Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:53 pm
The lawn is the flagship of any garden. It is the foundation on which everything else is built. But when seeding the lawn, there are also some unanswered questions and things that need to be considered. Because it is not simply done with the fact that you sow the lawn and let a little time pass. In order for the lawn to be perfect, you should follow the following procedure and your lawn will shine in perfect green and look healthy in the long run.
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Sow the lawn or use sod?
However, the first question that most gardeners ask themselves is whether to use a ready-made sod instead of seeding the lawn. Sure, sod offers some advantages, but now where are the actual differences?
The quality
It is often assumed that the quality of a rolled lawn is better than that of a lawn that has been sown naturally. This may be true to a limited extent. In the first one or two years, the finished turf is certainly ahead of its seeded counterpart in quality. Thus, it is already very densely overgrown earlier and does not allow, for example, weeds to attack the lawn.
In the long term, however, it makes no difference whether you sow the lawn or install a finished turf. The only thing to keep in mind here is that the seeded lawn requires a little more care in the initial period, as the fight against weeds is constantly on the agenda here. With the ready-made lawn, there is also the disadvantage that gaps will also appear here, but they are not so easy to treat.
The development time
The finished sod, of course, has the advantage that it is already much faster fully durable. However, even the rolled turf can not be fully used immediately. It should be given about three to four weeks before it can be walked on and loaded.
With seeded turf, of course, this duration is much longer. Here, the lawn should not be walked on for a period of four to six weeks. Only after the first cut was made, it can be walked on very carefully. However, it should be refrained from exposing it to a high load. Barbecues or romping children are not yet permitted.
Only after about 14 to 18 weeks the sown lawn has developed its full load capacity. Now it can withstand higher loads without any problems and can be fully used.
The costs in comparison
With any activity in the garden, of course, should keep track of the cost. Moreover, when comparing a seeded lawn and a ready-made lawn, there are serious differences in the price level.
In the case of sod, not only the cost of materials should be considered. These are about 500 euros for a 100m2 garden, depending on the quality of the turf. In addition, however, the laying costs must also be included. Because hardly any gardener will own the necessary machines. Therefore, the lawn must be laid professionally.
In total, costs of about 1,000 to 1,500 dollars come into consideration here for turf.
The lawn seed is much cheaper. The lawn seeds cost with a good quality usually no more than 25 euros for a 100m2 area. Now, of course, the lawn can be professionally laid again, but this is really not necessary.
When sowing the lawn simple gardening tools can usually be borrowed from the neighbor or in many cases are already available themselves.
Thus, sowing the lawn much cheaper.
So, in the end, you need to make the decision on how quickly the lawn should be available. However, in the long term, the quality of the seeded lawn is better with good care and is therefore preferred in most cases.
When to sow the lawn
So you have decided to sow the lawn itself. Then, of course, the timing of sowing is important. Here the foundation is laid for the lawn to not only quickly strengthen, but also remain healthy in the long term.
The lawn seeds are basically winter-hardy. This means that they can survive the winter and do not die. However, sowing the lawn in winter is not recommended.
The best conditions for the lawn seeds can be found when the soil temperature is at least 10 degrees and it is relatively moist. The best conditions can be found in spring and autumn. The months of April/May and August/September are suitable for this.
The summer months are not so suitable, because the high temperatures are an additional burden and also the precipitation is not optimal for the lawn. Of course, there is plenty of moisture in Europe during the summer, but it is usually limited to a few heavy summer thunderstorms and is not evenly distributed.
Therefore, seeding should be done in the spring or fall.
The preparation of the lawn
If the main decisions have been made, then it is now time to practice.
Of course, the lawn can not just be sown on the ground, hoping that everything will work out. In order for the ley to germinate properly and develop well, the soil must be well prepared.
As a basic requirement, all weeds should be removed from the lawn. Weeds are the natural enemy of a new lawn and therefore you should urgently avoid that they have the chance to spread on the lawn.
You can remove the weeds either manually with a spade or use a power hoe. The spade is more recommended for smaller areas, and as soon as the area is a bit larger, you should rent a power hoe from a specialized store. To make your work easier, you can also use an electric weed eater.
Also, make sure that you remove the root pieces thoroughly. Only in this way you can ensure that the weeds will not spread again. Likewise, collect stones that have come loose from the ground when working with the power hoe.
To ensure that the new lawn has enough nutrients, a layer of topsoil about 15cm thick should be spread over the lawn. This top layer should then be dug over with a spade so that the topsoil can mix well with the garden soil.
If you are not in a hurry at this point, the lawn should be left to rest for about one to two weeks after this treatment. This will give the soil enough time to recover from this extensive tilling.
One week before the lawn is sown, it should also be fertilized. Now you have a perfect nutrient-rich soil that is free of weeds and the lawn will thank you in the long run.
Just before sowing
Now that the soil has been prepared just perfectly and provides a healthy foundation for seeding the lawn, it’s time to prepare for seeding.
The best way to do this is to level the lawn. For this purpose, you can either take a roller or for smaller areas are also suitable boards with which you can create a flat surface.
The evenness of the lawn should also prevent water depressions. If there are any irregularities in the lawn, water will collect there during rainfall and damage the lawn. Therefore, the evenness of the lawn should be sought not only for visual reasons, but also performs an important function in the uniform watering.
This preparation is intended to create a firm ground that is level and provides the best conditions for the seeded lawn. Now, if you still want to make sure that not only the nutrients are present in sufficient quantities, but also the texture of the soil is perfect, you should check its pH level. If it is not in the range of 5-6, it may help to work the lawn with additional lime.
If the soil has been worked in this way, it may be worthwhile to let it rest again for a day or two.
Sowing the lawn
Now it’s time for the finishing touches. The soil was cleaned of weeds, fertilized and finally leveled. Thus, all preparations were completed and sowing can begin.
For sowing, it is recommended to fill the seed into a sowing tray. Now the lawn seeds just need to be distributed as evenly as possible with a bit of momentum. To do this best, it is worth practicing with a little sand beforehand. This way you can avoid the seed being too dense in some places, while it might be too thin in others.
However, manual seeding does not always provide the best results. Often such a lawn can be recognized by the fact that there are large irregularities in the density of the lawn. Therefore, to ensure a visually successful result, a spreader should be used.
Another important condition is that there is no wind. This is the only way to ensure that the seed is evenly and well distributed.
Once the entire area has been covered with the lawn seeds, you should now gently work the soil with a wooden rake in both longitudinal and transverse directions. In this way, the seeds are gently worked into the soil and can begin to germinate.
Afterwards, the roller should be used to drive over the lawn seeds one more time. This ensures a good finish and the lawn seeds are really firmly in the ground.
If the soil does not have enough moisture, the garden should also be watered. However, this should only be done briefly so as not to overtax the lawn seeds. If it does not rain in the following days, it is also advisable to water the garden four times for about 10 minutes throughout the day.
After sowing
The most important tasks have now been completed. However, in the near future you should take good care of the lawn and not leave it to its fate alone.
The top priority now should be to provide optimal moisture. If there is no precipitation, then the lawn should continue to be watered about 4 times a day for a short time. Too dry soil in this case has drastic effects on the growth and health of the lawn.
The germination period is one to three weeks, depending on the variety and conditions. You should use this time to care for the lawn very intensively. This includes preventing new weeds from sprouting. This is because even if you have ensured that there are no more weeds in the ground through optimal preparation, there is always a risk that they can fly into the garden from outside.
Mowing the lawn for the first time
Mowing the newly sown lawn for the first time is certainly a very special highlight and fills every gardener with pride. After all, this is a symbol that you have taken wonderful care of the lawn and it could grow up in optimal conditions.
The lawn mower should be used for the first time when the lawn has a length of at least 8cm. This length is ideal for the first mowing of the lawn and is a good sign that the lawn has grown healthy.
When mowing the lawn, the new blades of grass should be trimmed back to a length of about 6cm. It is also imperative that the cut blades of grass should be collected again and not simply left on the lawn. Otherwise, there is a risk that the lawn will not receive enough light and its health will decline sharply.
Fertilizing the lawn
The newly sown lawn needs a variety of care. Not only mowing and proper watering are important, but fertilizing should also be taken care of. However, you have already introduced fertilizer before sowing the lawn.
Therefore, you should avoid trying to give the lawn a growth boost with too much fertilizer. Because even with lawns, you may overfertilize and rather harm the health of the lawn.
The first follow-up fertilization should take place about six weeks after sowing. For this, a slow-release fertilizer should be used, which provides the soil with nutrients over a longer period of time.
The slow-release fertilizer has the advantage that it releases the nutrients only very gently. This is ideal for the growth of the lawn, because the goal should not be to get a particularly high lawn, but that it can initially spread in the area.
In this way, the lawn is also less susceptible to disease and optimal results can be expected in the long term.
Overview of sowing lawn
If a garden is to impress with a perfect lawn, seeding a lawn is an effective way to beautify the garden.
However, the preparation takes a few weeks and therefore sowing should be well prepared and not rushed.
First of all, it is necessary to remove all the weeds from the soil and loosen it a little. After that, it should rest for a few weeks, and about a week before sowing fertilizing.
Sowing the lawn should be done with a seed tray to ensure uniform results.
The first mowing of the lawn is done when the blades of grass have a minimum length of about 8cm. Be sure to follow the prescribed times for mowing the lawn.
It is also important after sowing to remove weeds immediately and water the lawn briefly about 4 times a day.
Seeding is best done in the months of April/May or August/September.
With these tips for the optimal lawn, nothing should stand in the way of the perfect lawn.