Tom Lynskey asked 15 years ago
We are just about to ready our lawn and I am passionate about having a masterpiece of a lawn. I am willing to work hard with it so that it looks like a snooker table. I think there is nothing nicer than an impressive lawn eh? I’m sure you’ll agree. So, I want the best seed to use whatever the cost. I want to know when to sow and should i spray before sowing and how long do i leave it before sowing after the spray? Its a pretty big area, about a half acre.
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
The key is soil preparation. Cultivate it by ploughing/harrowing or rotavating to get it reasonably level. Allow the soil to settle. Then work over it filling any hollows and removing any humps … this can take time and effort. But it is essential to have a level surface, or evenly sloping surface beacuse the surface of the lawn later will be dictated by soil levelling. The soil must be firm before you sow as it can sink unevenly if it is not. You can hire a stone rake to help with levelling and firming and to windrow stones.
When the surface is perfect, allow the seeds in the soil.. wild grasses and weeds to sprout. When they are no more than two or three cms tall, spray with Roundup. Lightly rake by hand to the top two cms to bring up a second flush of weeds and spray again, this about a month after the first. and you could even repeat this if the second flush is numerous.
The idea in this is to reduce the wild grass population so that the seeds you sow dominate.
When you are happy with the level and the weed control, apply 100 grams of general fertliser such as 18-5-12 and sow the grass a week later using a No 1 grass seed containing only fescues and bent grasses, no perennial ryegrass at all. Sow this at 30 to 40gm/squate metre. Begin mowing when it is 5 or 6 cm tall and mow regularly. These grasses are very tenacious if they get a good start.
You could aim to sow in April, but any month between March and October as lond as it is not too dry. If the first sowing is affected by drought, simply over-sow with just light raking until it takes. Maintenance means regular mowing, feeding three times a year or more, moss control if necessary and weed control if necessary.
