Summer cottages and gardens have long been inconceivable without lawns. In order for the green grass to decorate the appearance of the farm, certain efforts must be made. To do this, you need to have knowledge of how to sow a lawn, and carry out a step-by-step procedure in accordance with this knowledge.

Brief description of the lawn

A lawn is a piece of land, the surface of which is covered with artificial grass cover. For this, the appropriate herbs are selected, usually cereal perennial plants:

  • bluegrass;
  • ryegrass;
  • fescue.

For summer cottages and gardens, an ordinary lawn is usually used, which is mowed at a height of about 20-40 cm. Seeds are sown in a previously prepared soil according to a special scheme. Herbs are selected depending on the cultivation technique and weather and climatic conditions.

How to sow a lawn

The sowing of the lawn takes place in stages.

How to sow a lawn

Boarding time

How to lay a lawn with your own hands

Sowing can be carried out at any time from May to September, but planting the lawn in the fall is carried out less often. Most often they try to sow seeds in the spring for the following reasons:

  • there is enough time to eliminate various shortcomings (planning, reseeding seeds, etc.);
  • before the start of frost, the plants will have time to get stronger and form a full-fledged root system;
  • a high amount of moisture in the soil in spring will contribute to accelerated germination of seeds.

Before spring sowing, it is necessary to first weed out and spray the soil with herbicides. All these procedures are carried out only after the snow has melted and calm dry weather is established.

If it is decided to plant the lawn in the summer, then it is advisable to finish the procedure in June. This month the soil still contains a higher amount of moisture in the soil compared to the other summer months. However, with a normally built irrigation system, sowing can be carried out in August. This period is convenient because the activity of pests decreases by August and the growth of weeds is inhibited.

Note! It is allowed to sow the lawn with your own hands in the first half of September. This is the period when the soil is saturated with moisture in the form of dew, and the grass has time to rise normally before the frost begins.

Is it possible to sow a lawn before winter? Depends on climatic conditions. If this is the middle strip, then it is better not to sow in the second half of September and in October, as the grass will sprout, but will not have time to get stronger. But podzimny sowing in November, when the snow has not yet settled, but the ground is already frozen, is quite possible: the lawn will not have time to germinate, but it will grow well in spring.

Seed selection

On seed packs, producers usually indicate in what conditions and on what soil they should be sown, as well as for what type of lawn they are suitable. Most often, seeds are brought to Russia from Western European countries, but not all of them grow normally in Russian conditions.

For central Russia, in particular for the Moscow region, a mixture of fescue and bluegrass is best suited. These plants form a dense carpet of rich green color and are easy to trim.

Important! You should not purchase such mixtures where ryegrass occupies up to half of the composition or more.This plant is severely damaged by frost and retains a compacted grass stand for 3-5 years, after which it falls out.

Soil preparation

Before sowing the lawn, align and mark, and then get rid of all weeds. The markup is carried out in accordance with the plan of the suburban area. For this purpose, wooden pegs are usually used with a fishing line firmly stretched between them. At the same time, paths and flower beds are laid. In order to make the lawn more natural, it is recommended to refrain from drawing rectangular shapes.

Soil preparation

To remove old weeds, general herbicides are usually used, such as Argument or Roundup. The destruction of weeds usually occurs 2-3 weeks after planting. Plots with particularly large weeds are treated several times, observing an interval of two weeks between spraying. When the plants are dry, their remains are scraped from the plot, and then leveling is carried out.

Important! If necessary, cover the soil on top with geotextile, which will prevent further germination of the remaining weed seeds.

For normal lawn growth, a certain soil composition is required. Peat is added on alkaline soils, lime or chalk on acidified soils, and vermicompost or lime on heavier and dense ones. Along with this, fertilizers are applied. Macronutrients (NPK 6-22-28, NPK 21-6-17) are evenly distributed over the soil surface, and aqueous solutions are prepared on the basis of trace elements. So, per square meter of area, 30 g of potassium sulfate or 40 g of superphosphate and ammonium nitrate are applied. In the spring, they try to add more nitrogenous nutrients, while in the autumn they focus on phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

When fertilizers are applied, the soil is leveled with a rake, and then compacted using a special garden roller weighing 50-100 kg. In its absence, a round metal tube is used. The rammed plot is left alone for one and a half to two weeks for the soil to settle.

Note! If during this period weed seeds germinate on the soil, which have got there together with humus or compost, the soil must be raked out with a rake.

How to sow a lawn correctly

The sowing rate of seeds is usually indicated on the package, but it can vary as needed. Strict adherence to it without taking into account the terrain features can lead to the formation of bare areas and the need for repeated or additional reseeding. For greater uniformity of distribution, the plot must be visually divided into several parts approximately equal in area and the seeds must be planted between them.

How to sow a lawn correctly

Usually the seeds have to be planted by hand. They are mixed with dry fine sand in equal proportions. After that, the seed is scattered first along the site, then across. At the same time, seeds are placed on the edges 2 times thicker than in the central part.

The sown seeds are covered with earth, raking it with a rake. After that, the site is tamped with a roller. At the end of the procedure, the lawn is spilled from a watering can or a hose with a spray.

Additional Information! If the soil is dry, it is watered from a watering can before sowing and the soil is given time to absorb moisture.

Lawn care

How to make a lawn in the country with your own hands: step by step instructions

The lawn grass needs a sufficient amount of moisture. In dry weather, the lawn must be irrigated daily, shedding soil 5-7 cm deep. When the height of the plants reaches 8-10 cm, the first mowing of the green mass is carried out. In this case, only 1.5-2 cm of plant tops are removed. When the plants begin to creep more densely, they begin to mow the lawn every 5-7 days. This will allow the plants to form a complete root system.

Immediately after the first mowing, the grass is fed with nitrogen.In June - July, two or three dressings are carried out with the help of mineral fertilizers, the main of which remains nitrogen. During this period, the plants respond positively to organic fertilizing. Closer to autumn, there is no longer a need for grass growth, so potassium and phosphorus are used for feeding.

Diseases and pests of the lawn

How to sow lawn grass with your own hands

The lawn is most often affected by fungal diseases. The most dangerous among them are:

  • yellow and brown rust;
  • fusarium (snow mold);
  • powdery mildew;
  • witch rings.

The fight against these ailments involves the use of appropriate fungicides. The only exceptions are the witch's rings, which cannot be cured chemically. In order to get rid of this disease, you have to dig up the affected area to a depth of 10 cm, followed by sowing new seeds.

Lawn care

When destroying harmful insects, insecticides are also used. The most harmful lawn pests include:

  • bear;
  • beetle larvae;
  • wireworm;
  • caterpillars (larvae) of butterflies;
  • ants;
  • drunkards;
  • earthworms.

After the destruction of diseases and pests has been successfully completed, it is time to carry out restoration work on the site. This includes the following activities:

  • Additional sowing of seeds in the affected areas. To do this, you must have a certain supply of seeds. The soil is loosened and seeds are sown into it to a depth of 1 cm and tamped. From above it is allowed to sprinkle the plantings with a small amount of sand.
  • Breaking through the soil in places where water stagnates using a fork. This manages to increase the air flow to the root system and reduce humidity. Every six months it is necessary to pierce the entire lawn area with a pitchfork.
  • Verticulation (combing the felt surface) to destroy the nutrient base of pests and destroy spore colonies of diseases.
  • In the spring and summer period - the introduction of 10-15 grams of ammonium nitrate per square meter of area for accelerated recovery of plant mass.

How to sow a liquid lawn

Sowing of this type of lawn is carried out using a special technology using a hydroseeding machine with a hose and a sprinkler. Other components of a liquid lawn include:

  • a mixture of seed material of different herbs;
  • a complex of growth stimulants and fertilizing;
  • mulching agent based on wood fibers and cellulose;
  • hydrogel;
  • gluten.

The site for the hydrogason is cleaned of debris, foliage, and the soil is loosened with a garden rake. To increase efficiency, compost, peat or manure are added to the soil, as well as fungicides and insecticides. Sowing is carried out in the spring, at an air temperature of about + 2 ... + 5 ° С, when the soil warms up to + 10 ° С. The weather must be dry for the mixture to form a strong crust quickly.

Step by step planting process:

  1. All ingredients are thoroughly mixed to form a green solution containing seeds.
  2. The mixture and seeds are placed in a cooking spray.
  3. Using high pressure, it is evenly distributed over a given surface.
  4. After 2-3 hours, with the correct organization of the process, the mixture is covered with a strong dense crust.

In the presence of suitable weather and sufficient moisture, the first seedlings appear after about a week. After 3 weeks, the hydro-lawn usually becomes fully formed, and the site has time to be overgrown with lawn grass.

Sowing and growing a lawn is not a very difficult procedure if you have certain knowledge and skills. A competently planted and grown lawn will become a decoration of a summer cottage or garden area and a gardener will work.