|
When laying a new lawn the most important step
is to get the soil level to start with. If you
don't, you will forever have bald patches where
the higher areas have been scalped.
When starting a new lawn there are four ways to
go about it. You can:
Points to note:
-
If you are seeding a lawn scatter half the seed
from one direction and then turn at a right
angle to scatter the remaining seed.
-
When using runners from
existing lawns use sections that have been under ground and
above ground, ie sections that have both roots and greenery
on them.
-
If using small cubes of lawn
ensure they have plenty of roots attached. Cubes
should be about 50 mm (2inches) across. These small
cubes will ultimately grow into each other so it is
important to have them evenly spaced to obtain the maximum
coverage.
-
When laying rolls of lawn
off-set them just as you would lay bricks. Rolls will
generally be about 400mm wide by 2 - 3 metres long (1.5 feet
by 7 - 8 feet)
Watering lawns to a depth of 100 - 150 mm (4 - 6
inches) encourages strong root growth and it
also means more days between watering sessions.
Don't cut your grass too short.
This is for several reasons:
-
Grass grows from the crown -
the lowest part that you can see - and not from the tops of
the blades. If you mow too low you can damage the crown and
stop the grass growing in that area.
-
Longer grass grows slower
than short grass. If you try to keep it too short you
will be forever mowing it.
-
Short grass allows weeds to
get a footing far more so than long grass does.
-
The longer the grass is the
more surface area it has and the better it will absorb
sunshine to photosynthesize. Hence the healthier it
will grow.
Mowing hints:
-
Mow your lawn from two different directions.
The second direction should be at a ninety
degree angle to the first.
-
Don't cut off
more than 1/3 of the height of your grass.
-
Try only to mow when
the lawn is dry.
-
Keep the mower
blades sharp. Dull blades tear at the grass. Damaged grass is less
disease resistant. Sharpen the blades 2- 3 times per year.
When fertilizing your
lawn scatter the fertilizer on from two different directions, at right
angles to each other. This will give more even coverage and prevent the
lawn from looking patchy when the fertilizer starts working.
Scatter the fertilizer
when the lawn is dry and then immediately water it in well. If you
can fertilize just before it rains then that is better still.
Helpful web
sites:
Garden Advice all about lawns
BBC Gardening growing a new lawn
|
