I'm going to be moving to a house that has no grass because it is fairly new. So i would either have to pay for someone to plant grass or i would have to do it myself. I've heard doing it myself is cheaper. Has anyone ever done this? How hard is it? Would just throw seeds or grass?
Have someone lay sod for you or use a spray system like hydroturf. Just throwing seeds out there will lead to inconsistent results.
Just chuck some seed down then net it so the birds can't get at it. Make sure you get the right kind of grass seeds, though it would be best to ask at a proper garden center.
I seem to remember that when we did it it was just a case of; Dig ground->Throw down grass seed (a certain weight per square meter)-> Water it and dont walk on it for 6-8 weeks. The alternative is to get turf that comes in rolls already pre grown. Moriquendi
We did as above and aerated a bit by stabbing with a fork and spread the grass seed Worked quite well, we didn't need nets as we don't get birds in the garden cos of the cats
A good tip is to give a second sprinkling of seed once the first has started to grow, you will have to wait a little longer until you can give it it's first mow though, and put more down then is actually needed because no matter what you do to stop them the birds will find a way to eat it.
The best thing I've found is simply to use turf - there are plenty of online shops that sell very nice turf for decent prices, and you end up with a near-perfect lawn once the turf strips knit together.
Hydroturf is the easiest way to go. They spray a mulch/grass seed/fertilizer mix all over the area to grow grass, and let you just water it... the mulch helps keep birds away, and acts as a second fertilizer. It's what the majority of new construction landscapers use to grow grass... though the alternative sod method yields much quicker results, but costs a lot more.
Yea, but cat **** is also great fertiliser. My parents grass is growing great since they got cats, but that's also partly because my dad doesn't want to cut it and get turd thrown on him from the mower. If you're impatient - Turf. Patient - Seed + Cover.
Go to a garden centre, choose your type and amount of seed (perhaps ask to rent a spreader), toss the seed around evenly (ahem), rake it over, water it lightly. Store the surplus somewhere dark, cool and dry. - H.
thanks my coffee is now on my screen. happened to me once when i used to mow lawns, then i started checking for it and charging extra to lift it before i cut...
The juvenile in me thought drugs when I saw this article at first. If you want it to look green quick and keep the topsoil in place plant rye. that will grow much faster than grass and give time for the grass to get started.
Getting a decent lawn is all in the preparation. A new property has likely had heavy vehicles driving all over it, compressing the surface and resulting in poor drainage forever more, so first thing to do is dig over (or Rotovate) the plot, removing any buried rubble. Rake level, then shuffle all over the lawn area like a penguin, feet together. Lightly rake to give an even fine surface, then lay turf on it or follow the seed instructions. There must be a UTube on this...
im a landscape gardener so take heed: seeding manually will produce the best lawn. make sure the soil underneath your hopeful lawn is good quality rootzone otherwise you may get residual weed growth. other option is to get a company to spray a bit of herbicide like roundup over the area twice maybe three times before seeding. or seed it and have a selective herbicide put down if any weeds come up. during initial germination, weeds will be alot more profound if they are about because the grass roots will not have spread too much, but over the course of the first year the grass will strangle the worst of it out, as long as it isn't daisy's or dandelions...they are the toughest. for seeding, rent a spreader from a landscape company. new ones cost around £500 (i have no idea why), but they do ensure an even spread. plant your seed in early april to early may, middle of april should produce pretty decent results. but if it doesnt germinate well, feed it very lightly over the summer and give a second seeding, perhaps a bit lighter in seed spread density in the middle of september while it is still warm and starting to rain. turf is okay if you want an instant lawn, you can spend a hell of a lot of money on it to get the best turf, but at the end of the day it's grown in fields in the middle of nowhere, and various grass types will end up germinating at some point on your lawn because of this. cpemma's advice is good for turfing, you don't want heavily compacted rootzone below the turf, rotovate then rake well to even out the surface and then do the penguin shuffle and rake out any lumps and bumps but dont rake deeper than about 5mm else the turf will be loose for a long time. for seeding, very mildly rotovated flat land is best, much like turf prepped land. grass seed germinates very easily so no matter how hard the ground is, it will pick up eventually if you have dodgey land. make sure you get suitable seed though, best is from a dedicated grass seed vendor as there are many types for shady areas, all day sun, acid and alkalai soil and so on, so getting the right seed is very important! make sure you get a cool season grass, personally i think velvet bentgrass/agrostis canina L. is really nice, very very fine grass but requires alot of care, so colonial bentgrass might be more suitable as that is more general purpose. also, if you do seed manually, think about running a very shallow and light spiker over the whole area, it's hard to do properly and find the right equipment but it really helps germination. once your lawn is majority established, roll a heavy spiker over it weekly to ten days, this breaks up roots, airates and encourages newer, denser root growth, which basically keeps the grass in its most vigorous growth pattern. the hydroturf suggested above is admittadley pretty damn good for mere ease of use. perfectly executed seeding will produce marginally better results and it will be cheaper. hydroturf is handy for steep inclines as it sort of sticks to the ground so you dont get any seed rolling away if it's a particularly dry day, but it is relatively quite costly! hope this helps and feel free to ask a question as there is a lawn specialist on my team that i could ask more specific things.
julianmartin pretty much sums everything up I would advise. and like he says if you live the northern hemisphere then it too early to be doing anything with grass wherever it be by seed or Turf remember that when choosing a grass seed type take into consideration what your planing on doing on the grass. Is it going to get regular use in which case you want a tougher variety. If you want a lawn that's more decorative then you need a seed type that's not as tough. I cant remember any specif breeds of the top of my head.
i was working for a landscaping company last summer and got suckered into laying sod a couple of times. don't do it yourself. hire a good landscaping company that will give you a warranty on their work. they will have all the tools to prepare the ground before seeding/sodding, they will have the necessary chemicals and somebody certified to apply them properly, and they will do a better job than you can do. most importantly, don't do it now. wait until late spring.
