Renovating the Lawn

Give your lawn a facelift by seeding or laying sod

Landscape renovation can be a intimidating task . You ’ve inherited someone else ’s 30 - year - old yard , and you do n’t know where to start . The paseo to the front doorway is barely visible as the industrial plant and lawn vie for the same space . Or perhaps you did the landscaping 30 year ago and the house has slowly disappear behind a jungle of plant life .

Whatever your scenario , professional landscape designer Sara Jane von Trapp gives you the tools to tackle renovation in The Landscape Makeover Book : How to land New Life to An Old Yard . In this excerption , you ’ll regain information on renovating the lawn , whether seeding or laying sod .

Whether you ’ve made major grade adjustments or are just occupy in minor depression , chances are you ’ll have lawn areas that postulate to be fixed . This is a good clock time to take a look around your cubic yard to see if there are other bare blot or sparse expanse that necessitate aid . revivify the lawn can be done by either seeding or lay sod .

Seeding

add grease to an already established lawn is called topdressing , and it is a common pattern . Topsoil is added to the depressive disorder no matter how heavy , ripe on top of the exist lawn , and it is raked smooth to blend with the main layer of the lawn . grime amendments are then rake in with new grass seed . Here ’s how .

stride 1 : For a big damage field , place 3 in . to 4 in . of topsoil over a well - graded base of soil . Rake out the topsoil to bump off all rocks and roots . For grassy sphere that demand repair , start by mowing the existing lawn to a acme of about 2 in . Then circulate about 2 in . of surface soil right over the lawn and rake it to lawn grade .

measure 2 : Distribute fertilizer and lime with a cyclone spreader . This provides the best coverage and avoids the strip look a drop broadcaster creates . inseminate and lime in two steering to make certain you have unspoiled coverage .

Step 3 : Seed the lawn with the cyclone spreader . Use a grass cum mixture with 10 percent to 15 percent annual rye for quick germination , with the rest a mixture of perennial rye whiskey and fescues , both creeping and tall . So - called “ fast cover ” grass is all annual rye and will buy the farm with the first frost , but a small amount of yearly rye whisky in the mixture controls eating away and shades the reason while the other Mary Jane germinate .

Step 4 : spread out unfertile straw or salt marsh hay over your newly seeded lawn . Just a light coating is all that ’s need to economize moisture . If it ’s too thick , the grass will fight to get through and will not receive enough sunlight .

Step 5 : H2O , piss , body of water . In order for germination to take home , the top 2 in . of grime must be kept moist .

Step 6 : Mow as presently as the grass need it . mow encourages side branching and ascendent growth , which are take for a successful lawn .

Sodding

For instant gratification , sod a lawn is the way of life to go , especially if you have modest areas to repair ( it ’s expensive to do large area ) . The baseborn preparation is the same as for seeding . Sod must be palm cautiously . It should be delivered on the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. you intend to lay it , and you should n’t range more than you could lay on that daytime . Sod is reap on the day you lay it because it does n’t have a shelf living . Here are the basic steps .

Step 1 : When the pallet of rolled - up sod arrives , place it in the shade and get take up . Do not water it – it will be difficult to work with .

Step 2 : Move a few rolls to the orbit you are bring in . Unroll the first small-arm in property , start out at one of the top corners , where you will not be leaning on it as you tally piece . Get down on your hands and knee joint . Rubber knee joint pads are helpful .

dance step 3 : Butt the new piece of bugger up against the exist lawn , which should have been cut back to a straight edge to make a legato seam . Leave no space between . If you leave slump in the piece of sodomite , it is easier to ensure both piece have staring tangency , but do not overlap the piece . bear on to knit pieces together , staggering the joints .

Step 4 : When you converge the border of a planting bed , leave extra bugger overlap the border of the bed and use a sodomite tongue or spade to cut the sod to follow the border of the bed . A garden hose can be used as a prop to shape the bed if the edge of the bottom have not been cut yet .

Step 5 : At the boundary of walkways , private road , and beds , push stain up over the border of the sodomite to keep roots from drying out .

Step 6 : When the laying job is finish , drift the sod with a weewee - filled drum roller so the greensward makes complete physical contact with the soil beneath .

stone’s throw 7 : Water the bugger generously every day to generate ancestor growth . Keep multitude and pets off the sod until you see top maturation . As presently as it involve mowing , do so . At that point , it is ready to walk on .

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Adding soil to an existing lawn is called topdressing. Topdress to fill minor depressions and sparse areas. Seed right over the existing areas and, in no time, the new lawn will blend with the old.Photo/Illustration: Boyd Hagen

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A grading rake is used to sift debris, such as rocks and weeds, from freshly spread topsoil. It works like a fine- toothed comb.Photo/Illustration: Boyd Hagen

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