How To Grow Grass

Growing grass from seed to form a new lawn or even just making grass grow from turf can be difficult depending on your environment and soil condition so follow these tips to get a deep green lawn for your garden.Starting a new lawn from scratch is every gardener’s nightmare especially if you have a bare patch of land that needs cultivating then planting grass seed or new turf is the start of your journey on how to grow grass in your garden.

How and why grass grows

Like all plants grass needs an environment that is warm, has plenty of sunlight and water for it to grow effectively and provide a nice deep green color. If you have a lawn under trees then it’s unlikely to grow for 3 main reasons: 1) there will be too much shade and the area could remain damp, 2) the tree roots underneath will sap up all the water and the area will remain very dry and 3) the tree leaves that are dropped in the autumn will cover the lawn so there is no light reaching the grass and it will go brown and most likely die.

If your soil is mostly clay then the water will not be able to drain away sufficiently and most likely moss will start to grow. In these circumstances you may need to mix in some sharp sand or dig the whole lot up and insert some form of drainage system to take the water away.

In hot climates different grasses are used so they don’t dry out and get burnt by the sun. Of course most gardens need watering in the summer months and that includes the lawn. If you have a large area to cover you made need a sprinkler system installed.

Choosing the right seeds

You’ll need to choose the right type of grass depending on the use. For example if you want a putting green surface then bermuda or bent seed is best but for areas where children might play then a standard rye grass mixture is best and for areas of drought red fescue with a mix of meadow grass will be best.

Ground Preparation

The best ground is full of natural nutrients that the grass can feed on all year round. Once your lawn is established it will still need feeding either with chemical fertilizer products or organic matter as it will not stay healthy if you simply leave it and just add water.

Once you have the right soil down you should add some sharp sand and mix it up and level the whole ground for where the grass seeds are going to be sown.

Sowing the seeds and adding turf

You can sprinkle the seeds manually across the area you have just prepared or use a seed spreader so that the right amount of seed is added to the soil to be planted out. Once the seed is on the soil a top layer of soil needs to be added or you simply rake over what you already have.

The same goes for laying turf. You’ll need planks of wood to kneel on whilst you are putting turf down. Just make sure you don’t drag it across the ground otherwise it may split and make it harder to butt up the edges.

Cultivation

Once your seeds are sown you’ll need to water them in. Use a sprinkler system or a hosepipe attachment where the pressure of the water is not too great otherwise the seeds will bounce around and end up all over the place.

It’s going to take several days for the seeds to germinate and in that time birds may come down and eat the seeds for themselves so you’ll need to add some form of deterrent such as silver foil on string attached to posts in the ground to scare them away.

Keep watering daily until the grass is starting to grow. You can make your first cut with your lawn mower after 7-10 days and not before as you need the plants to take hold.

Pictures of grass growing and new lawns

 

Copyright: This article is original and copyright protected and you may not reproduce this content in any manner without our express permission.