Getting that Perfect Lawn

by amweb user | Aug 17, 2011

Late summer and Autumn are the best times to sow your grass seed. There is less competition from weeds and the soil is warm and damp from rain which makes for ideal conditions for seeds to germinate.

CountryLife has a wide range of grass seeds regardless of the size of your lawn.

Soil preparation
Prepare the soil by skimming off any old grass, picking any large stones and weeds, and then roughly levelling. Fork over the site and rake level to leave a fine finish.
To firm the soil walk over it and then rake again.
Two or three days before the seed is to be sown it’s a good idea to lightly rake in some granular fertiliser.

How to sow seeds

You should mark out the area to be sown into square metres.
Most seed producers will recommend a rate on the package but a good rule of thumb is to spread seed at 50g per square metre.
Weigh out the seed to cover each square metre into a container and mark the level on the outside to act as a guide.
Split each 50g in half and scatter seed in one direction across a square and then spread the rest in the opposite direction.
When you’re finished sowing you should lightly rake over the area and water.

Aftercare

To protect the newly sown seed from birds you should cover it with fruit netting
You should also try and prevent people from walking on the newly sown seed.
Seedlings are vulnerable to drought, so keep them watered during dry spells. Carefully weed the area by hand, removing any weeds before they flower. As the grass continues to grow, it will stifle weed growth.
When the new lawn is 5cm high, cut it to 2.5cm. Do this for the next four cuts.