There are several ways to create green lawns. The growing popularity of the technology - lawn hydroseeding - is far from new, as is commonly believed. For about half a century, it has been used for emergency sowing of large areas. Ease of work contributes to the expansion of the scope of the method - it is increasingly used for landscaping cities, summer cottages, sports facilities.

Technology and advantages of hydroseeding grass

The essence of the technological process is quite simple. A specially formulated mixture is sprayed under pressure over the prepared area. The components of the solution create close to ideal conditions for the successful germination of the grass. A crust formed in 3-4 hours protects seeds and soil from erosion even by showers, wind erosion.

Compared to traditional lawns - sowed or rolled - liquid has a number of important advantages:

  • Uniform distribution of seeds and essential nutrient components of the soil over the surface of the site.
  • High germination of seeds for which the most favorable environment has been formed, short germination times.
  • Simultaneous soaking of seeds in the mixture, which accelerates their germination, and dressing, which protects against diseases and pests.
  • No preliminary, often rather complicated site preparation is required, it is enough just to collect debris, fragments of branches, stones.
  • Luxurious turf is easy to create in difficult terrain areas.
  • Minimal labor costs, high seeding speed with excellent quality.

Hydroseeding of grass

Where to apply liquid lawn

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Hydroseeding of grass is a technology that has long been used to fill the spaces between runways and airfield tracks with grass. In addition, with its help, they give a decent look to the sides of large and small roads, decorate streets, parks, squares. The method is actively used to create a special turf covering for large sports grounds.

Hydro-seeding is no less relevant when it is necessary to protect slopes, cliffs, embankments that are difficult to reach by conventional equipment from erosion and weathering. In the field of forest fires, spraying a mixture of seeds of specially selected plants quickly heals the soil, creates favorable conditions for the restoration of vegetation.

The summer residents did not disregard the method, since it is not necessary to purchase special technological equipment, which is expensive for a private owner, or to invite a specialist technician to fill a lawn the size of a dining table. The simplest installation for hydroseeding a lawn is built with their own hands from the gardening equipment and small equipment available in the country.

How to do hydroseeding with your own hands

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The creation of a spectacular summer cottage lawn takes place in 3 stages:

  • site preparation;
  • preparation of the mixture;
  • spraying.

Site preparation

The site is prepared according to the algorithm:

  1. The lawn is poured on a warm day in early spring, when the soil has already warmed up to +10 ° C.
  2. The area allocated for the lawn is cleared of debris, weeds, small and medium stones. Large stones that are difficult to turn out of the ground can become elements of landscape design.
  3. They dig up or loosen the soil shallowly, at the same time removing the roots and other debris lying in the surface layer. If you need to refine a rocky area, add soil with at least a 5-7 cm layer.
  4. They level the site with a rake, distribute fertilizers over the surface, better organic - rotted manure, mature compost, humus.

How to do hydroseeding with your own hands

Mix preparation

You can purchase a hydroseeding mixture at a gardening store, but you can make your own.

Spraying

To apply the mixture, hand-held garden sprayers or vibration pumps ("Trickle", "Kid") are used. The nozzle is selected so that the seeds pass freely through the holes, in extreme cases they are bored with a hand drill. The prepared solution is poured into the container and sprayed over the site.

The first time the lawn is watered after the seeds have germinated - the clay crust maintains the necessary microclimate, and the hydrogel itself moistens the soil as needed.

Then for two weeks the lawn is watered daily if there is no rain. By the end of this period, young grass will cover the area with an even carpet.

On a note! Hydroseeding is convenient to "patch" bald spots on grass coverings that are formed due to trampling, freezing or soaking of areas, regardless of their size.

Composition of lawn mixtures

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Particular attention is paid to the preparation of the spray mixture, since it is a multicomponent composition that must be well mixed and have a homogeneous structure.

Components of a professional or home seed mixture:

  • Wood waste or cellulose mulch and environmentally friendly colorant. As an additive that gives color to the mixture, use is made of harmless additives, in particular food additives. Thanks to them, untreated areas will be clearly visible.
  • A hydrogel that stores moisture for the sown seeds, protecting them from overheating.
  • Gluten, which binds the main components, in "home" mixtures usually use clay. It is this component that prevents the seeds from scattering in the wind or becoming prey for birds, forming a surface crust.
  • Fertilizers, special additives for creating and maintaining the acidic properties of the soil, its structure, herbicides, if necessary, fungicides and insecticides.
  • Grass seeds.

Such formulations are sold in two forms - ready-for-immediate use pressurized cylinders, to which it is enough to connect a water hose, and dry mixtures consisting of gluten, fertilizers, hydrogel and dye, to which seeds, water, and mulch are added before use.

Lawn spraying

Examples of industrial turf mixtures:

  • Hydro Mousse: fertilizers, green mulching material, mulch fiber fixing additive, rooting and growth biostimulants, hydrogel, perennial cereal seeds.
  • Grass Shot: Green mulch, fertilizer, seed mix of 8 herbs.

There is nothing difficult in preparing a mixture for hydroseeding, so summer residents willingly prepare them themselves, saving money on the purchase of expensive imported goods.

An approximate recipe for a mixture for seeding 100 sq. m of lawn:

  • Seeds, for example, a mixture of ryegrass, red fescue, white bent grass, meadow bluegrass - 2 kg.
  • Fertilizers (nitrogen and phosphorus), biostimulants, herbicides - from 2 to 5 kg, depending on soil fertility, the presence of weeds.
  • Mulch (sawdust, finely chopped straw) - from 4 to 12 kg.
  • Hydrogel - 100 g.
  • Gluten - 300-600 g.
  • Water - 60-100 liters.

Note! The choice of grass for the lawn depends on the region of cultivation and the weather conditions of the area. There are species that are resistant to drought or, conversely, to conditions of high humidity, frost-resistant or thermophilic.

To prepare the solution, seeds, food coloring that gives a green color, fertilizers, then herbicides and stimulants, mulch, hydrogel are poured into the water. Adhesive (clay) is added last.The mixture is well altered by hand or using a special drill attachment. If there is a small concrete mixer on the site, you can clean it and use it to get a perfectly mixed solution.

The finished, well-mixed mixture is allowed to stand for several hours, this time is necessary for the seeds to swell. Usually, all preparatory work is completed in the evening, including kneading a liquid lawn, and the next morning sowing is carried out. During the night, the seeds not only absorb moisture, but also accumulate nutrients, which accelerates their germination, makes the plants themselves healthy and strong.

When the lawn can only be planted by hydroseeding

Due to the speed with which the work is performed and the result obtained, hydroseeding is used for land reclamation in large areas - processing of dumps, oil spills, fires.

When the lawn can only be planted by hydroseeding

A liquid lawn is the most suitable way to fix the embankment slopes of highways and bridges. If it is extremely difficult to grow an ordinary sowing lawn on any slope, then there are no obstacles for hydroseeding here: the germinated seeds will certainly take root, the interlacing of the roots creates a strong sod that protects the slope from erosion and weathering.

Note! Hydro-seeding is economically feasible for the revival of industrial zones and landfills, since the supply of nutrients allows the grass to survive on extremely scarce land, unsuitable for growing anything.

In small farms that raise poultry or small animals, for example, rabbits, it is also effective to use a liquid lawn for regular sowing of grass: it sprouts quickly, pests do not have time to settle on it, sowing is possible from spring to early autumn.

Since the planting mixture contains a full range of substances necessary for successful germination and further growth, it is convenient to use it on clays or sandstones, without wasting time and effort on improving the soil.

In summer cottages, when creating a lawn, hydroseeding technology is increasingly used. It saves the time and effort needed by the summer resident in the spring, allows you to plant trees in hard-to-reach corners, to strengthen the banks of adjacent rivers, reservoirs, ravines. To improve the environmental situation on the site, the sides of the access roads are poured with liquid lawn. The most creative summer residents use technology to create completely unusual lawns - they pour plaster figurines with a mixture, getting original garden sculptural groups, decorate stone or brick fences with emerald grass “wallpaper” - vertical lawns.

The use of hydroseeding technology in a summer cottage allows you to give an elegant look to the territory with relatively low costs in a short time. It will be easier to care for such a lawn; with the right choice of cereals, it will not be afraid of drought, damping, freezing and other difficulties typical for a sown lawn.