How to sow lawn grass with your own hands in a summer cottage in stages: instructions
Every summer resident dreams of a beautiful and neat lawn near the country house. Beginners in this matter will not even think about how to sow lawn grass with their own hands in their summer cottage. However, this process is characterized by a number of distinctive features. To get a beautiful and uniform result, you need to properly prepare the bed and provide the sprouts with quality care.
Choice of lawn grass
Greening the soil is carried out at the final stage of the territory development. This must be done after the completion of all construction work, the laying of communications and the arrangement of garden paths.In this case, it is necessary to think over the site plan in advance and determine the location of the grass. For a private house, meadow and park lawns are more suitable. They are resistant to trampling and other mechanical factors.
To create such a lawn, as a rule, perennial grasses are used. These include:
- meadow bluegrass;
- field;
- ryegrass;
- comb;
- fescue.
To achieve a uniform cover, it is recommended to plant a grass mixture. This helps to avoid patches of different colors and textures. As a basis, one type of grass should be taken, which should make up at least 80% of the seed. After that, it is worth adding the rest of the plants to it.
When choosing seeds, it is recommended to consider the following:
- Climatic factors. This should take into account the ability of crops to withstand certain weather factors characteristic of the region. For example, bluegrass, bent grass, and fescue can withstand harsh winters well. The same cannot be said for ryegrass, which also does not tolerate drought well.
- The degree of shading of the area. In sunny places, you can plant bent grass, bluegrass, clover. It is also permissible to have ryegrass here. Fescue grows well in the shade.
- Soil moisture level. Undemanding plants include clover, red fescue, bluegrass. Among the moisture-loving crops, it is worth highlighting the shoot-bearing bent grass and sheep fescue.
- Seed Producer. You need to buy seed only from trusted companies. These primarily include Dutch and Danish companies.
- Cost of seeds. A quality product cannot be cheap. Trying to save money on seeds will only lead to more expenses.
- Expiration date. Many people forget about this nuance. However, the expired material will not give the desired result.
It is recommended to buy lawn grass in specialized stores that have a reliable reputation and have a high rating.
Preparation of the territory
Lawn grasses need a lot of light. Therefore, they should be planted in a well-lit area. In the shade, the grass will begin to stretch and turn pale. As a result, the lawn will look untidy.
When growing grass, it is required to give preference to a flat or elevated area. At the same time, creating a lawn in a lowland is strictly prohibited. In the spring and after precipitation there is stagnation of moisture. This can cause root rot.
To prepare the site, it is recommended to do the following:
- Remove stones. First you need to clear the bed of stones. It is important that the lawn is level. At the same time, even the smallest pebbles need to be removed.
- Remove weeds. They need to be removed radically. It is also important to get rid of the roots. Otherwise, the grass will grow right through the lawn and it will be very problematic to remove it.
- Decrease soil acidity. Lawn grasses prefer neutral soil, the pH of which is 6.5-7. In acidic soil, it is required to add dolomite flour, following the instructions on the package.
- Apply fertilizer. Before sowing grass in the soil, you need to add a complex of dressings. For 1 square meter, you need to add 3 tablespoons of ammonium nitrate and double superphosphate, as well as 1.5 tablespoons of potassium sulfate. Nutrients can be scattered over the surface of the site, and then dig it up. Humus must be added to heavy clay soil. Lawn grasses need loose and fertile soil.
- Dig up the site. Before laying the lawn, it is required to dig the bed to a depth of 30 centimeters. At the same time, it is important to carefully break up the clods of earth and level the soil with a rake.
- Level the area. Pits and bumps on the surface should not be. Otherwise, moisture will begin to stagnate in the recesses, and on hills it will not be possible to mow the grass.
- Consolidate the soil. Many plants develop only in loose soil. However, this does not apply to the lawn. An ideal lawn can only be created in very dense soil. To do this, it needs to be rolled with a special hand roller, the mass of which is 50-100 kilograms.
- Mark the garden. After preparing the site, it is required to outline the contours of the lawn. This is easiest to do if the bed has the correct shape. However, it is important to consider that such lawns may appear artificial. A more spectacular option would be an irregularly shaped lawn, which is distinguished by smooth curves. For marking it is recommended to use pegs. They need to be firmly hammered into the ground and pull the rope.
Planting instructions
Most often, lawns are created using cereals. For this, as a rule, meadow and common bluegrass, red and sheep fescue, pasture and multi-flowered ryegrass and much more are used.
The lawn is recommended to be planted throughout the warm season. This should be done from the end of April to the end of September. However, spring and summer are still considered the best options. Thanks to this, it will be possible to obtain the most decorative result.
Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionWhen planting a lawn, it is recommended to evenly distribute the seeds over the area. It is best to use special seeders for this purpose. In this case, the seeds must be divided into 2 parts. In this case, one of them is placed in a certain direction, and the second - across.If the lawn is planned to be planted manually, it is recommended to combine the seeds with sand in a ratio of 1:1.This makes it easier to spread them around. It is recommended to use 30-60 grams of lawn seeds per 1 square meter. Saving in this case is not recommended. If you plant less than the norm, the lawn will include bald spots. Using too much seed will not improve your lawn in any way.
When planting by hand, the seeds must be evenly distributed over the surface of the soil and carefully closed with a rake. After this, the crops should be carefully watered. Until the sprouts appear, it is recommended to moisten the lawn every day. In the heat, this should be done twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. After that, watering should be reduced to 1 time per week.
Cost of laying a lawn
It is recommended to buy seeds at the rate of 30-60 grams per 1 square meter. On the packaging, as a rule, the consumption of seed is indicated and there is a brief instruction.Seeds are sold in paper or plastic bags of 1, 3, 5 or more kilograms. At the same time, the approximate cost of 1 kilogram depends on the mixture and may be as follows:
- decorative - 400-600 rubles;
- sports - 200-500 rubles;
- garden - 200-250 rubles;
- meadow - 300-500 rubles.
Recommendations for beginners
To get a beautiful and neat lawn, you need to adhere to the following recommendations:
- Wash your lawn often with warm water. Any growing grass needs moist soil. Therefore, it is recommended to moisten the soil at least every 3 days. If possible, it is worth organizing an irrigation system. If this fails, a regular hose should be used. In this case, it is recommended to put on a sprinkler. Watering the lawn from a watering can is very problematic. This requires quite a lot of water. In addition, there is a risk of trampling grass.
- Weeding plantings. Even with careful preparation of the beds, some of the roots will still remain in the ground. Gradually, weeds will begin to break through, worsening the decorative properties of the lawn. That is why it is so important to systematically weed the lawn - especially at the beginning of growth. After the growth of lawn grasses, their roots will be able to partially drown out the development of weeds.
- Cut the grass systematically. It is recommended to do this for the first time when the height of the plants is 10-15 centimeters. In this case, the grass should be shortened by about half. After that, the lawn is recommended to be cut or mowed once a week. In extreme cases, this can be done at intervals of 10 days. In this case, the lawn will seem neat. At the same time, the grass will be short and will not fade in the sun.
- Periodically fertilize the soil. Like all other crops, lawn grass requires top dressing. Organic fertilizers are best suited for this purpose. However, there are also special mixtures for lawns that need to be applied at the same time as watering.This is required to be done once a month. It is not recommended to carry out this procedure more often. If you overfeed the grass, it will grow unevenly.
Such conditions require any lawn, except for the meadow. He needs less weeding, fertilizing and trimming. At the same time, watering the meadow lawn is required in the same way.
Common mistakes
Growing a beautiful and tidy lawn is considered quite a challenge. At the same time, novice gardeners usually make the following mistakes:
- Wrong choice of seed. Often people neglect the significance of this issue, acquiring an inappropriate mixture. At the same time, they do not take into account the characteristic features of the relief, soil, and the location of the lawn. Also, many beginners are not guided by climatic features. A mixture of herbs can have great properties, but it just isn't suitable for a particular area.
- Incorrect site preparation. This, first of all, concerns the alignment of the beds. It is important to perform all actions in a specific sequence. After leveling the site for the first time, it must be left for a while. After that, you need to carry out the procedure again. This will help to get rid of possible irregularities after the ground has settled.
- No drainage. Excess moisture is just as harmful to lawn grass as its deficiency. That is why it is so important to pay attention to the composition of the soil. If clay or chernozem predominates in the soil, it is required to ensure a free outflow of water. Otherwise, you will have to fight moss, bald spots and mold all the time.
- Inhomogeneous planting of lawn grass. At this stage, it is absolutely impossible to rush. It is better to spend a little more time landing than to fill the voids later.
Growing lawn grass is a complex process that requires certain conditions to be met. To get a good result, it is important to properly prepare the site and provide the plants with quality care.