When sowing a new lawn it is essential that you prepare the soil first to ensure your lawn gets off to the best possible start, grows well in all conditions and stays perfect all year round. The leafy growth of your grass can only be as good as the condition of the soil below will allow. A good well-aerated soil will provide three important factors.
- The roots of grasses are encouraged to grow to a greater depth, which reduces drought stress in summer and cold damage in winter
- Nutrients will be fully used in deeper root zone
- Most importantly of all – water can pass through the soil surface to the root zone where it is needed, not wallowing on the surface where it encourages moss and algae.
Always Get the Best Results
To ensure you get the best results you should prepare the soil well before sowing grass seed.
- Thoroughly dig over the area to a depth of about 23cm removing the roots of any perennial weeds, large stones and if on heavy clay soils any solid clay layers
- Dig in course sand and on heavy clay soil dig in grit to improve drainage. If the soil is light (sand, gravel or chalk) add plenty of organic matter such as compost or composted bark to improve the soil
- Lightly firm the soil by walking over the area with your weight on your heels. Rake the soil level
- Leave for two weeks before sowing allowing weed seeds to germinate, hoe off any that appear, and rake the soil again to achieve a uniform crumbly surface ready for sowing
- Apply Nutragreen Micro fertiliser at 25grms per sq metre as a pre-seed fertiliser this product will slowly release nutrients to the new grass seedling which will be very nutrient deficient — select the appropriate grass seed mix and apply evenly with either a handheld or pedestrian spreader to obtain an even coverage at 50grms per sq metre
- For best results, the soil temperature should be 10-25C (50-77F)