The emerald lawn in front of the house decorates the exterior and emphasizes the refined taste of the owners. However, so that over time the lawn does not turn into untidy thickets, you need to choose a suitable grass mixture and familiarize yourself with the rules of planting. Care recommendations will help keep the site tidy for a long time.

Choosing the type of lawn

There are many varieties of lawn coverings that differ in growing conditions, purpose and resistance to stress. Care requirements may also vary.

The following types of lawns are distinguished:

What grass is better to choose for a lawn

Arrangement of the lawn should begin with the choice of grass. It is important to familiarize yourself with its characteristics, requirements for cultivation and care. The fact is that many varieties are brought to Russia from Europe, where climatic conditions are much milder.

• The main requirements that vegetation must meet are:
• Resistance to frost.
• Decorativeness. The grass cover should have a juicy green hue, evenly growing shoots and the same density.
• The root system must be strong and well developed.
• The ability to grow on different types of soil.
• Fast restoration of a cover after cutting and mowing.

Important! It is not recommended to choose sod pike, sheep fescue and perennial ryegrass for planting. These plants prefer a mild European climate. In Russia, it is almost impossible to grow them.

It is advisable to choose plants suitable for growing in the Russian climate. Among these, one distinguishes: Thin woodland (Agrostis tenuis); red fescue (Poa pratensis) and meadow bluegrass (Festuca rubra). These varieties are characterized by a high degree of resistance to frost and temperature extremes. Their root system is able to tolerate severe frosts.

In addition, these herbs form a fairly dense cover that prevents the formation of weeds, which facilitates the care of the lawn.

It is also worth mentioning that plants quickly recover after cutting, creating a uniform, smooth cover. Rooting after breeding also takes a little time. When choosing herbal mixtures, it is recommended to pay attention to those that include these cereals.

Rules of landing in the country

Planting grass for the lawn is not difficult. However, certain rules should be followed so that in the future the lawn does not require special care and at the same time always remains well-groomed.

First of all, you need to properly prepare for the landing.

Competent preparation includes the following steps:

1. Determine the timing suitable for sowing.
2. Select and prepare the seeds.
3. To clear a site of garbage, weeds and other vegetation.
4. Create drainage and pour fertile soil.
5. Level and compact the surface of the plot.

Sowing dates

You can sow grass seeds for the lawn at any time of the year. However preferable to do it in the fall, taking into account the optimum humidity and air temperature, as well as the abundance of precipitation inherent in this season. These conditions contribute to the early rooting and formation of young shoots. After three months, the grass will form a full-fledged lawn, about 10 cm in height.

The main condition for autumn planting is to have time to sow the seeds 40 days before the first frosts come. That is how much time it takes seedlings to sprout. Landing in central Russia is recommended to be completed by September 10 or, as a last resort, by September 25. Otherwise, the seedlings will not have time to take root and die from the cold.

Seed selection and preparation

Before sowing, you must choose a lawn grass variety. Wherein the mixture must correspond to the climatic conditions in which it will grow. Then, depending on the size of the plot, you need to divide the number of seeds in the mixture into two, four or eight parts. This method contributes to uniform sowing of the lawn. Soak and process the seeds before sowing is not necessary.

Important! Grass grown from seeds dries out after about a year, so you have to sow it every year.

Cleaning the site of debris, weeds and other plants

Before sowing, the soil must be properly prepared. A month before planting, it is necessary to clear the area reserved for the lawn from debris, fallen leaves, weeds and excess plants. This can be done by weeding the territory or using herbicides. Wherein it should be borne in mind that after chemical treatment, seeds can be planted in the soil only after five weeks.

If you plan to plant trees or shrubs in this place, you need to do this immediately before sowing the grass. It is also advisable to lay underground communications before the lawn is sown. A week before sowing, it is recommended to introduce complex fertilizers into the soil, which contain nitrogen.

Nitrogen-based top dressing stimulates plant growth.

Creating drainage and embankment of fertile soil

Drainage is an important step in creating a lawn. In autumn and spring, as a result of a large amount of precipitation and snow melting, moisture accumulates in the soil, which can provoke rotting of the root system of delicate lawn vegetation.

Step-by-step instructions for creating a drainage system:

1. Remove a layer of fertile soil.
2. Lay gravel or other stone chips of natural origin with a layer of 15 cm.
3. Pour sand with a layer of 10 cm.
4. Create a mound of fertile soil with a height of 15 cm.
5. Tamp carefully.

Leveling and tamping the surface

Before leveling and tamping the soil, it must be thoroughly loosened. It is important to break and grind the clods of earth. For loosening, you can use a chopper. Then the site must be carefully leveled with a rake, deepening them into the ground by 2 cm.

As a result, the surface should become as flat as possible, without bumps and potholes. It is necessary to tamp the future lawn with the help of a roller or improvised means, for example boards, evenly laid out on the ground. If there is nothing suitable at hand, you can simply trample the soil.

Step-by-step sowing instructions

After completion of the preparatory work, you can begin to sow the seeds in the soil.

There are several ways to do this:

1. Sowing must be carried out in calm weather. Sow seeds with fan-shaped movements so that they are evenly distributed over the site. In this case, it should be done in stages, first scattering seedlings along the lawn, then across. Next, you need to carefully walk along the ground with a rake so that the seeds fall deep into the soil. After sowing, the soil should be sprinkled with peat and rammed with a lawn roller. If this is not done, the crops will fly apart under the influence of the wind. Then the site must be watered using the sprinkling method.
2. Sowing with a lawn seeder or canister. In this case, the seeds are sown by pouring them into the ground with water. Thus, they fall into the soil to a depth of 2 mm. On 1 m² there are about 50 g of seedlings. Simultaneously with sowing, the earth should be fertilized by adding special top dressings containing potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen in equal parts. Sowing is carried out first along, then across the site. After the seeds fall into the ground, they need to be deepened a little, loosening the soil with a rake, and then rammed with a roller. Pour using a watering can.

After 5-10 days, subject to successful sowing, the first shoots should appear. When this happens, you must immediately begin to care for young plants.

Features of lawn grass care

Young vegetation is constantly in need of watering. For this, the land must be irrigated daily. Watering the lawn is unacceptableTherefore, it is recommended to use special irrigation systems or watering cans equipped with suitable nozzles. Walking around the site since sowing is strongly discouraged. Two weeks after the appearance of the first sprouts, they must be cut.

Fall caring for lawn grass is quite simple. Watering during this period is not necessary, since at this time of the year a large amount of rainfall occurs. However, for the same reason, water begins to stagnate in the soil, so the soil must be additionally ventilated using different aerators - mechanical or automated. Before the onset of cold weather, the lawn soil needs to be fertilized with potash-phosphorus fertilizing. Vegetation must be treated with fungicides to prevent diseases.

Winter care is minimized under the condition of a snowy winter. Under a layer of snow, grass successfully winters and does not cause trouble in spring. However, if the weather during the winter months is unfavorable, an ice layer may form on the surface of the lawn. It must be removed in order to avoid oxygen starvation in plants.

Did you know? Red fescue, a thin polevole and meadow bluegrass are able to develop about 30,000 sprouts per 1 m².

To do this, remove snow from the site, then treat with reagents (the ratio needs to be selected independently, depending on the thickness of the ice layer). You need to work using protective equipment - in a mask and gloves.

After 2-3 hours, the remaining ice can be removed with aerators or ice axes. In most cases, grass varieties, selected taking into account the area in which they will grow, safely survive the winter and quickly recover from frost in the spring.

Video: Winter Lawn Care Tips

In the spring, during the warming period, it is necessary to evenly distribute the snow masses collected in piles over the lawn. This will reduce the concentration of moisture formed and accelerate the snow melting process. Also in the spring, it is necessary to treat the grass cover with a fungicide for the prevention of diseases.

Did you know? The grass cover of the lawn with an area of ​​1 ha is capable of holding about 60 tons of dust particles.

In summer basic care comes down to regular watering. Drying of the soil should never be allowed. Otherwise, the grass will dry quickly, and the lawn will turn into a field strewn with straw. You need to moisten the site daily, preferably in the morning and evening hours. As an irrigation method, you should choose sprinkling. At any time of the year, the lawn needs to be trimmed regularly about once every two weeks.

Mowed grass should be removed immediately from the site.

Creating a beautiful and well-kept lawn is fairly easy. However, caring for him in the future is a little more difficult. To maintain order and cleanliness on the site, you must regularly cut the grass, free the site from debris and weeds, and also properly water it. With simple recommendations, a lush lawn will delight you with its well-groomed appearance for many years.