ESTABLISHING AND CARING FOR LAWN
The lawns occupy from 30 do 60% area of green areas. Their quality often determines the value of a green area or park. Well established and maintained lawns are one of the most aesthetic elements of any garden.
Establishing lawns should begin with cleaning the surface of the area from all kinds of contamination, and above all of rubble and stones.
When the lawn is set up on leveled ground, not requiring earthworks, then its surface only needs to be planted in certain places. Very often, however, lawns are established in areas that require large changes in height. It is then necessary to carry out earthworks, that is, removing or pouring certain layers of earth. In such cases, in normal soils, it is necessary to protect the topsoil, the so-called. generic layer. Its thickness may be from 10 do 30 cm. This layer is the most valuable part of the soil and cannot be covered or mixed with the subsoil or subsoil.
Protection consists in removing this layer and folding it into piles until the terrain is brought to the correct height. Then this layer should be evenly distributed over the entire surface of the site.
The shape of the lawn surface should provide an appropriate slope, allowing excess rainwater to run off. A slope of up to 2-5% is sufficient. A greater slope may cause the soil to be washed away during sudden rainfall and make it difficult to carry out cultivation or maintenance works.
In order to accurately determine the surface and its inclination, use leveling crosses, and the main points should be marked with a leveler.
The soil for lawns on flat areas with impermeable ground should be drained. The purpose of drainage is to drain away the long-term excess water in the soil. This is especially important when setting up grass sports fields.
If the lawn is provided with an irrigation network, installing the pipes should be done after the soil is finished and the area is established.
The edge of the lawn should not have sharp bends, because in these places it is difficult to mow with a mechanical mower.
Soil preparation is an activity, which to a large extent depends on the condition of the lawn. Please note, that the lawn is to serve for many years, therefore, soil preparation should provide suitable conditions for this period.
If cultivated in subsoil (after removing the generic layer), it is best to use a cultivator for this.
For too sandy soils, you can add loam or loam, and for soils too compact, clayey, sand or fine gravel should be added. Low-fertile soils should be enriched with organic matter by adding rotten manure or properly prepared compost in an amount of approx. 1 m3 na 1 ar. Under no circumstances should you add high peat straight from the bales. Such peat may only be used after it is adequately saturated with water (300—400 liters per 1 balot). The use of composts should be avoided, which may contain large amounts of weed seeds.
While cultivating the soil, all persistent weeds should be removed with particular care.
The surface of the cultivated soil should be carefully leveled. Do not rake and level the surface of too moist soil, because moving on the surface causes too strong compaction of the surface. Better to do this then, when the soil is sufficiently dry.
The soil surface should not have depressions, in which water can collect.
Just before sowing grass, it is good to roll the soil surface with a spike roller, which crushes too large lumps and precisely levels the surface.
Grass seeds are most often sold in the form of mixtures, which consist of the seeds of several species. The qualitative and quantitative proportions depend on the soil conditions, climatic, the purpose of the lawn, mowing method, etc.. The most used grasses are: crest, common, red fescue, sheep fescue, creeping mower, meadow grass, common panicle, ryegrass was sustained, that is, the English ryegrass, in inside.
The most favorable sowing season is the early spring period, when the soil is sufficiently warm and moist. Later sowing is exposed to drought, which hinder the emergence of grasses, therefore the grasses often emerge unevenly. The grasses should not be sown in the second half of September, because they do not grow fast enough before winter comes and can die easily.
Sowing is best done on windless days, because the wind can drift lighter seeds, and thus - uneven sowing. The seeds are sown by hand. The sowing of seeds should be very even and therefore double sowing in crossing directions is recommended.