A.J.

Author: Ann Knapp

It has got to be the most commonly asked question about starting a new lawn. Anybody who has ever contemplated starting a new lawn has pondered this question. Sod or seeds? Ordering topsoil and seeds is cheaper and offers you more of a variety of grass types. Sod on the other hand, gives you a beautiful and healthy lawn instantly. It is basically the microwave for lawns, but it costs quite a bit more than topsoil and seeds. Which one is right for you? Let's take a look at each. Then you can make an educated choice based upon your needs.

The first thing you need to do, regardless of which method you choose, is prepare your lawn. This means that you need to get rid of any grass and/or weeds that may be there. There are a number of tools you can use for this including flat-bladed shovels and sod-cutters. Regardless of which tool you use, be sure to get the grass and/or weeds from their roots. If you do not get their roots, you are wasting your time.

The next thing you need to do is have your topsoil chemically tested to see which type of grass you will need. There are a few tests that should be run, including figuring out the pH and the sodium adsorption rate, to name a couple. These tests will probably cost about thirty dollars or so, but it is well worth the investment. After all, who wants to go through the trouble of making a new lawn only to wake up one morning to a weed-infested, yellow lawn?

The next step is to till. This includes buying or renting a tiller and breaking up all of the compacted topsoil of your soon-to-be lawn. Then, apply a starter fertilizer and compost to the topsoil. After adding the fertilizer and compost into the mix, it is important to till again. This will work the fertilizer and compost into the topsoil. Be sure that it is level, and if slanted, slanted away from your house so that your house does not flood from water run-off. If necessary, grab a rake and rake the topsoil to level the topsoil completely.

You will then need to buy or rent a roller. This will level the topsoil completely. The main idea here is to ensure that the topsoil is COMPLETELY level. This is where you must decide how to answer that age-old question we were talking about earlier. Below I will go through the steps to starting your new lawn by planting seeds.

PLANTING GRASS SEEDS

This is where you need to track down a seed spreader. If you think it is as simple as loading the seeds in the seed spreader and spreading them over your new lawn, think again. You will actually need to spread the seeds three or four times. After making three or four evenly stacked piles of seeds, load them one at a time and spread them evenly over your lawn. The key is to push the seed spreader in a different direction each time. A good way to do this, is to make four even piles of seeds and then to start in each of the four corners of your lawn. This will ensure that the seeds get evenly dispersed, which will ensure a full lawn.

At this point, you should rake the topsoil lightly to make sure that the seeds are covered in topsoil. The next step is to use the roller again; but this time you need to make sure to take the water out of the drum. This is because you want to roll the lawn lightly. At this point, you are done planting.

Now the only thing you need to do is water your new lawn several times every day. You need to water the lawn with just a light spray, though, because you do not want to flood your new lawn with too much water, or else it may just never be a lawn. The key is to keep the topsoil moist evenly at all times throughout the day, so the weather will also have an impact on your watering schedule. If you do not have time for this, you should install automatic sprinklers.

It is important to plant grass seeds at the right time. The "right time" will vary based upon where you live and what your climate is. It is best to speak to whoever will be supplying you with your supplies about when is the best time to lay sod in your particular area. There are a number of ways to go about finding a local landscaper who can supply you with all the supplies needed to lay sod, but it is nice knowing that you are using a reputable company.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardenin...ds-205238.html

A.J.

Author: Jimmy Cox

The word lawn comes from the Celtic word Launde or Lande, denoting an uncultivated or untilled and infertile area covered with ferns, broom or heath, certainly not the modern idea of what a lawn is or should be. Because this name conveyed the idea of an expanse of open space, the word gradually came to mean an open grassy glade in the forest.

It was in this sense that Tennyson spoke when he wrote, "Those long, rank dark wood walks, drenched in dew, leading from lawn to lawn." From this evolved the idea of more or less natural, grassy open spaces, not in woodland but surrounding a house and separating it from the fields and woods. And, of course, the present-day concept of a lawn is of an unbroken expanse of manicured emerald sward, perfect as a golf green.

As a matter of fact, much of our difficulty with lawns and their upkeep comes from this ideal cherished by the average homeowner - the incredible perfection of a golf green in peak condition. For most of us, it is an impossible ideal. Nevertheless, we often see a man whose grounds are shaded by magnificent trees, struggling to produce a perfect expanse of sun-loving grasses that will match the popular concept of what should surround a suburban home.

Adverse Lawn Conditions

In the lawn we crowd as many as forty to sixty individual plants into a square foot of turf. As they struggle to survive under these conditions of intense competition, we further complicate things by cutting away the healthiest, most vigorous part of the leaf - the young tip. We do this not to make things hard for the plant but because we are trying to force a low, compact, artificially dwarfed habit of growth, entirely different from the natural upright habit of these species. (They grow 30 to 40 inches tall in the wild or in a meadow.)

These factors add up to an environment in which the individual plant is suppressed to produce a uniform whole. The grass plants can only survive if aided by you, the lawnowner. It is important that you appreciate the artificial nature of the conditions under which you must operate, so that you will know not only what to do and when, but why. A misguided homeowner is a lawn's worst enemy.

Easy Information

At the same time, it is important to recognize that not all lawns need to be smooth expanses of green velvet turf from thaw-out in spring to freeze-up in fall. Common Kentucky Bluegrass still has a place where the extra care and expense needed to maintain high quality sod seems too much. There are degrees of lawn excellence, and the choice of the right grasses is dictated by various considerations of sun, soil and so forth.

Summary

Don't fight nature: Grow the grasses best suited to your lawn's situation. If grass won't grow (because of excessive shade, etc.), then plant one of the many handsome ground covers.

Live modern: Make maximum use of the improved knowledge, grass species, lawn tools and materials available today.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardenin...wn-197879.html