For the third year now, I have been convinced that for a novice homeowner a lawn is not a luxury, but a necessity: the same as carpet covering or parquet (to each his own) in a city apartment. " Landscape design invented for the lazy, that is, for you and me,” said a neighboring builder. In the far corner of his ten acres, he stored for a long time all the garbage generated after clearing the site, stones, cuttings of building materials, and had no intention of taking it out. When the hill settled in the spring, he leveled it with sand and covered it with geotextiles, made a beautiful mound on which he planted grass, planted flower beds and apple trees.
My dacha is also almost built, you can live in the house. But nature does not give up. Raspberries and fireweed grow on fragments cleared of stumps and weeds (I have a wooded area). Plantain makes its way along the trodden paths on the sand and gravel mixture. The coppice, freed from dead wood and perennial layers of dead wood, is overgrown with weeds. This is a typical picture for the new dacha villages of the North-West, where plots were cut out in swamps generously flavored with humus, where there is abundant water and fertile soil, on which hundreds of species of vegetation desperately fight for survival.
But there are also other areas in our area, for example, with depleted clay soil of yesterday’s state farm fields, and stunted shoots emerge through the crust, and any rain turns the soil into a viscous slurry. The same picture is in old gardening, where grandparents grew root crops by actively sprinkling the soil with chemical fertilizers. If we exclude the idea of concreting and asphalting ten acres, there remains one option for taming nature - creating so-called technical lawns around the house and gradually expanding them, so that in three years the entire area will be “under control.” Let's say right away: it will not be possible to develop the entire area in one fell swoop, even if you bring a tractor and a crowd of migrant workers. In this case, you will spend the three years allotted for the arrangement clearing out the rubble, eliminating errors and fighting weeds. If the territory is more than three acres, it should be “combed” gradually, winning back footholds and establishing control over small areas- several tens of square meters per month, two to three hundred square meters per year. Experience shows that in this situation there will be enough time for healthy rest and for other construction and landscaping work.
So, our task is to turn the weeds into a lawn. So that already at the beginning next summer you could walk barefoot on the young grass, and nothing would squish, prick, or crawl under your feet.
Step one: study the theory
First, let's look at the specialized literature. The best book on lawn construction is “All About the Lawn” by D. G. Hesayon. It is advisable to read it in order to have an idea of what types of grasses grow on what soils, as well as how to control weeds using general and selective herbicides.
Often, a novice dacha owner generously waters the birch trees and raspberries protruding from under the new foundation with either Roundup or Tornado (it’s immediately obvious practical aids and does not read smart books, but gains knowledge on agricultural technology by studying the labels on bags of seeds and packages of drugs and fertilizers). Common situation? Meanwhile, there will be no “freebies”: not all weeds can be eradicated with herbicides, and “chemistry” is powerless against shrubs. Nature will take revenge for a thoughtless attitude. Therefore, you should definitely study the theory, and suggest that your practicing neighbor read a book about lawns.
From it you can learn about the properties different types lawn grasses, how to feed and treat them (and they also get sick), and correct mistakes that, obviously, will occur. All this will come in handy in the end. But do not forget that this book, although literate, is translated. Lawn agricultural technology in the conditions of the Russian North-West has different specifics from European and American ones, and seed mixtures, which are presented in abundance on the shelves of super- and hypermarkets, are also of imported origin.
On packages with lawn grass seeds, their purpose is usually highlighted in large print (front, sports lawn, grass mixture for shaded areas...) and in small print - the composition and proportions of the mixture. But the information, in beaded letters, is much more important. I will not go into details, I will only give what I had to verify from my own experience.
The basis of the most affordable and most low-maintenance grass mixtures is perennial ryegrass. The English name speaks for itself. This ragrice germinates well, quickly produces succulent shoots, but suffers from a weak root system and does not tolerate our damp winters with constant temperature changes around zero. A tough, trampling-resistant sports lawn of rich color can be obtained from it in the warm southern states or somewhere in the black soil zone of the Russian Federation (although problems are said to occur there too), but not in the Leningrad region. If the mixture contains 60% or more seeds of this exotic grass for us, be prepared for the fact that the lawn will turn out to be disposable. Although it will kill the weeds in the cleared meadow, next season you will have to deal with hummocks and bald patches.
In our region, mixtures with a high content of field fescue and meadow grass are preferred. You won’t have to count on bluegrass in the first year, but in the next year, if the mixture is of high quality and the soil for sowing is prepared correctly, it will delight you with a dense and even grass carpet. There is another problem: the composition of the grass mixture indicated on the packaging does not always correspond to what is inside. The result obtained is the same. Therefore, ask your neighbors - owners of successful, from your point of view, lawns, what kind of seeds they bought. If no one around is “planting” lawns, and you buy material in hypermarkets, take mixtures different manufacturers and in small quantities. You will have to establish quality experimentally.
So, having studied the properties of herbicides and grass mixtures, put the book down. Everything in it is true for a tiny lawn in a drier and warmer climate than ours. If you cultivate a plot according to science, and even with truly British pedantry, you will have to devote everything to it free time. And you have fifteen or twenty hundred square meters of weeds, then Hesayon will not help.
Our goal is a lazy (that is, not requiring serious costs and effort) lawn free from wild vegetation and construction waste soil. There are three things to keep in mind when doing this. Firstly, it is advisable to level, compact and sow an area of any size, cleared of debris, stumps and weeds. Otherwise, weeds will grow again. Secondly, any lawn, even a technical one, will have to be mowed, not allowing the grass to grow waist-deep and then dry out: fire-hazardous dead wood is the homeowner’s first enemy. If you don’t have the opportunity to mow the entire area weekly, choose mixtures of slow-growing herbs (there are some available for sale) for nooks and crannies. Third, remember that you cannot “fix” a swamp with stagnant water with your lawn. The waterlogged piece will have to be raised, after providing drainage.
Step two: preparing the base
So, the area that you intend to sow with grass should be solid and water should not collect on it. Therefore, we uproot trees and shrubs, cut out hummocks, and weed out weeds. In theory, everything is simple and clear, but for a wooded area this stage is the most labor-intensive. By marking the scope of work with ropes and pegs, we will solve two problems: we will create a guideline for leveling the surface (the ropes must be pulled strictly horizontally, according to the level) and we will rid ourselves of the temptation to continue raking the rubble in breadth and depth (this way, you may not calculate your strength and abandon everything out of fatigue ).
Landowners, whose experience in developing a territory is limited to two or three uprooted stumps, usually ask: is it possible to cut the trees at the root and cover them with earth or plant oyster mushroom mycelium on the stumps so that they crumble, eaten by delicious mushrooms. Alas, believe a summer resident with three years of experience, in both cases, slowly rotting horizontal roots will remain in the soil. Despite the generous “sprinkles” on top, you are guaranteed to have dips and toadstool mushrooms. The work of eliminating woody remains can be made easier by cutting down small trees - waist-deep and slightly higher. It is good to use a trunk sticking out of the ground as a lever in order to pull out the entire root with a winch with a cable or by hand. To extract long roots, a tool in the form of a durable metal hook with a long handle is suitable. Grass tussocks are cut out good knife. The soil exposed in this way is still unsuitable for sowing: there are a lot of half-decayed roots and woody remains that need to be removed. Dips and potholes formed after uprooting can be filled with half-decayed organic matter mixed with sand and compacted. We remove high-quality humus, sort it out, freeing it from the roots, and transport it in a cart to an open area, on a previously laid piece. polyethylene film or other material - we will still need it. If the area is swampy, it is necessary to provide drainage, that is, drainage.
Let's consider a case that is, as they say, couldn't be more complicated: the area planned for a lawn is swampy and, in addition, also low - there is nowhere to drain the water. If we are talking about a small fragment (up to several tens of square meters), it makes sense to make a backfill of sand, crushed stone, or a sand-gravel mixture. Enlightened homeowners use geotextiles for such work - non-woven material, characterized by considerable tensile strength. Its main function is to prevent the mixing of soil layers. If the soil is heterogeneous, it makes sense to use geotextile fabric, but preference should be given to non-dense materials used in road construction, but to the most affordable canvases of minimum density that allow water to pass through well (look for specifications on the manufacturers’ websites).
If in such an area we find the bed of a stream that has gone underground or an overgrown pond, it is useless to fight them: we clear it, monitor the watercourse, and in places where solid soil is needed, we lay drainage pipes. We strengthen the banks of a cleared reservoir (stream, drainage ditch) with soil-reinforcing gratings (they are sold in the same place where geotextiles are sold), compact the soil and also sow grass. Severely wetlands require professional design complex drainage systems - half measures are usually not enough.
Preparing depleted soil for a lawn comes down to leveling it and forming a fertile layer on the surface. Simply put, you contribute to it upper layer what is missing (sand or humus), mix thoroughly (best with a light cultivator), level and tamp. At the very least, it will be easier to control weeds. If there is viscous clay under your feet, after leveling the area, it is good to sprinkle it with sand, and on top form a fertile layer of soil (sand, clay and peat in equal proportions) of at least 10–12 cm. This is quite enough to create a high-quality grass cover in the problem area.
However, lawn grasses, as well as any cultivated plants They do not tolerate poorly drained soils with stagnant water. Therefore, the lawn, or more precisely, the clay layer, must have a slope to drain thawed and surface waters. If there is nowhere for the water to go, you have to raise the soil, preparing a more complex layered “pie”: leveled surface - geotextile - drainage layer - geotextile - fertile layer. In all cases, a “breathing” layer of coarse sand is required between the fertile soil layer and the clay base.
Step three: level and compact the soil
A landowner who has dealt only with beds and is laying out a lawn for the first time usually plows and loosens the soil before sowing grass. And this is the most typical mistake: after several rains, the carefully “whipped” base begins to settle in waves, similar to small ripples on the water, and then dips and gullies form on such a lawn. To make the lawn even, the soil must not be loosened, but compacted. Ideally, there should be no distinct shoe marks left on the surface prepared for sowing.
Leveling and compacting the lawn - no less than important stage than preparing the foundation. The plowed and pliable soil is leveled with a long (about 2 m) board, and the best compactor is old sandals or boots, to the soles of which 30–50 cm of cuttings of a thin and light board are attached. The main thing is that these homemade “skis” do not fall off your feet and are not too heavy, otherwise “dancing” in them will quickly tire you.
So, after compaction, we got a flat, trampled area. Now it is advisable to take a break in order to observe its condition (we level out and compact the unevenness that appears) and the weeds (we pull them out). If sowing lawn grass produced in early summer, the soil should be kept fallow for at least a month; if it’s in the middle or at the end, time is already running out, but you need to wait at least a week. The main thing is to remember that right now you can easily get rid of the first enemies of a decent lawn - hummocks and depressions. Then, when the shoots appear, it will be much more difficult to do this.
Step four: sowing grass
The best time to sow is when the surface is slightly dry after a good rain. Seize the moment. After all, before the emergence of seedlings, the area should be watered only in case of emergency (if there is a drought), with great caution and only after sunset. But not with a stream from a hose (it will wash away the seeds), but with the help of a sprinkler attachment with small streams. If there is no rain, we water the future lawn generously (while you can with a hose), correct the resulting unevenness and gullies, compact the loose areas with “skis”, then lightly scratch the surface fan rake, by 1–2 cm (still not asphalt).
Now you can sow. There is no special wisdom here. Be sure to mix the contents of the package thoroughly. The seeds should be distributed over the surface as evenly as possible, the approximate consumption is 2–3 tablespoons with the top on square meter. Try not to make any gaps and don't be afraid to sprinkle the seeds too thickly. Nature will take its toll: it will grow exactly as much as needed.
Now all that remains is to be patient, stick up a sign “The lawn is seeded” and fence off the area of the future lawn with a rope stretched over pegs. In spring, seedlings appear within two to three weeks, but if you sow closer to autumn, the grass sprouts faster. When the grass has risen 8-10 cm and is slightly stronger, you can try trimming it using a light electric mower with sharp blades. If you have not yet purchased a mower, hold off on purchasing it until next year, in the meantime, mow the grass with a trimmer (which every novice landowner probably has), maintaining a height of 5–6 cm, but try to do it carefully. To avoid the formation of bald spots, be sure to remove cut grass from the lawn: a compacted cover of dry grass prevents seedlings from emerging.
How not to overstrain yourself: proper organization of work
So, the process of gas construction is very, very labor-intensive. We promised to tell you about the lawn for the lazy. How to make your life easier? Only by proper organization of work.
Firstly, complex and problem areas should be cultivated in small fragments - 5–10 square meters. m, no more. But in the average area there are usually few of them.
Secondly, “call a friend” and “help from the audience” are always available. TO hard work(moving earth masses, uprooting, clearing, removing, removing and burning garbage) you can attract hired workers (relatives, neighbors). Your actions in this case boil down to proper organization work and monitoring its implementation.
Thirdly, no one says that you should turn all six (ten, twenty...) acres into a lawn in one season. First, you need to draw up an action plan, that is, determine which parts of the site need priority “greening”, and which parts can be postponed. First of all, with the help of a technical lawn, you need to get rid of the overgrowth of weeds from buildings (houses, gazebos, bathhouses, barns...). Around the blind area and perimeter paths wooden house It is advisable to provide a three- to four-meter strip of shade-tolerant grass that is resistant to trampling. Forming a dense grass cover around the path leading from the gate to the house -
also from the category of priority tasks. Further options are possible: one will prefer to expand the property, cutting new pieces to the already cultivated lawn, the other will begin to develop the outer perimeter of the site (along the fences and drainage ditches). Let's consider a typical option: a plot of 10 acres. with a new house 6 x 8 m, the soil around which needs to be cultivated by 4 m, and a road leading to the house 7 m long, along which strips of grass 1.5 m wide should be formed on both sides. I will not give the arithmetic calculation, but it will be necessary about 200 sq. m (that is, two hundred square meters) of lawn. This is the volume that the right approach easy to keep in order, remaining in good shape. But do not forget that these two hundred square meters will have to be mowed, weeded, removing weeds, and fed with nitrogen fertilizers. In addition, they need to eliminate unevenness, bumps and bald spots. But more about this in the following publications.
Each person pays a lot of attention to the arrangement of the territory, because it is always nice to see a beautiful well-groomed area. Lawns are becoming increasingly popular, filling areas with an exquisite look of natural green cover.
What kind of soil will be needed for a lawn?
Many people believe that the lawn is unpretentious and can grow on any soil. However, this approach does not provide the desired quality of the grass surface; consequently, its aesthetic properties are reduced. Since the main purpose of such landscaping is to cover non-aesthetic places land plot, you should take care about what kind of lawn soil is used. It’s better to buy from a reliable supplier and enjoy landscaping for decades.
Features of soil for lawn design
Usually the solution appears when the natural fertile soil layer is damaged. Therefore, you will first need to deliver fertile soil, cultivate it, or add peat.
The main characteristics of the fertile soil layer for landscaping:
Average soil density;
Volumetric mass is 0.8 – 1.2;
Good water and air permeability;
Slightly acidic pH reaction (6.0-6.5);
Saturation with appropriate supply nutrients.
Working with soil for landscaping
An ordinary person may find the process of arranging a site difficult, so a specialist is often brought in to carry out the relevant work. If work is carried out on heavy soil, it is recommended to lighten the soil with sand. They also regulate the acidity level using lime. Many lawn owners do not comply with necessary requirements, neglecting the favorable conditions for growth, which affects the quality of the result.
Own plot - labor-intensive process, but many will find it a fun activity. Greenery beautiful lawn always pleases owners and visitors, so the unusual aesthetic properties of such a natural coating are widely in demand. When the thought arises about decorating a garden or an ordinary area, you should turn to lawn coverings, because this method of landscaping has no analogues.
Proper soil preparation for rolled lawn
You should plan wisely how to prepare the soil for your lawn, taking into account necessary steps this process. There are several rules that must be followed when preparing land for a lawn.
Patterns of successful soil preparation
Such a labor-intensive event as preparing an area for a lawn is extremely necessary to ensure the quality of the cover. It is necessary to study the content and sequence of preparatory work, and also take into account following rules soil preparation:
Get rid of the weeds!
It is necessary to get rid of all weeds, if necessary, even in several stages. Are used special means, which are applied through a jet sprayer to the stems and leaves of weeds. This procedure should be carried out only in good weather so that the substance remains on the plant for at least 4 hours. It is recommended to carry out the treatment several times, because new germinating weeds will try to take up the vacant space. The use of herbicides is very effective in controlling weeds, because it interferes with photosynthesis in the plant and leads to death along with the root system. After the plants die off, the withered stems are collected from the ground.
The ground level should be 5 centimeters below the level of the tracks
Thickness standard roll is 3-4 centimeters. Therefore, when thinking about how to prepare an area for a lawn, you should prudently lower the level relative to the paths by at least 5 centimeters. This arrangement will ensure the cleanliness of the grass, even after snowmelt and rain.
The thickness of the soil under the lawn is also of great importance - usually the thickness of the fertile layer is 10-15 centimeters. This thickness provides required amount nutrients for optimal plant life.
Soil strengthening
If a large load is expected for the rolled lawn, additional sand should be added under the fertile layer. His minimum layer should reach 5 centimeters.
Dig up the soil!
If the soil has been artificially compacted, you should dig it up. This applies to cases where people often walked on the ground or equipment drove. When laying on steppe, forest or garden soil, there is no need to dig.
How to level an area for a lawn?
You should get rid of depressions and bumps, any bumps and holes. Before leveling the area for a lawn, you should also analyze its layout. If you leave holes, liquid will stagnate in them and the grass will get wet, and the remaining tubercles will interfere with mowing. Typically, preparing an area for a lawn involves removing the top layer of soil, which is returned after leveling.
Create the right slope!
Although bumps and depressions adversely affect the quality of the coating, care must be taken to create a natural slope. Its purpose is to create natural drains for storm and melt water.
Compaction and final leveling of the soil
It is necessary to compact the soil so that after the first rain large subsidence does not occur. The entire area should be trampled in small steps. Next, you need to go through the rake to level out the new uneven areas. This completes the preparation of the soil for rolled lawn completed!
Convenience of soil preparation for a rolled lawn compared to the seed type
Rolled lawn, like any other type of planting, has characteristic differences. However, these differences characterize it as the predominant type of landscaping. World practice considers the use of pre-grown grass in the best possible way creating quality landscaping!
Advantages of rolled lawn
Pre-grown greens are available for planting in any soil. This grass takes root very quickly, has a beautiful uniform structure and does not contain weeds. This lawn will decorate the area until the snow falls.
Unique aesthetic and performance properties
Rolled lawn is characterized by extraordinary decorative qualities. Its smooth, dense and elastic turf is not demanding on temperature conditions and is resistant to flooding and mechanical stress. The greens will also withstand cold winters or long droughts in the summer. With proper care, roll coating has almost no limitation in terms of service life.
Easy soil preparation
Preparing the soil for a rolled lawn is accessible to everyone! Arrange landscaping using roll covering much easier than using the seed type. After all, sowing a lawn requires not only soil preparation and good care, as well as additional measures for planting and caring for germination.
The seeded lawn can dry out, become overgrown with weeds, wash away, and form bald spots. You will need to constantly weed and add seeds, and cold times can be detrimental to the seed cover. Unlike seeding, a rolled lawn will be less demanding to maintain. Moreover, the quality of seeds cannot be assessed before germination, but the quality of pre-grown plants can be assessed.
High-quality rolled lawn is a product of the Gorgazon company!
Gorgazon grows rolled sod on enriched mineral fertilizers substrate;
You've probably already realized that you have to work hard to get a good lawn. If you prepare the area correctly, the grass will be healthy and beautiful, otherwise your lawn will be a pitiful sight. The lawn can be seeded or rolled, but in both cases the area for it must be prepared in the same way.
Site clearing
Using pegs, string and sand lines, draw a layout of the lawn at the planned location. Now it's time for some hard physical work. First of all, you need to clear the area of all previous inhabitants: bushes, trees and flower beds.
If grass is already growing in the area intended for the lawn, you will have to get rid of it. You can do this in two ways: bayonet shovel remove the top layer of turf (while trying to capture as little soil as possible) or kill the grass using herbicides. If you choose the first method, the removed turf can be turned into a valuable source of fertile soil; With the second method, you will have to wait 6-8 weeks before sowing new grass or laying turf. Weeds that appear on the site during this time must be weeded out or also treated with herbicides.
All other coverings of the area intended for lawn, such as concrete, stone or brick, will have to be completely removed, including solid foundation underneath them. This is hard work and you may need to hire help for it. Old blocks, stones or slabs can be saved and used elsewhere, but the concrete will have to be mercilessly broken.
On a note
- Work methodically and make sure that you don't leave any un-dug areas. Never dig in wet weather: it is difficult and you will also compact the soil unnecessarily.
- To turn removed turf into fertile soil, turn it upside down and stack it like brickwork somewhere in the far corner of the garden. In six months or a year, the grass will rot, and you will get completely fertile soil.
- With the help of digging, you can improve almost any area. Rocky soil will need to be thoroughly loosened with a rake so that the grass grows on a flat surface.
Digging
If you have already cleared the area, it's time to start digging it up. Be warned, this is hard work and you may be tempted to skip this step of preparation. For the sake of the health and beauty of your future lawn, don't do this! You can dig up the ground different ways, some of them are heavier, others are lighter. If the soil on your site is good, a simple dig will be enough. But if it is too heavy or light, you will have to resort to two-tier digging, which, of course, is more difficult. To make your task easier, you can use a rotary cutter ( rotary cultivator), although on heavy soil it will be of little use.
Simple single-tier digging
This method means digging up the entire area under the lawn to the depth of one bayonet. When digging, the earth turns over and its pieces break. On rocky or heavy soils For such processing, you can also use a pitchfork. In this way, you can prepare the top layer of soil for sowing seeds, but this does not affect its lower level in any way, so the method is recommended only in cases where you have very good drainage or when you know that the land was cultivated in the past. For example, simple digging is enough if you are laying out a lawn in the place of an old vegetable garden or flower bed.
Two-tier digging
requires a lot of effort. With its help, an area is prepared for sowing the lawn, which for a long time not treated, or area with poor drainage. Working across the site, dig a furrow to the depth of one bayonet, and take the soil removed from it to the side in a wheelbarrow. Then, using a fork or pick, thoroughly loosen the bottom layer of soil. Make the next furrow, fill the first with soil taken from the second, and continue digging the entire area in this way; Fill the last furrow with soil from the first. During the two-tier digging process, you can add well-rotted compost or manure to the soil. If you have severe clay soil and very poor drainage, fill the lower level with gravel or crushed stone.
- Dig a furrow to the depth and width of one bayonet. Take the soil removed from the furrow to the side in a wheelbarrow or on a sheet of plastic. Remove the roots of all weeds from it.
- Dig a second furrow close to the first, and pour the soil from it into the first. If required, add organic fertilizers. Continue working in this manner until the last furrow.
- Fill the last furrow with soil from the first. Walk around the entire area and break up large clumps of earth with a shovel or rake.
Leveling the area
A flat lawn looks lovely, but on an uneven lawn some (high) areas will be cut almost bare, while on low areas the grass will be too long, which does not look particularly beautiful. Dealing with hummocks and depressions will be much more difficult once the grass has grown, so take the time to do it now. Do this work with all care and keep in mind that as the ground settles, the unevenness will appear again.
After digging, walk around the entire area with a rake, select stones, old roots, and so on from the surface. Step aside often and check the level of the area from different points. Level the highest and lowest areas by moving soil from the former to the latter.
After leveling, it is necessary to trample the ground and thus create a layer in which grass or rolled turf can take root well. After this, thoroughly level the area again.
Leveling the topsoil
The top, fertile layer of soil is like a layer of cream on milk, and therefore you should not mix it with the lower layer, which is noticeably different in both appearance and touch. If the soil level on your site needs to be changed by more than 5-8 centimeters in order to level it, it is best to first remove the fertile layer and place it somewhere to the side. Then all the leveling work can be done at the level of the lower layer, and when it is finished, fertile soil can be poured on top again. This way you will create the most favorable conditions for the roots of the new lawn.
If your lawn area is very uneven or the fertile layer on it is very small, less than 15-22 centimeters, it may make sense to purchase fertile soil. Be sure to mix it with the old one, since no two types of soil are exactly alike. In addition, mixing will ensure even drainage.
Top dressing
Once the soil is leveled, it's time to add some fertilizer for the grass. Adding fertilizer at this stage ensures it is evenly mixed into the soil.
Soil compaction
Between the first raking of the area for the purpose of leveling and the last, which will finally prepare the soil for sowing, it is necessary to compact the soil so that it does not sag too much after the first rain. To do this, you need to trample the entire area, taking small steps and transferring your body weight to your heels. Don't do this after it rains and don't rush it under any circumstances. Walk slowly and try not to miss an inch. Your neighbors may think you're crazy, but they'll see how wrong they were when they see your gorgeous lawn.
Final loosening and leveling
After you have trampled the ground, you need to go over it with a rake again to level out the newly formed uneven areas and remove stones. Here I must warn you: the more you rake, the more stones will appear on the surface. But you don’t need to turn the soil into a kind of fine powder; it should look like the top of a fruit pie sprinkled with shortbread crumbs, while remaining quite dense inside.
On a note
If you need to remove the top layer of soil to work on the bottom layer, never pile it higher than 30 centimeters or leave it that way for more than four weeks. In both cases, the bacteria that make the top layer so fertile and biologically active will die due to lack of oxygen.
You look with slight envy at the neat lawns of your neighbors or TV series characters and think: “I wish I had such beauty.” Why not? Let's see how you can create an even carpet of emerald grass in your yard yourself. And in this article we will devote a special place to the process of preparing a site for sowing a lawn.
Preparing the soil for a lawn is a specific set of work that should be started a month before sowing the seeds. Preparing the foundation for a lawn is similar to preparing the foundation for a building - it has the same importance and the work process is somewhat similar. Of course, if you are the happy owner of a country plot with fertile soil, then work on preparing the area for the lawn is reduced only to removing debris and leveling the surface. But if you are as “lucky” as most summer residents/owners of private houses, then you will need to work a little more.
Soil preparation We remove garbage
To get a beautiful and well-groomed lawn, it is important that the soil for the lawn is initially completely cleared of all debris. It could be small debris - leaves, paper, small stones; and large - stumps, trees. It is important to pick out all the garbage from the site, but under no circumstances bury it, because over time it will begin to interfere with the growing root system, and inconvenience may arise when using lawn equipment. More work You, of course, will have it if the selected area has not been cultivated before, but regardless of whether you plan to sow or lay rolls of lawn, the work on preparing the soil for the lawn will be the same.
Remove debris and level the area Also, a special place in cleaning the area for the future lawn should be given to the destruction of weeds. This can be done by removing the layer of soil with a shovel (this, by the way, is the most environmentally friendly way), or you can take advantage of the achievements of the modern chemical industry and treat the soil with herbicides, which, penetrating directly to the root system, will destroy all the weed. And although the newest chemicals do not accumulate in the soil, we would advise sowing the area with seeds only after 1.5 months.
How to remove weeds (video)
Digging
As we wrote at the beginning of the article, there are lucky people who do not need to worry about the quality of the soil on the site. But this does not mean that you can avoid digging up the soil before planting. You can call for help with heavy equipment (a cultivator), or you can get by with a shovel (which will be even better). By the way, digging is another opportunity to remove weeds from the soil that were not killed by chemicals. Dig dry soil 25 cm deep. This is the so-called single-tier digging.
Is there a two-tier dig? Yes. This digging is used for areas of land that have not been cultivated for a long time. A furrow is dug across the lawn area to a depth of 25 cm (the bayonet of a shovel), and the layer of soil is loosened with a pick. In the next furrow you need to select loosened soil and cover it with soil from the previous furrow.
By digging up the ground, you solve several problems at once: remove the remaining weeds and fertilize the soil But if the soil for sowing a lawn leaves much to be desired, then you need to think carefully about how to prepare the soil for the lawn. There is an option to replace the existing soil with fertile one. This is a complex process. You need to remove 20 cm of soil and fill another one. You ask: “where to get the right soil under the lawn"? This is done like this: mix part of the manure + 2 parts of peat + part of loam. Here is the answer to the question of how to prepare fertile soil for a lawn. The second option is not so labor-intensive, because it only involves enriching infertile soil. To do this, add peat, manure, sand and loam to the existing soil and dig up everything with the old soil.
What soil is best for lawn grasses? Experts say that this is loam with a neutral pH level.
As a rule, digging is accompanied by a bookmark drainage system. Before sowing seeds, you need to install communications and drainage. If groundwater are deep, then construct surface drainage. Surface drainage serves only to remove excess moisture after precipitation. In other words, it prevents puddles from accumulating. If groundwater comes close to the ground, then deep drainage is needed. Please note that creating deep drainage even requires consultation with a specialist.
Alignment
Preparing an area for a lawn involves carefully leveling this area, so that later, when mowing, it does not turn out that on the hills you cut it bald, but in the pits, on the contrary, you left it too long. Unevenness can also damage sharp knives lawnmowers. To level the ground, we select a rake as a tool and walk it lengthwise and crosswise along the dug up ground. Always level the area, looking at it from the side. Transfer the soil where there is more of it into the holes for uniformity. After leveling, watering is needed to allow the soil to settle. When it dries, the unevenness will appear again, and you will need to repeat everything.
After leveling the area, leave it for a while so that the soil shrinks. Tamping
Lawn preparation includes tamping. For future sowing of seeds, the soil must be compacted. Compact the dug up and leveled soil with a hand roller weighing approximately one hundredweight. Although you can use a simple board. No one should be allowed to roll the earth after or during rain. Walking on compacted and compacted soil is not allowed. Carefully compacted soil will allow the seeds to lie evenly in the ground, and this in turn will help them swell and sprout.
It is better to do tamping in dry weather. We figured out how to compact the soil under the lawn, now let's move on to the next one final stage.
Work immediately before sowing seeds
After the work has been done, we can say that the area for planting a lawn is almost ready. Only small nuances remain. Immediately before sowing, you need to sprinkle complex fertilizer on the soil and rake it. You will also use a rake to remove any unevenness and debris that has arisen again. The area for the lawn should have a grainy surface with a dense middle.
If you can wait a little (a month or two), then the area prepared for planting can be allowed to stand fallow. This will make it possible to prepare the area for sowing even better, because after fallowing the soil shrinks even more, and this, in turn, reveals new defects that can now be eliminated. Preparing the ground for a lawn involves a lot of work and it will be a shame if it turns out that you did not clear the ground of weeds very well, and fallowing the ground will help cope with this problem, because two months after resting, weeds that you missed will certainly appear on the ground, and they can still be removed before sowing.
Now all that remains is to loosen the soil again with a rake and sow the seeds Step by step guide
In order not to miss the sequence of how to properly prepare the site, we offer the following list of works:
- Experts in the field of landscape design advise not to create areas with sharp corners and complex kinks in lines;
- Start cleaning the area in mid-spring, because by then it will already be warm and still quite humid;
- If the path of the future lawn area lies concrete path, then it must be destroyed right to the ground;
- When leveling the ground, bumps and convex irregularities can be removed with a hoe;
- Add sand to heavy soil, clay to light soil, improve poor soil with compost;
- Now is the time to install irrigation systems and lawn screens;
- It is advisable to make a very slight slope so that water can flow behind the lawn area;
- If necessary, adjust soil pH using dolomite flour, chalk and lime;
- For effective fight with weed chemicals, leave the soil cleared of debris and leveled for at least a couple of weeks for all the weeds to germinate;
- A layer of coarse sand and gravel will provide excellent drainage;
- Digging the soil should be carried out in autumn or spring and do not miss large blocks of earth;
- Leveling the soil with a roller does not excess moisture penetrate to the roots or, conversely, stagnate on the surface;
- An alternative to a roller can be a flat log or an empty gas cylinder;
- On a small lawn area an oversized heavy roller can be replaced with a board attached to the legs;
- Nowadays, specialized companies are ready to do everything quickly and efficiently preparatory work for you;
- Remember that preparing the land is like laying a foundation; mistakes will be almost impossible to correct in the future.
As you can see, there is quite a lot of work involved in laying out a lawn with your own hands, but this work is very interesting, and its results will please you for a very long time.
Preparing the soil and seeding the lawn (video)
A lawn roller is a necessary element gardening tools. Although it is not often used in a summer cottage, its absence still brings unnecessary trouble, so we recommend purchasing it in a store, or making it yourself.
The purpose of the skating rink
The skating rink at the dacha is used for several types of work:
- Preparation of gravel and sand base under the paths.
- Compacting and leveling the surface for sowing the lawn.
- Rolling the seeds after sowing.
- Rolling.
- Rolling asphalt when laying it.
- Rolling lawn clippings and other mulch.
Selecting a skating rink
Before you go to the store, you should decide on the choice of a skating rink model that suits your financial capabilities and the amount of work that it will perform.
For large areas suburban areas We can recommend a large roller that will be attached to some kind of self-propelled mechanism.
For plantations that are not very large, a manual lawn roller is more suitable. It weighs less, and its dimensions allow it to be used in narrow places, in aisles and on paths.
When choosing a model, you should also pay attention to the smooth rotation of the roller drum around its axis, so it is advisable that the roller be equipped with bearings.
It is also a good idea if the roller is equipped with a screw-on plug for adding sand or similar weighting materials. This will improve the functionality of the mechanism and apply it in a wider range of conditions.
Homemade skating rinks
For our dacha Kulibins, nothing is impossible, and therefore many of them use self-made lawn rollers. Moreover, the imagination of our summer residents can only be envied. Indeed, as rollers or materials for their manufacture, they use any available materials:
- logs;
- metal and asbestos pipes;
- barrels;
- water bottles;
- gas cylinders.
If you have experience welding work and the necessary equipment, then it will not be difficult for you to make a real skating rink from a piece of steel pipe.
Below is a diagram clearly showing how to make a lawn roller. 
The sequence of work is as follows:
- We cover a thick pipe with metal on both sides.
- In the center of the pancakes we cut holes for the axle. This operation must be carried out according to precise markings; centering the hole is very important.
- We weld bushings into pancakes or weld bearings.
- We insert the axle and weld a handle or rings to it to secure it.
- We attach a pre-made handle to the roller.
In another manufacturing option, pins are welded to the centers of the pancakes, which rotate in bearings or bushings mounted on the handle according to the principle of a well drum.
Below is a photograph of one of the many self-made devices.
If you have at your disposal metal barrel, then it will also make a good lawn roller. You just need to insert a metal axle into it, and a reliable belt can serve as a handle. The barrel has a filler plug through which it can be filled with enough weighting material for the work that you are going to do with such a roller.
In addition to the mentioned structures, rollers are made from asbestos-cement pipes with a preliminary insertion of a metal axis and filling of the inside with cement mortar.
When constructing a roller, a piece of log is selected from a piece of such thickness that its weight is sufficient to complete the work. They screw into the ends of such a log in the center steel reinforcement as an axis, and rotation occurs at the junction with the handle.
Video about making a lawn roller with your own hands