Sowing a new lawn.

Sowing a new lawn

Prepare the site
Dig the area and remove large stones and roots of perennial weeds. Add Enriched Lawn Soil to improve the water-holding capacity and structure of the soil. Level and firm the surface by raking and treading over the surface.
Fallow the site
Allow the dormant weed seeds to germinate and after a couple of weeks kill off this top growth with Weedol 2. Apply a general fertiliser to the surface and rake in while you level again. A balanced plant food ensures quick establishment of new grass.
Sow the seed
Wait until the soil is evenly moist. The sowing rate is 35g/sq.m (35g = a large handful). Sow half the seed from left to right and the rest from top to bottom to achieve even coverage. Rake the seed into the surface and ensure the soil remains moist until germination occurs.
Keep the soil moist
In autumn and early spring rains should keep the soil evenly moist. In dry weather water the seed occasionally in the evenings.
After care
Germination will be seen in 2-3 weeks depending on temperature. Lightly trim the grass to a minimum of 4cm when it is 5-8cm (2-3”) long overall. Then mow every couple of weeks gradually reducing the cutting height to 2.5cm (1”). Wait at least six months before applying a lawn food.

Untidy edges.
Untidy lawn edges, where the grass is growing into the surrounding borders, are easy to correct. Simply use a pair of lawn-edging shears to cut away any long grass that is beginning to encroach into the borders. Ideally, you should do this after every mowing.
If this seems hard work, which it isn’t, or you have a lot of edging to do, many line trimmers have a head that can rotate through 90° and so be used as an edger. Most will have a roller guide to ensure you cut in the right place and so tidy up your lawn edges beautifully.

Uneven lawn edges.
If the lawn edges are generally ragged and uneven, you can use a sharp spade or, better still, a half-moon edging iron to re-cut them. To ensure good, straight lines, use a short plank of wood or similar as a cutting guide. If you prefer perfect wavy edges, then use a garden hose, which can be used to map out your curves and again act as a cutting guide.
You may want to re-cut the edges once a year for the perfect looking lawn. This is especially true if your lawn sits on light, sandy soils as these crumble away easily.

Broken edges.
Broken edges not only make the lawn and garden look untidy, but they also make mowing and edging more difficult. To improve the look of your lawn and to make mowing easier, you should make some quick and easy repairs.
Use a sharp spade or half-moon edging iron to cut out a square section of turf that contains the broken edge. Undercut the turf to remove it and turn it around through 180 degrees, so that the broken edge is now within the lawn and one of the straight edges aligns with the lawn edge. Fill in the broken area with sieved garden soil or potting compost, level and re-seed.
Make sure you keep the grass seed well watered during dry periods and within no time at all you’ll have a perfect looking lawn with the crispest edges around.

Lawn edging.
Where grass continually grows into the border or where the lawn edges constantly look untidy and so make mowing difficult, you may want to consider installing a permanent physical lawn edge.
These are available from good garden centres and DIY stores and can be made from corrugated iron or, better still, plastic. These are driven into the soil along the side of the lawn and make a permanent edge that you can easily mow over.
Or, of course, you could install a brick edging, but this is more expensive and needs more time, effort and some bricklaying skills.