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Grass

Seed and Sowing  Turf   Maintenance  Weeds and Pests

Grass is probably the most labour-intensive plant that is grown in the garden. It is ideally suited to provide a uniform carpet of green due to the way it has evolved while being grazed by herbivores. This mean that however closely it is cut to the ground it continues to grow. Other plants with similar growth habits have been used to make a "lawn", eg. Clover, Pearlwort or Camomile, but they are not as resistant to wear, and do not give such a uniform finish.
The tendency when starting a new garden is to lay down a large grassy area and some gardens never progress much beyond this. It is quite a good plan to grass over a new garden as the mowing keeps away an invasion of weeds, but as the garden develops it is largely replaced with trees, shrubs and perennial plants. There is nothing better to show off a shrub or perennial border than a foreground of grass, so if possible there should always be some present.
Some would say that the true lawn is a large field of the type created by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in the eighteenth century - laid out with large hardwood trees and grazed by deer or sheep. However any grassy area is now generally regarded as a lawn. (In the USA it is commonly called a yard.)
Having grassed the whole area this will have to be reduced to develop a garden. Start with the awkward corners and work outwards. A good way to achieve the outline of the area to be removed is to cut the grass leaving all the inconvenient spots, these are then converted to beds. To further reduce the time taken to cut the grass a mowing strip of paving around the edge is a great help, the wheel of the mower runs along it and there is no trimming.

If the site for the potential lawn is reasonably smooth, the simplest way to produce a grassy area is by repeated mowing. Check for hidden debris and stones, then use a brush-cutter first if it is very overgrown. Most of the weeds and coarse grasses do not survive close cutting and you will be left with a mixture of Grasses, Creeping Buttercup, Daisy, Clover and Dandelion - later use of a selective weedkiller will remove most of these weeds. After a few seasons you will have quite a good utility lawn without the need for elaborate preparation. Bumps and hollows can be levelled by peeling back the turf and adding or removing soil before replacing it - small hollows can be raised with a top dressing of half soil / half compost and a little grass seed.

Preparing the Site

Before sowing any seed or laying turf the area should be thoroughly prepared and the procedure is the same for both. It's best to start this operation as soon as the ground is dry enough to cultivate and if possible allow a period of fallow before sowing or laying the grass. This allows any remaining perennial roots to sprout and weed seeds turned up during digging to germinate, so that they can be removed or killed off. Repeat the process a few times to give the new grass the best chance to grow uninhibited and reduce the development of a weedy sward later. If sowing seed, the best times to ensure even germination are in April or early May, and late August or September, but with the sort of weather we have been having lately, there will probably be enough rain throughout the summer. If it is very hot or cold the seed will be inhibited from germinating. Turf can be laid at most times of the year except during frost or drought.
The site will probably need a certain amount of levelling depending on the finish reqiured. For a formal lawn it should be reasonably flat and the humps will have to be removed. Shallow bumps and dips will be sorted while digging, but large changes in levels that are deeper than the topsoil layer will require a bit of engineering. The soil will have to be removed and the subsoil moved around to the reqiured level before the topsoil is replaced.
Check to see if there are any drainage problems, soggy areas will need some sort of treatment to give a satisfactory lawn. The Victorians used to remove all of the topsoil and lay a layer of cinders or gravel before replacing it. Playing fields and greens are installed over an elaborate bed of graded hardcore down to a top layer of sand before the seedbed is added. In the domestic situation, it may be worthwhile to start with a layer of 19mm gravel covered with some grit to 'blind' it if you are bringing in fresh soil, particularly if the subsoil is dense clay which will not drain quickly. For a larger area you may need to sink some small drains filled with stones into the clay below the gravel, to carry excess water away (sometimes called a French Drain). If there is no outlet to allow it to drain from the site, a soakaway consisting of a pit filled with more stones should cope with any water which collects. After going to this length to ensure good drainage the topsoil must have a good structure as well so if it has a high clay content, encorporate plenty of grit and organic matter. Sandy soil will need organic matter to improve retention of moisture and nutrients.
With the levels and drainage sorted, fork over the soil removing all perennial weeds with their roots. If they are dense the best thing is to skim off the surface first and any remaining roots will be found when digging. In a large area the skimming and digging can be done with hired mechanical equipment, but the advantage of hand digging is that you can be more thorough in finding roots and stones. Any stones larger than 25mm in diameter should be removed - this will become an obvious step if you later try to spike the lawn. They can be used to form the base of a path or to fill a drain. If the soil is not in good condition this is the time to add some organic matter. To improve drainage and aeration add some grit by spreading a 30 to 50 mm layer and forking it in. The soil will be loose and full of air pockets, these need to be compacted otherwise later settlement will result in a bumpy finish. A roller is useless for this as it is too wide, missing small voids; the most efficient method is tramping the whole surface, putting the weight on the heels and shuffling back and forth. Onlookers may find it amusing, but this a tried and tested technique. When the compacting is complete rake to a smooth finish, filling small depressions to produce a seed bed, or to be ready for laying turves. Small stones and large crumbs of soil will be pressed into the surface later, but if there is a lot of debris it should be removed

Now that the ground is prepared it is time to sow the seed

Turf

To lay turf the area is prepared in exactly the same way as for sowing seed, but the achievement of the final result is shortened by laying a prepared sward. A small allowance being made for the level of finish at paths and kerbs so that the finished surface is flush to make mowing easier.
The turf is usually grown by a specialist nursery on a grand scale, when mature it is skimmed off in rolls of about one square metre and sold directly or at garden centres. It is advisable to order the turf in advance and pick it up on the day it is delivered. If it sits around for a few days it dries out, being rolled up the lack of light causes the grass to turn yellow and die. Turf with any signs of yellowing should not be used, it may recover eventually, but any advantage in paying the extra cost over using seed is lost, and it may have to be oversown anyway to thicken up the sward.
It can be ordered in different qualities from rougher utility to fine quality and even a wildflower mix. The rolls should be capable of being held aloft without falling apart, indicating that the roots have developed well enough.
Roll the turf out on the prepared area butting the edges together tightly. Stagger the joints in adjacent rows - like the overlaps of bricks. Lay a plank on the new turf and work off it laying the grass ahead of you to avoid compacting or gouging the soil which should have a fine tilth on the surface. Trim the edges and use the trimmings to fill any small gaps. Keep the new lawn well watered in the next few weeks, there is nothing worse than the sight of brown curly edges criss-crossing a patchy green and yellow 'lawn'. It should be left undisturbed until definite signs of growth begin, then mowing can start just like a newly sown lawn.
The turf for the new Wembley Stadium in London was grown at a secret location somewhere in England. After exhaustive testing to find the most suitable species for the playing surface, the seed was sourced in the rival footballing nations Germany, Holland and France. The specially prepared seedbed was laid over sharp sand to discourage earthworms from spoiling the surface with their casts.

Follow these links for further information on growing healthy grass
Seed and Sowing   Maintenance  Weeds and Pests

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