In home gardens and allotments, lawns are usually established in spring. This is due to the desire to have beautiful grass before summer comes. Meanwhile,a better time to sow grass seeds may be autumnIt is at this time of the year that the best conditions for grass germination and growth prevail. See what arguments speak forthe autumn date for sowing grass seedsand how to complete each job. We will also suggest which grass seeds to choose to get a dense and lush green turf.
When to establish a sowing lawn?
Fig. depositphotos.com
What is the best time to set up a lawn?
Until now, there has been a perception that April and May are the best times to renovate and install a lawnIt happened for a simple reason, we all want a green carpet before summer . Unfortunately, changes in the weather beyond our control have clearly shown that it is changing. April and the beginning of May offered us warm temperatures during the day. Unfortunately, the nights were still cool, and in mid-May there were night frosts.
Meanwhilethe condition for the growth of grass seeds is not the average temperature during the day, but the appropriate soil temperatureMoreover, in in the case of frosts, when we sowed grass seeds, watered them but did not cover them with soil, the negative temperature may cause the seeds to freeze.
Spring is also an intensive time for weed pollinationAllergy sufferers know it best, who since May have to avoid pollen that strongly sensitizes weeds, such as nettle or plantain.We can put a lot of work into setting up a lawn in spring, but if there are grasslands behind the fence, there is simply a great risk that the wind will carry their seeds to our garden. And thenweeds can sprout faster than newly sown grass
In spring weeds often sprout faster than grass
Fig. depositphotos.com
In addition to these unfavorable conditions, there was also a drought, which has been plaguing this year since spring.If the lawn established in spring was not watered regularly, we could not count on too good results
Thereforelate summer and autumn is a much better time to set up a lawnGrass seeds can be sown from mid-August to mid-October. In this period, the soil is well warmed up, and the increased humidity in autumn provides the right conditions for the germination of grass seeds. The minimum temperature required for the germination of grass seeds is 6-8 ° C.Soeven cooler autumn evenings and nights will not slow down the growth of grass
Before winter, the grass from autumn sowing will take root well, creating a nice, dense turf that will survive the winter without any problemsFrom spring we will be able to enjoy a beautiful lawn, which you only need to spend a little time doing simple spring work and fertilization.
Start setting up a lawn in the fall with soil preparation!
A newly established lawn requires a permeable and well-fertilized substratefor proper growth. So we need to properly prepare a sandy-clay top layer with a thickness of about 20 cm. The optimum acidity of the substrate for the lawn is pH 5.5-6.5.
We start the work by clearing the area intended for the lawn of stones, leaves, weeds and other plants. In case of heavy weed infestation, it may be necessary to spray with a non-selective herbicide, such as e.g.Roundup. It will be possible to carry out further works about 3 weeks after spraying, when all the weeds are dry (follow the recommendations on the label of the herbicide used).
Then it is necessary to dig the soil to the aforementioned depth of 20 cm. Thanks to this, the substrate is air-tight and loosened. If the spade work turns out to be too hard, a tiller will be helpful. Depending on the quality and structure of the substrate, it may also be necessary to mix it with appropriate additives. For clayey, very heavy soils, it is worth adding coarse-grained sand or fractionated gravel with a grain size of 0-4 mm (usually it is enough to sprinkle the sand with a layer of 3-5 cm and dig it with the soil), while on light and low-fertile soils, the addition of fertile compost soil or deacidified peat. If the soil turns out to be too acidic (pH below 5.5), the soil will also need to be limed.
The next step is to compact and level the ground. For this purpose, the lawn is rolled with a roller weighing approx. 75-100 kg. Re-rolling may be useful after sowing the seeds in order to press them against the ground.
Which grass seeds should I choose?
After the substrate is properly prepared, we can start sowing grass. Obtaining a nice, dense and lush green grass largely depends onchoosing the right lawn mixture , appropriate to the conditions in the place of the lawn (in particular, the degree of sunlight) and the way the lawn will be used (whether it is supposed to be, for example, a representative lawn in front of the house, which is unlikely to be walked on, or intensively used and trampled by children who love to play football in the backyard).
Self-thickening grass by rhizomes
Fig. Substral
Regardless of the type of lawn,it is worth choosing the highest-quality mixture of grass seedsfor sowing, which will guarantee even emergence, a nice representative appearance and quick compaction of the turf.Such effects can be achievedby sowing SAMO grass that thickens Substral, which includes the innovative ryegrass RPR(Lolium perenne stoloniferum, Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass). The seeds of this grass germinate quickly, root perfectly, and its stalks withstand intensive use, while maintaining a decorative appearance for many years.
Most importantly, however,said grass has the ability to self-compact by underground runnersThanks to this, over time the number of grass tufts increases and the lawn becomes more and more dense. Therefore, it is the opposite of traditional lawns, which tend to thin out over the years and require constant additional seeding.
SAMO thickening grass Substral is ideal for setting up a lawn in the falland will allow us to fully use the potential of this date of sowing turf. It is available in 3 versions:
- universal , which will work on most home lawns,
- sports , ideal for intensely trampled places and extremely sunny places,
- regenerative , which will be perfect as an autumn seeding to an existing lawn.
You can learn more about each type of SAMO grass that thickens Substral from the descriptions on the shop page of our guide. To see them, press the image below: -)
