ice, it will lead to a number of problems.

Creating a real lawn with your own hands is a painstaking and labor-intensive business. It will require constant attention to itself, especially on difficult soils. Of course, you can make the task a little easier by buying special equipment for caring for it and installing a watering system, but all this will require serious financial investments. Therefore, summer residents often confine themselves to regular mowing of the lawn consisting of their weeds.

11/26/2018 196 Views

Natural lawns have their own care specifics, but they allow more decor techniques than rolled ones.

This weed grows well on its own, and in order to grow a quality lawn with your own hands, you will have to work hard and take into account many factors: what seeds to choose, when to sow lawn grass how to prepare the soil for sowing, how to sow and how to care. We will figure out how to get a green cover with our own hands in the country, avoiding annoying mistakes in the form of “bald patches” and “bald spots”.

Sowing the lawn: choose the time
Lawn care
Do-it-yourself lawn: video, photo

One of the most popular varieties lawn grass - red fescue

Sowing the lawn: choose the time

There is no clear and unambiguous rule when it is best to sow lawn grass in time. Sowing a lawn in the country can be carried out from the beginning of spring, when the soil has warmed up enough, and until the autumn frosts. Each landing time has its own advantages:

spring is a very auspicious time, because quick and friendly shoots are best obtained when there is no heat and the soil is moist. But along with the lawn, overwintered weeds will sprout abundantly.
planting a lawn in the fall can be done in two ways. The first, in early September, so that in the time remaining before frost, the plants sprout, take root well and have enough time to process them before winter. Sowing time is determined based on the fact that it will take 4-6 weeks to complete all the work. The second way is planting before winter, the introduction of seeds into the already frozen ground, but even before the formation of a stable snow cover. During the winter, the sown seeds will go through the process of stratification, become more resistant to diseases and, with the onset of heat, in sufficiently moist soil, will hatch together

The autumn set of lawn care activities is very important, and mistakes in it are fraught with unfortunate consequences. For example, fertilizers should not be applied later than the beginning or middle of October, so that the grass does not begin to sprout just before the cold weather.

during summer planting, the soil is well warmed up, weeds appear much less often, until the time when frosts begin, the lawn will take root well. The disadvantage of such a planting is that at a temperature of more than + 25 °, almost all seeds lose their germination. So before landing, carefully study the forecast - it is better not to pick up a warm rainy week.

When mowing the lawn, the "rule of 1/3" should be observed: cut only a third of the height of the grass. Too radical a haircut is dangerous for the root system of the grass

Decorative lawn mowing technique: moving concentrically with the lawn mower. Ideally even circles or spirals can be achieved by attaching to a central reliable support with a cable)

How to plant a lawn: step by step instructions

Growing a beautiful lawn in the country with your own hands is not easy, you must strictly adhere to a certain sequence.

Site preparation

A carefully prepared and leveled area, before sowing lawn grass, will save you from many problems when further care behind the lawn. Work begins with the marking of the future lawn, based on the general plan of the site and the style of landscape design in the country. After that, they go directly to land work:

treatment of the site with a herbicide - the May young vegetation is most susceptible to the effects of herbicides. Some areas that are abundantly overgrown with weeds, whose seeds have increased germination, will have to be treated several times, the interval between spraying is two weeks
cleaning the site - after the herbicide-treated vegetation withers and dries, the site must be cleaned of debris, old stumps, shrub roots, dried grass

"Wild" view of the lawn in a beach style. Tall grass like red fescue is suitable for creating such a lawn.

Advice! If the soil is poor and the introduction (delivery) of a large volume of fertile soil is required, the problem of weeds can be radically solved. Having made a recess of the order of 20-30 cm, the entire area is covered with geotextile - it will block the growth of weeds, whose seeds will remain in the ground.

Geotextiles will radically protect against weeds and make the prepared surface perfectly flat.

Tiered turf on an artificial embankment

Soil preparation and fertilization

Carrying out this step carefully favorable conditions not only for friendly and fast germination and germination of seeds, but also for the further development of the lawn. The optimal soil for a lawn is loose, fertile, well-drained, yet able to retain enough moisture, have an adequate supply of mineral elements that will ensure rapid growth and sustainable development plants:

slaked lime or chalk is added to acidic soil
for loosening clay areas, with heavy and dense soil, it is better to use humus or biohumus

Clay shores of natural reservoirs are loosened and flavored with vermicompost before sowing grass

if the land is fertile, then there is no need to dig it deep - it will be enough just to dig up upper layer to clear it of weeds. This will give less draft and will allow you to better level the site.

Lawn design can be created by combining grass varieties different colors, as well as during mowing with a lawn mower

the application of mineral fertilizers depends on the recommendations indicated on the seed packaging - it is individual for each seed set. At the same time, the composition of fertilizers also depends on the time of sowing. Bring in more in the spring nitrogen fertilizers, which cause abundant grass growth, in autumn - more potassium and phosphorus, which will make wintering for seeds better
additives and soil are evenly distributed over the entire area of the site, the soil is additionally loosened and moistened

Advice! An indicator of a well-prepared soil is that it is crumbly and does not stick to the tools.

after leveling, the area is compacted with a special heavy (up to 100 kg) roller, while the irregularities (pits, tubercles) that appear are leveled

The roller for leveling the surface of the site can be manual (up to 100 kg) and for a lawn mower. It is needed quite rarely, so you can not only buy it, but also rent it

after the preparation is completed, it is necessary to give the site a few weeks to “rest”. On the one hand, the earth will shrink and compact, on the other hand, the remaining weeds will sprout, which will need to be removed.

When planting grass in the summer, you will have time to collect the weeds that have sprouted after digging

Sowing lawn grass

A small area can be sown with your own hands, the use of a seeder will allow you to sow a large area more evenly, while saving planting material. And a few more recommendations:

it is advisable to sow on a calm day, especially if you sow with your own hands
when manually sowing, the lawn mixture is mixed with the same volume of sand - this will ensure a more even distribution,

Grass seeds mixed with fertilizer. For a more even manual sowing process, mix the seeds with the sand

to achieve uniform distribution, the seeds are sown in two directions - first along and then across the plot
before planting the lawn, if the soil is dry, it is watered by putting a nozzle on the hose for fine spraying of water, giving time for the water to soak well
after sowing, the soil is loosened using a French rake and rolled. To prevent the seeds from being blown away by the wind, you can additionally pour 1 cm of peat on top and repeat rolling
after completion of work, the area is again watered a little using a fine sprayer.

The procedure necessary for the lawn is aeration. Getting more air, water and fertilizer, root system grass grows stronger

On the left, a lawn from a ready-made mixture of seeds grown without fertilizers, on the right - with special organic and mineral fertilizers for natural lawns

Seeding rate

Very important point, especially for those who sow the lawn with their own hands, because it depends on how much seeds you need to buy. On each package of seeds, the recommended consumption per 1 m2 must be indicated, but the following should be taken into account:

when using a seeder, the average consumption is 25-30 g per square meter
with manual sowing, the "norm" is about 50 g / m
follow the instructions on the packaging autumn planting or before winter
in spring and summer, the sowing density is increased by at least half. In spring, many seeds can simply be washed away with water, in summer they lose their germination due to high temperatures.

Hand-sowing on sloping lawn areas is best, making sure the weather is more or less dry in the coming weeks. Downpours might just wash away the seeds

sowing density depends on the location and features of the relief. Twice as many seeds are sown along the curb and paths. Plant more densely on irregularities and slopes, especially at high points where the seeds can be carried away by the flow of water

Chess design from stone slabs and natural grass on the site

Advice! When buying a lawn mixture, you should always take it with a margin - if suddenly forwinteror bald spots form from the heat, you will have to sow, but it’s not always possible to buy a similar mixture. If you use a different mixture, the lawn can drastically differ in color.

For very uneven surfaces, choose thick undersized varieties grass that does not require frequent cutting

Lawn care

It is important not only how to properly plant a lawn, but also how to properly start caring for it:

first of all - regular watering, be sure - through a fine spray, a large stream of water can wash weak roots. Water should penetrate 5-7 cm deep, i.e. in an area where active root growth occurs

Frequent watering is the key to a healthy, lush lawn.

when the grass reaches a height of 6-10 cm (depending on the type of lawn), the first haircut is carried out

The cut grass from the lawn mower's grass collector can be used to immediately mulch the lawn. This good protection against weeds and some fertilizing effect

Advice! It is better to use a light lawn mower for the first mowing - too heavy can damage the soil that is not yet strong.

the more often the haircut is, the more intensively a strong root system will form.

Well-rooted and strengthened grass should not be lazy to cut it often. This will give her a good root system.

Aeration of a small lawn is possible not only with the help of bulky machines, but also independently with the help of such ultra-budget devices - overlays for shoes with long spikes

Aeration with a verticutter

Do not be upset if the lawn planted with your own hands in the first year does not please you with emerald solidity. The British (and they know a lot about lawns) claim that a full-fledged lawn "ripens" only for 5 years. But at proper care, timely feeding and watering, it will be possible to enjoy the lawn grown by one's own hands by the age of 3.

Mauritanian seed mixes are a way to create a summer-blooming lawn. From characteristic features: very high vegetation; unsuitable for walking

Depending on the characteristics of the site, you can even combine realistic artificial and natural grass

How to sow a lawn – see the video for details:

juicy green grass in front of the house looks very aesthetically pleasing and brings a lot of benefits. Plants perfectly absorb dust, purifying the air in the country, increase humidity and make household plot beautiful and well-groomed. Before planting a lawn with your own hands, you need to think carefully about what it will be used for and purchase the necessary seeds in the store.

What are lawns

The lawn is a kind of compacted area, sown with dense or creeping grasses. It can be placed in different parts of the garden.

For an area where children often play, or for a football field, it is better to purchase a special sports mixture of grasses, which is denser than others and is not afraid of trampling.
English lawn planted for decoration landscape compositions, fountains and statues in parks. You can’t run with the ball there, the tender grass will immediately lose its chic look. It needs to be regularly looked after, often watered and cut.
Moorish lawn is usually laid out in front of the house. It consists of a mixture of meadow herbs. It can be cornflowers, chamomile, red poppies, echinacea and many others. It all depends on the imagination and preferences of the owner. Seeds can be collected with your own hands or purchased assorted purchased. You should not run on such a lawn. The grass instantly crumples and is difficult to recover.
The easiest way to plant a park and garden lawn. Unpretentious herbs that do not need specific care are suitable for him. Such a lawn decorates the ground in front of the pool and various recreational areas.

When you decide which lawn you want to see in the country, and purchase planting material, you can begin to prepare the soil.

How to prepare the soil

In order for the lawn to be thick and beautiful, it is important to properly prepare the soil. This is the most difficult moment requiring some effort and time.

First of all, inspect the bed and try to level it. Fill in possible holes and make sure there are no more terrain drops.
Carefully dig the earth onto the bayonet of a shovel, scrupulously breaking up the lumps. Such care will improve the air permeability of the soil.
Check thickness carefully. fertile soil. It should be at least 15 cm. When there is not enough land, be sure to add it to the desired size.
If there are small pebbles, branches and other debris on the site, get rid of them.
Do not forget to remove the weeds, and when digging, try to pull out with your own hands from the ground all the roots that you notice.

When the soil is dug up, you need to properly apply mineral fertilizers. Don't neglect this step. For rapid growth, grass needs nutrients. You can use the following components:

ammonium nitrate at the rate of 40 g per m 2.
potassium sulfate - 30 g per m 2.
double superphosphate - 40 g per m 2.
magnesium and boron - 2 g per m 2.

Spread the first three ingredients evenly on top of the soil, and dilute magnesium and boron in a liquid and soak the bed with it.

It often happens that there is no time to use individual components. Then get mineral complex in the shop. The preparations developed by the Russian Lawns have proven themselves well.

alignment

In order for a do-it-yourself lawn in the country to please the eye for a long time, the soil must be properly leveled and compacted before sowing the grass. This care can be done with a massive rake with frequent teeth. After processing the soil, they put on it wide board and start walking on it. The earth should be well compacted and not sag underfoot.

Instead of a board, it is better to use a garden roller. Walk them around the site, making some effort. The earth will quickly settle and become dense.

So that weeds do not interfere with the lawn to develop normally, after leveling the soil, you will need to properly water the lawn. In a few days, young shoots of weed grass will hatch from the ground. Carefully remove them along with the roots. Such care will permanently relieve excess vegetation. After that, do not forget to weed the bed and finally level it.

What grass to plant

Planting a lawn in the country with your own hands will be more successful if you use a mixture of herbs. She settles in better.

In our climatic conditions, they often plant:

red or sheep fescue;
thin or shoot-bearing bent grass;
pasture ryegrass;
meadow bluegrass.

These plants are hardy, unpretentious. They only need to be watered regularly and provided with minimal maintenance.

Seeding technology

It is better to plant a lawn in the spring, in mid-May, when the ground on the site has already warmed up enough and a lot of moisture has been preserved in it. Sometimes the lawn is sown in August. It is too good time. The main thing is to guess so that there are still about 2 months left before the onset of cold weather. During this time, the roots of plants will form their system and get stronger.

It is necessary to choose a sunny day for work, when there is no wind.

Small seeds are difficult to plant evenly, so for convenience they are mixed with sand in a 1: 1 ratio.
Divide the prepared planting material into two identical parts.
They walk with a rake on the future lawn.
One part of the seeds is sown along the beds, and the other - across.
Places along the edge of the lawn are covered with seeds thicker than the rest of the plot.

At the end, you need to carefully sprinkle the bed with a layer of peat. Such care is necessary to preserve moisture and protect tender seeds from ultraviolet radiation.

Lawn grass growing technology requires frequent watering of the lawn during seed germination. Do this with soft sprinklers. The best time to moisturize is evening or early morning. Make sure that moisture saturates the soil 10 cm deep. Only in this way the plants will quickly sprout. It is necessary to prevent leaching of seeds from the soil, the formation of puddles and stagnant water in the area.

The earth should never dry out. Swollen seeds in dried soil instantly die. If the lawn is regularly watered, the grass will begin to peck out of the ground in 2 weeks.

How to take care of your lawn

If you planted a lawn with your own hands in the spring, in the summer you will already have a beautiful green lawn that needs to be properly looked after. In the first year, it must be especially protected. Try to walk less on the lawn, do not allow cats or dogs to rummage in the grass.

The main care that a lawn needs in summer is mowing. With its help, weeds are easily destroyed, the elegant appearance of the lawn is preserved, and the density and density of the seeded material is enhanced.

The first time the haircut is done when the plants reach a length of 10 cm. Then 2 cm of the tips of the leaves are cut off.
Then the haircut is carried out weekly with a lawn mower. Leave the greenery 3-4 cm from the ground. When it becomes longer, it often slopes down, and the lawn in the country house looks unpresentable.
Remove cut grass immediately. If you leave it, bald patches quickly form under it, and the grass cover is difficult to restore.

For crops to grow well, they need to be watered as soon as the topsoil dries. Dryness leads to the fact that the grass instantly turns yellow and begins to wither.

In the summer, lawn grasses often suffer from a lack of potassium. To replenish it. Experienced gardeners they use a good anti-stress dressing Kali Gazon in the country. It was developed by German scientists and works great on plants. They have increased immunity to diseases, resistance to pests, increased drought resistance. It must be used correctly. Apply Kali Gazon 2-3 times during the summer, spending 30 g of the product for every m 2.

In early September, lawn care involves another top dressing with superphosphate and potassium sulfate. A week after it, it is desirable to treat the site with Agrokiller, a modern herbicide. It will help to finally destroy the weeds, the fight against which is very tiring.

At the end of September, the cultivation technology requires cutting the lawn, weeding the weeds or pulling out single specimens with your own hands, raking the fallen leaves and sowing the seeds in the bald areas of the lawn.

At the cottage you can not do without a lawn. It fits perfectly into landscape design and creates a single finished picture. To maintain the attractiveness of the lawn, you need a little - regularly care for it, water it often, treat it carefully and with love.

Like many fans of tinkering in the ground, I have a dacha. Everything seems to be fine: a house, greenhouses, beds, flowers, fruit plantations ... But still something is missing. For a while, I wondered what it was.

And once again, planning planting, I finally realized - I want a lawn! Neat, well-groomed, emerald. No sooner said than done, and now I'm already studying literature, studying the ways of fulfilling my own dream.

Several years have passed since then, and my site already boasts a neat lawn, and I already have the knowledge and experience in growing lawn grass and caring for it.

Oddly enough, they begin to create a lawn with the choice of grass mixture. It is selected depending on the type of lawn, when buying, carefully read the information on the package. Manufacturers of the mixture always indicate the type of lawn for which this grass is intended, the requirements for the soil and the site.

Most of these mixtures are brought to us from countries Western Europe and, unfortunately, not all plants grow safely in our climate, so pay attention to its composition.

Yes, for middle lane a mixture of fescue and bluegrass is excellent. By planting it, you will get an even dense emerald carpet on your lawn, which lends itself well to a short haircut.

Resist the temptation to buy grass mixture with more than 50% ryegrass, this plant looks very attractive - the lawn from it is dense and lush, but has significant drawbacks.

Firstly, it is not so cold-resistant plant for the climate of the middle zone, it often freezes out. And secondly, after 3-5 years, your recently beautiful emerald carpet completely falls out.

So we have decided on appearance lawn, chose high-quality planting material, now we proceed to an equally important event - competent preparation of the site.

How to properly prepare the site

The area intended for the lawn must be clear of any debris. Be sure to remove all stumps and rhizomes of shrubs and trees, their remains are the root cause of the appearance of completely unnecessary grebes on the grass carpet.

Remove all sod from the site. The easiest way is to use a special machine for this, in the absence of one, you can use an ordinary shovel.

Some types of plants (dandelion and creeping clover) constantly give new shoots when manually removed, this is due to the fact that their long rhizomes cannot be completely pulled out of the ground and the remaining pieces give growth.

You can make your task easier by pre-treating the area overgrown with weeds with a herbicide, dead plants are much easier to remove.

Leveling the surface

The lawn requires a perfectly level ground. At least as smooth as it will turn out in your particular case. Some craftsmen use for this purpose building level. Planning should begin on a clear day, as the soil should be loose and completely dry.

If your site is located on a slope, then in a sense it even works to your advantage: it is this natural feature of the site that will provide the necessary rainwater runoff. But do not forget that the slope must be perfectly aligned.

There are two ways to cope with lowlands and pits in the selected area:

By moving soil into them from bumps or hills, or by filling them with fertile soil from other places in your garden;
Filling the lowlands with a purchased peat-based substrate - this method is relevant in fresh, not yet processed areas.

Mix dense clay soil well with sand, so it will be more permeable to moisture and oxygen.

The soil of a neutral reaction is considered ideal for a lawn, fertile with a high content of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus in it, but it is recommended to keep the content of copper and zinc in it under control.

Drainage: is it necessary?

If you are lucky enough to acquire a plot in good location, not flooded by spring floods and summer-autumn rains, then it is quite enough for you to dig it up well, add lime and increase fertility. In all other cases, you will have to think about creating reliable drainage.

This event is carried out simultaneously with the leveling of the area.
Drainage should consist of a couple of layers. Next come those layers fertile soil that you captured during the alignment process. As a result, your lawn area will be located on a three-layer basis:

10-15 cm large cobblestones or broken bricks;
10-15 cm fine gravel or sand;
15-20 cm of nutrient soil.

Each of them is well compacted as it is laid.

Soil treatment

A small area is easier and more efficient to process manually using a shovel or fork. Impressive areas will require the intervention of serious equipment in the form of a motor cultivator. The depth of digging cannot but depend on the thickness of the fertile soil layer, on average it should be 20-25 cm.

Equipping a lawn on poor, depleted soil is an absolutely useless exercise, so the digging procedure is combined with the introduction organic fertilizer and sand.

A mandatory procedure is to get rid of earthen clods, the soil under the lawn must be absolutely smooth and even, the presence of stones is not acceptable. Use a rake or pitchfork to break up any clods and remove any roots, weeds, rocks or debris.

If you like to do everything in advance and prepare a lawn area in the fall, then the earthen clods formed after digging can be left alone until sowing. Such a maneuver will contribute to better drainage of your site and will only benefit you.

Soil tamping

The next step in preparing the site for the lawn is tamping. It is necessary to get rid of voids in the thickness of the soil, because it is they who subsequently serve as the cause of the appearance of irregularities on an already grown lawn. It must be carried out in dry weather.

Before proceeding with the procedure, drive in pegs around the perimeter of the future lawn and stretch the rope along them. All lines should be perfectly straight, the ordinary level of builders will help you with this.

The rammer itself is carried out with a garden roller or with feet. A rounded, fairly heavy and completely even object over the entire surface is also suitable. For example, a log or pipe made of metal or concrete, the radius of which is at least 20 cm.
If you compact the soil with your feet, then the footprints are then removed with a rake.

Check regularly with different angles driven wedges, they must remain even. If somewhere the corner has moved, voids or elevations have appeared, then do not be lazy and correct the situation.

Steaming - is it worth the time

Quite often, this stage is not considered necessary, skipping it. Undoubtedly, it takes some time and requires some effort, but if you plan to sow your lawn with seeds, fallowing is indispensable. The meaning of this activity is the destruction of weed seeds, rhizomes and grasses.

The whole process takes about a month and a half. During this period, you regularly remove breaking weeds, completes all herbicide treatment.

V Lately fallowing is increasingly being replaced by sowing the site with green manure (lupine, sweet clover, vetch, etc.).

They are planted a month and a half before creating a lawn, before sowing grass mixtures or laying turf, the grown green mass is simply plowed into the soil. This contributes to the improvement of the earth and its structure, enriches it with nitrogen and other elements that are easy to assimilate.

Sowing preparation

Professionals advise leaving the prepared area for soil shrinkage for three months before planting the lawn. This is a classic in creating lawns around the world, but in our country the growing season is too short, so only residents of the south of Russia can try it in action.

Approximately a week before sowing the grass mixture, mineral fertilizers are scattered on the surface of the soil at the rate of 40-60 grams per square meter. Then they are carefully closed with a rake to a depth of 5 cm, while carefully loosening the ground.

Try to plant on a clear day when the surface of the soil is dry and there is enough moisture in the depths.

If you are planting in the fall, then this should be between mid-August and mid-September.
Spring planting is carried out from late April to early June.
Summer planting is complicated by the need for regular watering, which is not at all easy to implement, because young growth often dries up and is washed out.

Planting and watering

Use a fan rake to make small grooves.
Mix the seeds well.
Do not forget that when landing, you will have to go beyond the area by 8 cm on each side, which means that planting material more will be needed.
If the package does not indicate the method of planting, then plant about 30-60 grams of seeds per square meter. A more rare planting will lead to the fact that weeds will break through the lawn and completely non-decorative bald spots will be visible.
It is much easier to sow if you divide all the prepared seeds into 4 parts and use each of them on the fourth part of the plot. From above, the seeds are closed with the same fan rake. Planting sites must not be entered.
After 1-3 weeks shoots will appear. Depending on the amount of rainfall, the lawn is watered every few days. Do this very carefully with a watering can with a small sprinkler. Strong pressure can cause the seeds to be washed to the surface of the soil and nullify all your work.
When the young growth reaches a height of 8-10 cm, it can be cut for the first time.

With your own hands, you will have to work hard and take into account many factors: what seeds to choose, when to sow lawn grass, how to prepare the soil for sowing, how to sow and how to care. We will figure out how to get a green cover with our own hands in the country, avoiding annoying mistakes in the form of “bald patches” and “bald spots”.

Sowing the lawn: choose the time

spring is a very auspicious time, because quick and friendly shoots are best obtained when there is no heat and the soil is moist. But along with the lawn, overwintered weeds will sprout abundantly.

planting a lawn in the fall can be done in two ways. The first, in early September, so that in the time remaining before frost, the plants sprout, take root well and have enough time to process them before winter. Sowing time is determined based on the fact that it will take 4-6 weeks to complete all the work.
The second way is planting before winter, the introduction of seeds into the already frozen ground, but even before the formation of a stable snow cover. During the winter, the sown seeds will go through the process of stratification, become more resistant to diseases and, with the onset of heat, in sufficiently moist soil, will hatch together

during summer planting, the soil is well warmed up, weeds appear much less often, until the time when frosts begin, the lawn will take root well. The disadvantage of such a planting is that at a temperature of more than + 25 °, almost all seeds lose their germination. So before landing, carefully study the forecast - it is better not to pick up a warm rainy week.

How to plant a lawn: step by step instructions

Growing a beautiful lawn in the country with your own hands is not easy, you must strictly adhere to a certain sequence.

Site preparation

A carefully prepared and leveled area before sowing lawn grass will save you many problems in further lawn care. Work begins with the marking of the future lawn, based on the general plan of the site and landscape design style in the country. After that, they go directly to land work:

treatment of the site with a herbicide - the May young vegetation is most susceptible to the effects of herbicides. Some areas that are abundantly overgrown with weeds, whose seeds have increased germination, will have to be treated several times, the interval between spraying is two weeks
cleaning the site - after the herbicide-treated vegetation withers and dries, the site must be cleaned of debris, old stumps, shrub roots, dried grass