Your yard does not look pretty with dirt and weeds all over it. Growing some grass in your yard can turn it into a beautiful lawn where your kids and pets can play and have lots of fun. Growing grass from seeds can be a very cost effective way to renovate and beautify the outer areas surrounding your home. You can do it yourself if you can answer a few simple questions and follow some easy rules:
There are certain factors that you would need to consider before you actually plant the seeds.
The Preparation:
• You should first clear the bed of any adult weeds or crabgrass. Preemergent herbicides are the best for destroying crabgrass. It is important to first identify the weeds before applying any herbicide. There are different organic ones available which you can use for the purpose.
• Assess the climate of the region you live in. This would help you to identify what type of grass would grow best there. There are two types of grass-warm season grass and cold season grass. Cold season grass resembles blue spruce and warm season grass looks more like palm trees.
• Spring and fall are ideal for growing grass. It is better to avoid being too early or too late in planting the seeds.
• Prepare your soil well before you plant by loosening the top 2 to 3 inches deep.
• Breaking up the soil clumps is recommended but you should take care not to make the soil too fine. Using a rototiller is a good idea too for the purpose.
• You should spread some starter fertilizer on the soil which is loosened up after you have tilled it.
• Compost or commercial soil conditioners should also be used to further enrich the quality of soil.
• Make sure that there is no such area in the yard where water can accumulate.
• Finally tilling the soil conditioner and fertilizer well into the soil would make the soil ready for planting the seeds.
Now that you are all set with a bed and the perfect soil, it is time to choose the seeds. You can consult NTEP ratings (http://www.ntep.org/) to determine the type that will be best suited for you. After you have decided on the seed, follow this step-by-step guide to grow great looking grass in no time and with minimum effort:
Get, Set, Grow:
• Spreading the seed evenly over the bed in small circles is most important. A broadcast spreader can be used if you do not want to do it manually.
• After the seeds are planted, covering them with about a quarter of an inch of soil would be perfect.
• To make sure that there is good contact between the soil and the seeds, using a roller half filled with water is a good idea.
• Watering lightly and frequently is very essential to keep the soil moist. Grass germinates best in moist soil.
• Erosion mats can be used to cover the seeds and avoid erosion.
• The last but not the least would be to protect the newly seeded bed from your kids, pets and maybe even your neighborhood dog.
Care and Maintenance:
When you have a new lawn full of fresh green grass, remember that you would still have to maintain and care for it. Keeping the ground moist but not too wet, mowing the lawn when the soil becomes dry, feeding fertilizers after the first month of germination are some of the points you need to be careful about. All of these factors taken into consideration, you should have a gorgeous looking bright and green lawn.
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