Creating A Green Lawn In A Hot Climate.
Question
How can I create a soft green lawn in a hot climate?
Answer
For seed, and for turf,the preparation should be the same to achieve the best results.
You will need to kill all the existing grass plants and/or weeds in the new lawn area.You can either remove the weeds by hand, i.e. digging them up, or you can use a weed killer such as Glphosphate; trade name Tumbleweed or Round Up.We don’t often recommend chemical weed killers,but in the case of lawns,using a small amount at the beginning can save a whole load of chemicals being used later,to control existing weeds established before the lawn was created.Ideally you should leave the ground for a couple of weeks to see if any further weeds try to establish themselves.It is worth noting that when using Glphosphate the longer it is left before cultivation,the further back down the tap root and creeping stems it will travel.
With the existing weeds taken care of the next stage is to move the soil around until you achieve the basic levels you require.This can be achieved in the case of a level or uniformed sloping lawn with pegs and a straight piece of wood.Simply start with the first peg hammered into the ground to the required level.Use the straight piece of wood and a spirit level to establish the next peg at the same height.For larger area you can hire a small building level from your local hire centre.
Whilst staring to level the area, it is a good time to add some organic matter by spreading it onto the surface. Often in hot climates the soil has little or no organic matter, it is the key to deep rooting of the grass plants that helps the lawn maintain a good colour in hot weather. The organic matter can take the form of well rotted farmyard manure, horse manure, spent hops or crushed grapes from wine production.
At this stage you should have achieved a roughly level area and have spread some organic matter on the surface. To this, add a dressing of a phosphate based fertilizer such as Super Phosphate; you will require 25 grams to the square metre. Then add an application of a product called Water Save; about 10 grams per square metre. This is a crystal type chemical that help the grass plants access the water in the soil.
Next you need to prepare the final seedbed. Fork over the soil to a depth of about 125mm, on larger areas you can rotovate. Then start to rake in several directions using a garden/landscape rake to remove all the stones over 12 mm. Ideally you are aiming to create a fine tilth with the organic matter etc mixed into the soil
As you work the soil it will become compact, but in addition to this, you need to tread the soil, which means walking over it with small steps on your heels or using a roller to pull over the area. As you carry out these operations you will be able to see or feel the high and low spots and using your rake adjust the levels accordingly.
It is worth using most of your available time into the preparation, as it makes all the difference to the quality of the lawn in the long run.
The seed bed should now be created to the required levels and reasonably fine tilth on average soil lumps about 3 to 4 mm. If you have problems breaking down the soil to this degree then try watering it and leaving it for 24 hours, as often this can help.
With regard to stones, if you still have small stones on the surface do not worry, these will be removed later. If your soil is very stony the solution is to import some additional soil, which is free of stone, and lay it over the surface to create a layer of about 20mm. The problem you might encounter with importing soil is that you also import weeds as well.
You need to seed the area with a very fine seed mixture with additional fescue grasses, as this type of mixture will hold the colour in the summer. The seed packets will show you the percentages of different types of seed in the mixtures. Try to stay away from mixture with species and regress because although it will establish quickly it is not going to last in the hot summers.
To seed the area evenly spread about 25 grams per square metre and lightly rake in, then roll the key is to help the seed make good contact with the soil so that it might take up the soil moisture to help germination.
Once the seed is sown you need to keep the seed bed moist at all times. If the weather turns very hot it is worth covering the area with horticultural fleece to shade it from the sun.
With regard to birds, as long as you have raked the seed in and rolled the area, the amount suggested allows for birds taking about 10 percent of the total.
Finally, the addition of Root Grow Plus from www.friendlyfungi.co.uk will help. This is a mixture of Mycorrhizal fungi constituents which team up with the grass plants and help it become efficient at accessing water and nutrients from the soil. At present, it is still expensive for use with lawns as it is a new product, however it is worth the extra expense. To use, take a small stick, make 2 holes in every square metre of seedbed about 25 mm deep and add a few granules into the hole.
With watering, or the rain, once the seed is about 25mm high, you will find that new stones have been exposed. Lightly rake the surface with a wire rake the type used for removing autumn leaves and remove any larger stones by hand. If you are also pulling out the grass plants then leave this operation for a further 7 days. With the stones removed you now need to roll the area with a garden roller, slowly, in two directions to help the grass plants produce additional leaves and fill out to start to form your lawn.
In a hot climate irrigation is going to be key. It is ideal if you create underground water storage tanks, we often use septic tanks, to collect and store the winter rain water or create a pond to hold the water.
The key in hot climates is to irrigate the lawn only once every 8 days, but to completely flood it with water, so that the water soaks into the depths and does not get evaporated by the sun. If you have prepared the soil correctly the water will penetrate the soil quickly.
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