Each gardener has his own opinion on the most favorable time to plant lawn grasses. Planting in spring – early March or autumn – in September or late November has its positive and negative sides. But the most affordable time for summer residents, when you can plant a lawn, is still the autumn season..
Benefits of autumn planting
Autumn is a good time for rapid seed germination and root formation. For this, there are all natural factors – this is moist soil and sufficient watering in the form of rains, moderate air temperature (as opposed to summer heat and heat).
To grow a high-quality lawn, a certain amount of time is required to prepare the soil, which is not enough in the spring, and in the fall (after harvesting) it is much more..
In the autumn period, the number of pests on the site decreases, and the weed practically stops growing..
With an early planting (from about September 1 to September 15), the lawn grass will have time to take root well and grow to a height of about 10 cm even before the first night frosts arrive. Before the onset of real cold weather, you can even have time to make the first mowing of the lawn. With a later sowing, there is a risk that young immature plants will freeze when winter arrives, since they have not yet grown enough.
When sowing seeds of lawn plants in winter, the first green shoots will appear in early spring. It is recommended to sow the seeds at a temperature of 0 to 5 degrees Celsius (in late October – early November) and immediately cover with a mulch layer consisting of peat or dry soil. Overwintered seeds become “hardened” and young plants that appeared in spring can feel great at any temperature extremes, with slight frosts, and with prolonged hot weather. Diseases and pests of such plants are dangerous in minimal cases..
Autumn planting and its disadvantages
If the warm autumn period lasts for a long time, then the subwinter sowing will begin to germinate before the beginning of winter, and then the seedlings will die with the first frost.
The subwinter method of sowing lawn grasses cannot be used on areas that are on a slope, since when the snow melts in spring, the seeds will float away with the soil.
Lawn planting rules in autumn
Planting a lawn consists of three main points: preparing a land plot, applying various dressings to the soil, sowing seed.
Site preparation
Land preparation begins approximately 20-30 days before planting. Gardeners, who are not carrying out this procedure for the first time, advise starting this work at the end of summer. Preparation includes cleaning up large stones, debris, weeds, dead shrubs and uprooting tree stumps. With a large number of weeds, it is recommended to use chemicals to treat the site. After clearing the places for the future lawn, they move on to digging the entire selected area and re-cleaning the now remnants of plants that were found when digging up the soil.
An additional drainage layer will be required in those areas that are located in the lowlands and are subject to flooding by spring waters. It is easy to build it even for inexperienced gardeners. First, you need to remove the top layer of soil, fill the area with any construction waste (for example, broken brick or gravel), then a layer of coarse river sand (about 10 cm) and the top of the removed fertile soil layer. It is recommended to level each layer with a roller or thick log..
Fertilization
It is necessary to feed the soil in the area for sowing lawn plants in about 7-10 days. It is recommended to scatter nitrogen-containing complex mineral fertilizers or fertilizers specially for lawns over the surface of the plot and use a rake to close it up to a shallow depth..
Planting methods
Seeds are planted manually, using a seeder or hydraulic seeder.
Sowing by hand is the cheapest and most suitable for every lawn. The weather on the day of sowing should be calm and warm. The soil surface on the site must be moistened with a spray bottle. One square meter will require about 60-70 g of seeds. This is slightly higher than the average spring planting rate, but you still often have to sow the grass in the spring if some seeds have not sprouted..
Seed material, mixed in equal parts with dry soil or fine sand, should be divided into two halves and sowed differently. One along the entire land area, and the other across. Another sowing of seeds (optional) is recommended to be done around the entire edge of the lawn. After that, the entire surface is covered with a small mulch layer (of dry sand, peat or sawdust), moistened with a sprayer and lightly compacted with a large log or a hand roller.
Hydroseeding is carried out using a special modern device – a hydraulic seeder. It is used for planting large-area lawns, as well as on slopes and other hard-to-reach places. Seed planting material, along with water and all the necessary nutrients, is sprayed with a hydraulic seeder over the surface of the prepared area. After a few hours, the mixture hardens and the seeds are safe from pests and strong winds..
How to sow a lawn correctly and what kind of care you need (video)
Lawn planting // FORUMHOUSE