Content:
Everyone likes to admire the smooth and green lawn, but not everyone imagines that serious work is behind this beautiful picture. The grass, like any plant, needs care. The soil for the lawn also needs special.
Lawn soil: structure and composition, main characteristics
The land for lawn grass needs serious preparation. The soil in ordinary summer cottages, as a rule, is not very fertile or contains many chemicals in the composition. The structure also matters - the lawn soil must be loose and porous. Thus, the grass will be open to air for the best development. To understand what kind of soil will be better for the lawn, you need to study its parameters.
Characteristics that the soil must have for the lawn:
- neutral acidity;
- high air permeability;
- clay-sandy composition.
A good option for soil composition will be the top fertile layer from fields and arable lands. Clay soils will not work; they must be additionally fertilized with peat, manure, and black soil added.
Which soil is best for the lawn depends on whether it is rolled or sown. In the first variant, the preparation is a little less laborious.
Soil features
If it is decided to leave the land that is on the site, then it must be prepared for planting.
First, all the debris is removed - stones, boards, bricks, as well as weeds. Then you need to level it off by cutting off the excess with a shovel.
Correct soil preparation for a rolling lawn
What soil is needed for a roll lawn? This option requires less preparation, but a number of activities will need to be carried out.
There are recommendations according to which it is necessary to sow something from green manure on the plot, for example, oats. When the plant sprouts 12 cm, dig up everything together with the weeds, cover with a dark film and leave for several weeks. Thus, weeds are destroyed and the soil is fertilized.
Fertile layer thickness
For a parterre lawn, it is necessary to provide at least 50 cm of a fertile soil layer.
Meadows, when applied regularly, will grow on 20 cm of nutrient-rich soil.
Composition of soil for sowing grass
What soil is needed for a lawn? Loamy soils are very suitable.
Their composition:
- sand 40%,
- silt 40%,
- clay 20%.
The soil must contain at least 2% organic matter.
Fertilizers and additives
For roll and sowing lawns, preparation is generally the same, the difference in the composition of the dressings. Chernozem, with a high degree of fertility, should be at least 50%.
Additives are added in the following amounts:
- sowing - 10% sand, 30% peat and 10% compost;
- roll - 25% sand and 25% peat.
How to prepare the soil for planting
Aligned, but not clean, the site is dug up. The depth should be no more than 20 cm so as not to disturb the fertile layer. Then the ground is again leveled with a rake. Then you need to water it.
If necessary, add humus and sand, as well as peat for the lawn.
Serious mistakes gardeners
When preparing land for a lawn, novice gardeners make a number of mistakes.
Here are the most common ones:
- The fertile layer is not leveled, accordingly, somewhere the lawn will take root better, but somewhere it can dry out altogether. Grass may not grow next to a concrete walkway if there is cement build-up around the edges.
- Lack of watering in the first days after laying. Water is also needed for the sown grass. Without proper moisture, the lawn may not take root at all.
- Rare dressings. In order for the grass to be juicy and green, as in the pictures, it must be carefully looked after. Regular fertilization is an important part of the care.
Observing all the rules, and, if possible, avoiding mistakes, you can grow an excellent lawn. And a flower garden set up among evenly mown grass will look very neat.