Juicy green and well-kept turf around the house creates a beautiful environment in which to relax. However, to be able to enjoy such a view, you need to devote time to gardening. When to sow the grass so that it grows as expected? What should I be aware of when going through this process? Check out our tips.
Why is spring the best time for many specialists to sow grass in the garden? Favorable temperatures already appear, and after winter snowfall and rain, the substrate is perfectly moist.Moreover, there is still rainfall, and heat and drought not yet. Thanks to this, you will not have to regularly and intensively water the emerging lawn.
Sowing grass step by step
Let's summarize the most important information so far:
- you can sow from spring to autumn;
- choose the turn of April / May or September / October, when the ground is damp and heat and frost do not scare you;
- you can plant turf in the summer, but it's better to avoid it because the soil is dry, which makes cultivation difficult and requires a lot of irrigation work.
What is grass gangrene?
Fusarium gangrene of grasses is a disease caused by a type of fungus from the lumpy family - Fusarium spp. The disease is favored by periods after prolonged rains and excessive watering of lawns in warm months. Additionally, the development of these soil pathogens facilitates nitrogen fertilization.As a result, the roots of the infested grasses rot and die. The above-ground parts of plants also die, which can be seen as streaked, round or ring spots.
- says Dr. Eng. Tomasz Mróz
Now that you can sow grass, it's time to find out how to prepare for this process.First, take care of the right substrate. First, remove the weeds, dig the soil well, and get rid of any pebbles and sticks .
The next step will becreating a suitable soilIf it is excessively acidic, you should only enrich it with calcium. In the case of clay and hard soil, it will do good to loosen it and fertilize it, so it is ideal when you add sand mixed with compost to it. On the other hand, too sandy conditions require the use of organic fertilizers and their enrichment with arable land.
When sowing grass, we must remember that it will look like the terrain we have, sotake care of its evenness crush the soil well to get rid of large clodsAlso be aware that turf does not like hard ground, but also marshy ground. So you shouldn't leave the soil too soft. If there is, roll it. However, remember not to overdo it, it is not about obtaining a concave, but only slightly hardening the ground. Now you can move on to placing the seeds in the soil.Ideally you should use a seed drill Cross seed to avoid leaving blank spaces.
Finally, we share some practical tips:
- avoid sowing on a windy day so as not to lose seeds;
- the ground should be damp, but not muddy, so do not start working immediately after heavy rains;
- mix the seeds with the sand.
When is the best time to sow grass - in spring or autumn?
As this question has always tormented owners of smaller and larger gardens who dream of a beautiful lawn, the answer has never aroused enthusiasm. Well, grass can be sown throughout the growing season, from spring to autumn (April-October).
Spring sowing (April-May) promotes seed germination due to the optimal substrate moisture and heat. The grass has time to sprout, take root and grow well before the summer heat and the first winter. However, excess moisture in the initial period can cause the seeds to rot and mold.
When sowing in summer (probably the least recommended), remember to water it regularly. Grass, especially in the initial growth period, is very sensitive to water shortages and it does not tolerate heat well. The seeding efficiency is the lowest.
Autumn sowing (September-October) is the time when it is still warm, but there is no heat anymore, and until the first frosts there is enough time for the grass to take root and grow well.In case of too late sowing in autumn, however, one must take into account the local freezing and the loss of the turf.
So what's the secret? In proper preparation of the ground for the lawn and proper sowing, this is a topic for another tip.
- says Dr. Eng. Tomasz Mróz
