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#1
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prepare soil for new grass??
we have a small city backyard(southern exposure) and
want to plant small lawn--only about 200 sq. feet. would appreciate any suggestions on how to prepare/fertilize the soil before planting seed(or laying sod-- haven't yet decided which? any suggestions there also appreciated). The area gets around 1/4 to 1/3 of a day direct sun |
#2
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prepare soil for new grass??
Where are you located ??? This will help in giving more specific
advice. I can tell you a little about sod....it's kinda backbreaking but you can do an instant landscape job in one day. Remove old turf ( you can use an ice scraper. You can actually remove existing turf, by scraping the roots and pulling the pieces upward like carpet. Good turf can be used in other locations. Bad turf can be composed or discarded in a landfill. Depending upon what your base looks like, it might be good soil, it might be clay / sand. Do a ph test at this time, to detemine acidity/alkalinity of soil. Somewhere about 5.2 ph is good for most turf. You can loosen the dirt up and mix amendments into the soil if necessary. Spade or rototill the ground till about 4 - 6 inches. If clay mix in a lot of peat moss and some sand for drainage.... If the soil is crumbly, and somewhat sandy and dark, you might just wish to grab a bag of general purpose fertiziler (10-10-10) and work it into the soil based upon the package directions. Remove all rocks, tree roots, and debris. Level the lawn or create berms and hills where you need them For example, if your area is fenced and you wish to have a garden pond, try a gently sloping depression. If you have the lawn roller, (if not, you will need one.. rent don't buy) go ahead and pack down the dirt just a little, keeping it level. Now you're ready to lay down the turf.... the turf supplier will show you various configurations, usually just in paralell strips, except on hills or valleys. Start against a straight line and keep lining strips against each other. When everything has been laid out properly, roll over the lawn using the lawn roller. This settles the turf and insures contact witth the ground. Soak the turf completely, you wish to apply about 1" of water to the area...You can use an empty tin can as a measuring device. Another easier way to check is just to lift up a corner piece of turf and insure the ground is soaked underneath it. Insert a spade about an inch into the ground, open the ground up and see how far down the water has penetrated. Water everyday for two weeks.... after the second or third day, you can use less water, the ground should not be soggy.. after the first week, start to water moderately every other day. at the end of two weeks water perhaps twice a week, but water deeply...means using perhaps one inch of water (open to suggestions) you want to encourage the root system to reach down into the soil to catch the water ....and "KEEP OFF THE GRASS". It'll take a few weeks for the lawn to settle in. That's it in a nutshell. The turf farm will have additional information. For an area your size, depending upon the circumstances and your living style, have you considered just having raised beds, with edging and a gravel area with paved stones for a garden table and chair set. Using top soil, mulch, edging stones and a shipment of gravel, you can turn a weed infected small backyard into a landscaped haven in one day or less. This setup works well in townhouses (for professionals without children), who enjoy a well-landscaped yard without the need for mowing or maintaining grass. I've never had much luck with growing a lawn from seed. The seed application is always inconsistent...not all seed germinates, birds are a big problem....... and it takes a lot of work to start a lawn from seed...... Same basic preparation, but till the ground to about 6" , check ph...add amendments..... rake even, roll it out, rake it even again, water and roll it out again to insure evenness. Ground should be a little damp for grass seed, not damp enough to sink into, but damp enough to work grass seed into soil. Use a spreader for grass seed distribution.... I prefer the wheeled Scott spreader rather than the Whirly spreader. More even distribution. After spreading the required amount of grass seed (see directions on container), use a rake to work see lightly into the top coat of soil, dampen soil, roll it out... and then water again. Water evenly, you should not be getting puddles of water. Cover the area with hay...this will help keep the birds away. also use stakes, string and flags to keep pedestrians, dogs and what not from walking on the lawn. Grass seed takes quite a few days(depends upon type of seed used) to germinate... need to keep the ground very moist, means watering lightly about 3 times PER DAY for the first week. but...for large areas seed is the only way to go....turf is pretty darn expensive. When purchasing the seed go to a LOCAL GARDEN CENTER and ask for suggestions... Reason for this is that there are a lot of local mixes which work well locally. All tell them that you only get 4 to 5 hours sun per day. Southern exposure... are there other buildings, trees nearby ??? On Thu, 24 Apr 2003 15:26:39 -0700, jeffrey wrote: we have a small city backyard(southern exposure) and want to plant small lawn--only about 200 sq. feet. would appreciate any suggestions on how to prepare/fertilize the soil before planting seed(or laying sod-- haven't yet decided which? any suggestions there also appreciated). The area gets around 1/4 to 1/3 of a day direct sun |
#3
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prepare soil for new grass??
For sod you have to prepare the soil just like if you use seed.
Rent a sod cutter. It scrapes off the old lawn. Then use roundup after to kill all the old weeds. Then rototill, about 4-5 in. deep. Then add manure= steer or turkey shit works best. NO Chicken turds ! TOO HOT ! Till it in, then add a startup fertilizer, scratch it in 1-2 in. deep . Then! Seed ! I use a whirlybird to toss the seed. I add more seed than called for. THEN cover seed with 1/8 - 1/4 in. of soil, and water 2x's a day for 3 weeks. Pain in the butt ! plantkiller wrote in message ... Where are you located ??? This will help in giving more specific advice. I can tell you a little about sod....it's kinda backbreaking but you can do an instant landscape job in one day. Remove old turf ( you can use an ice scraper. You can actually remove existing turf, by scraping the roots and pulling the pieces upward like carpet. Good turf can be used in other locations. Bad turf can be composed or discarded in a landfill. Depending upon what your base looks like, it might be good soil, it might be clay / sand. Do a ph test at this time, to detemine acidity/alkalinity of soil. Somewhere about 5.2 ph is good for most turf. You can loosen the dirt up and mix amendments into the soil if necessary. Spade or rototill the ground till about 4 - 6 inches. If clay mix in a lot of peat moss and some sand for drainage.... If the soil is crumbly, and somewhat sandy and dark, you might just wish to grab a bag of general purpose fertiziler (10-10-10) and work it into the soil based upon the package directions. Remove all rocks, tree roots, and debris. Level the lawn or create berms and hills where you need them For example, if your area is fenced and you wish to have a garden pond, try a gently sloping depression. If you have the lawn roller, (if not, you will need one.. rent don't buy) go ahead and pack down the dirt just a little, keeping it level. Now you're ready to lay down the turf.... the turf supplier will show you various configurations, usually just in paralell strips, except on hills or valleys. Start against a straight line and keep lining strips against each other. When everything has been laid out properly, roll over the lawn using the lawn roller. This settles the turf and insures contact witth the ground. Soak the turf completely, you wish to apply about 1" of water to the area...You can use an empty tin can as a measuring device. Another easier way to check is just to lift up a corner piece of turf and insure the ground is soaked underneath it. Insert a spade about an inch into the ground, open the ground up and see how far down the water has penetrated. Water everyday for two weeks.... after the second or third day, you can use less water, the ground should not be soggy.. after the first week, start to water moderately every other day. at the end of two weeks water perhaps twice a week, but water deeply...means using perhaps one inch of water (open to suggestions) you want to encourage the root system to reach down into the soil to catch the water ...and "KEEP OFF THE GRASS". It'll take a few weeks for the lawn to settle in. That's it in a nutshell. The turf farm will have additional information. For an area your size, depending upon the circumstances and your living style, have you considered just having raised beds, with edging and a gravel area with paved stones for a garden table and chair set. Using top soil, mulch, edging stones and a shipment of gravel, you can turn a weed infected small backyard into a landscaped haven in one day or less. This setup works well in townhouses (for professionals without children), who enjoy a well-landscaped yard without the need for mowing or maintaining grass. I've never had much luck with growing a lawn from seed. The seed application is always inconsistent...not all seed germinates, birds are a big problem....... and it takes a lot of work to start a lawn from seed...... Same basic preparation, but till the ground to about 6" , check ph...add amendments..... rake even, roll it out, rake it even again, water and roll it out again to insure evenness. Ground should be a little damp for grass seed, not damp enough to sink into, but damp enough to work grass seed into soil. Use a spreader for grass seed distribution.... I prefer the wheeled Scott spreader rather than the Whirly spreader. More even distribution. After spreading the required amount of grass seed (see directions on container), use a rake to work see lightly into the top coat of soil, dampen soil, roll it out... and then water again. Water evenly, you should not be getting puddles of water. Cover the area with hay...this will help keep the birds away. also use stakes, string and flags to keep pedestrians, dogs and what not from walking on the lawn. Grass seed takes quite a few days(depends upon type of seed used) to germinate... need to keep the ground very moist, means watering lightly about 3 times PER DAY for the first week. but...for large areas seed is the only way to go....turf is pretty darn expensive. When purchasing the seed go to a LOCAL GARDEN CENTER and ask for suggestions... Reason for this is that there are a lot of local mixes which work well locally. All tell them that you only get 4 to 5 hours sun per day. Southern exposure... are there other buildings, trees nearby ??? On Thu, 24 Apr 2003 15:26:39 -0700, jeffrey wrote: we have a small city backyard(southern exposure) and want to plant small lawn--only about 200 sq. feet. would appreciate any suggestions on how to prepare/fertilize the soil before planting seed(or laying sod-- haven't yet decided which? any suggestions there also appreciated). The area gets around 1/4 to 1/3 of a day direct sun |
#4
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prepare soil for new grass??
The first thing you need to do is find out if any grass will grow in
your area with that amount of sun. I dont think there is a need to add amendments to areas to be sodded other than starter fertilizer if the soil is poor. I spray roundup to existing turf if there is much of it, if its mostly bare, I skip this part. After it dies, I scalp it with a mower, then till it up, remove debris, and level it. Then lay your sod and water it like the previous poster advised. Make sure you stagger the joints like bricks, and lay perpendicular to the slope. I use a hatchet to cut it. Not much to it really. I dont use a sod cutter because I dont find it necessary, dont like removing any topsoil, and the sod will smother weed seeds. Adding compost type amendments may not hurt much, but unlike planting beds, I really think it is a waste of time and money on lawn areas. I have done a lot of it both ways and I have never seen a difference in the establishment of the sod. In fact if too much is added it fluffs up the soil too much. I do add topsoil if the existing topsoil is too shallow. The most important things in establishing new sod is putting it in proper light, laying down fresh sod, and watering it once down. Sod that has sat stacked on a pallet too long heats up too much in the middle, pretty much cooking it, so make sure it is fresh. Good luck, Bryan |
#5
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prepare soil for new grass??
On Thu, 24 Apr 2003 15:26:39 -0700, jeffrey wrote:
we have a small city backyard(southern exposure) and want to plant small lawn--only about 200 sq. feet. would appreciate any suggestions on how to prepare/fertilize the soil before planting seed(or laying sod-- haven't yet decided which? any suggestions there also appreciated). The area gets around 1/4 to 1/3 of a day direct sun If you don't want to do too much soil prep, plant perineal ryegrass. It's what I call a "Throw and Grow" seed because you can throw the grass seed right on the soil and not have to cover it up! Just water once or twice a day and in about a week or so...presto...little green hairs emerge. It also makes a beautiful deep green lush lawn and does well in partial shade. For your soil prep you might add some starter fertilizer beforehand. |
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