How to properly sow lawn grass with your own hands

Recently, lawn lawns have become more and more popular, which can be found already in almost every summer cottage / personal plot. As a rule, they are an integral part of the landscape design composition, serve as a place for recreation for the whole family.

Of course, every owner of a large plot draws in his head an image of dense bright green grass of the same height, which gives the impression of a living carpet. At the same time, not everyone knows how to sow lawn grass with their own hands correctly in order to achieve the desired result.

Do-it-yourself lawn planting in the country: general rules

How to sow a lawn in a country house with your own hands in order to quickly grow a thick and attractive green carpet in your backyard? The fastest way to get it is not to sow, but to purchase ready-made rolls, which are strips of turf. Typically, these strips take about two years to grow. But the costs will be far from symbolic.

Those who are patient and want to save money can manually grow the lawn on their own. The gardener should not have any difficulties, the main thing is to follow the basic recommendations and rules for sowing seeds and caring for a living carpet.

• Before you start sowing seeds, you need to visually depict the scheme of the lawn: should there be trees, shrubs or semi-shrubs on it. The placement of all fragments of the composition should be thought out in advance. Otherwise, the inexperienced gardener will have difficulty mowing the lawn, which will grow in a chaotic manner.
• It must be taken into account that the distance between the curbs and the lawn grass must be at least 1 meter. Otherwise, a person will simply not be comfortable using the lawn mower.
• Under single trees or shrubs, it is preferable to grow not a lawn grass mixture, but ground cover plants that are unpretentious in care (for example, clover). An alternative option is to sprinkle the circumferential circles with decorative chips, which will also look attractive.

When to plant: optimal timing

You can sow grass at any convenient time, starting from the second or third decade of April and ending in mid-October.

It is recommended to use a fine spray for watering. It is impossible to use hoses for these purposes, because the powerful stream of water will simply wash away all the seed and soil. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that the soil must be well warmed up. The optimum temperature for germination is + 8-10 degrees. Experts consider September to be the most suitable time for sowing.

The choice of grass mixture and preparation of the site for the lawn

To grow a perfectly flat green living carpet, you need to properly prepare the soil.

Soil preparation includes the following stages:

1. All unnecessary things must be removed from the site, for example, branches, pieces of paper, bricks, etc.
2. It is imperative to uproot all stumps and the root system of unnecessary trees.
3. Use herbicides to remove weeds.
4. Dig up the soil using organic and mineral fertilizers, create a drainage layer using broken brick or crushed stone.
5. Create a perfectly flat ground surface, depressions and hills should be absent.
6. Tamp the soil with a roller.
7. Loosen the soil surface with a rake.

One of the most important conditions: before planting the grass, it is necessary to leave the prepared area under steam for several months. At this time, you can start choosing a grass mixture. It is important to give preference to those varieties of grass that will willingly grow on a certain plot of land.

It is extremely difficult for a novice agronomist to foresee all this independently, without the help of a specialist.

How to plant lawn grass with your own hands: step by step instructions

Preparing the soil in advance greatly simplifies the growth of a healthy green carpet. The minimum amount of time a gardener can set aside for subsidence of the prepared land is two weeks, the optimal amount of time is 1-2 months.

When sowing a lawn, the gardener will need the following:

• seed material;
• measuring tape;
• a hose or watering can equipped with a spray nozzle;
• rake;
• and it is advisable, but not necessary, to use a seed spreader.

So, the seed was purchased, all the preparatory work on the site was carried out. Before the direct introduction of seeds into the soil, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers and loosen the surface with a rake. You can plant seeds, roughly speaking, at any time, from early spring to mid-autumn (April, June, September are suitable months for planting).

Many experts are convinced that the best way to plant is to mix the seed with sand. However, this requires experience, in the early years it is better not to use this trick.

An even planting is achieved with a special seeder. Alternatively, it is allowed to sow the site manually, walking first along and then across. Approximate consumption of planting material: per 1 sq.m. requires about 30-40 g of seeds.

1. The measured seeds are scattered. Half of the seed should be scattered over one part of the plot and the other half perpendicular to the first. To achieve the desired results, it is important to distribute the seeds as evenly as possible over the future lawn.
2. Gently mix the seeds into the soil using a small rake. Optimal conditions - the depth of the seeds is 2-3 mm, some of them may still remain on the surface. After planting, the soil must be moistened abundantly using a spray hose or a watering can with a special nozzle. As a rule, seedlings appear after two weeks. If the sowing area is large, it is still recommended to use a seed spreader.

The final stage is to walk around the site with a roller, without much pressure, to tamp the seeds into the soil.

Lawn care rules

Just planting seeds is not enough - the grass needs regular maintenance. Otherwise, all its decorative qualities will be hopelessly lost and a lawn lover will hardly be able to enjoy the result of the work.

What to do with the lawn:

1. Mow the grass regularly so that its length does not exceed 6-8 cm. If the length is less, it will be difficult for plants to recover, possibly weeds and pests will appear.
2. The seeds and in the future the plants must be abundantly moisturized, due to which a powerful root system will develop. For active lawn growth, the optimal frequency of watering is at least once a week.
3. The grass can be fed with compost; for this, the cut grass can be left on the site, and not collected. In the process of decay, it will enrich the chemical composition of the soil.
4. It is recommended to loosen caked soil with the onset of autumn. This will allow moisture, nutrients and air to enter the plant root system faster.
5. In sparse or trampled areas, it is recommended to sow new seeds, preferably using a different variety of grass.
6. In places where people and animals often move, it is recommended to use paving stones instead of grass.
7. The lawn should be regularly inspected for pests and diseases. If they are identified, treatment should be started immediately.

In addition to the basic rules, there are seasonal activities that will create a quality lawn.

Seasonal lawn care

Spring	Summer	Fall
Carefully collect and remove all remaining debris and residual fall leaves;	Application of complex mineral fertilizers;	Collecting all fallen leaves;
Apply a complex of mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen and potassium to the soil;	Combing a living carpet;	Application of mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus;
Watering regularly once a week;	Regular watering with a frequency of 1-2 times a week;	Aeration;
If necessary, sowing seeds;	A haircut.	Watering at weekly intervals;
A haircut.		Cutting for the winter (grass must be at least 10 cm high).

Sowing lawn grass in your summer cottage is quite simple, the main thing is to follow all the above instructions and recommendations. You should not be afraid of failure, if you seriously approach the issue, then in the shortest possible time the whole family will be pleased with a thick bright living carpet. It may not be as good as a store-bought one at a nearby stadium, but definitely better than in city parks.