It’s a garden paradox. While the lawn is perhaps the most unobtrusive feature of the landscape, it is also one of the most important ¡n forming the perfect green backdrop for the rest of the garden. As professional landscapers learn early in their career, if the lawn looks good, it has a remarkable ability to make everything else look better, too.
Even if you consider it only as a play area for the kids or a place to put your garden chair, it’s worth spending time to care for it.
Growing success
Don’t try to turn it into a golf green – go for healthy and attractive instead. By selecting a grass variety right for your region and providing reasonable care, you can have a lawn to be proud of.
Starting from scratch
Sod or seed? Sod gives (almost) instant results but is relatively expensive and tedious to install. Seed is much cheaper, easier to use on irregularly shaped lawns, available in a wider range of grass varieties, and easier to work with. But it takes three or four months to establish and needs careful maintenance in the early stages.
Preparing the soil
Whether you decide on sod or seed, the key to a good lawn is to prepare the soil well – it may seem like an awful chore (it is), but you’ll end up with a far better lawn that is unlikely to present long-term problems.
First, clear the ground of any weeds or existing grass. It’s particularly important to get rid of perennial weeds such as crab grass, so apply a systemic weedkiller that doesn’t leave a toxic residue in the soil. Once the weeds have died back after a few weeks, they can be raked up.
Dig (or rototill) the area, incorporating plenty of organic matter such as well-rotted manure if the soil is poor. If it’s really heavy, fork in lots of coarse sand or add gypsum (calcium sulfate) to improve the drainage. Rake the area level and remove any large stones, then firm it down by walking over the whole area, taking small steps and rocking back on your heels (the neighbors will think you’ve flipped, but never mind).
Next, lightly rake the soil surface, leveling out any humps or hollows, until you’re satisfied that it’s flat -you can always double-check with a plank and a spirit level. Finally, rake in a starter fertilizer like 1 8-24-6 at 1.5 oz per sq yd/50g per sq m, a couple of days before sodding or seeding.
continue reading the part 2
Credit : waferboard
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