Laying turf and care for the turf
Our life is becoming more dynamic and eventful, and modern technologies allow us to quickly achieve the desired results and simplify a number of everyday situations. If earlier the owners of land plots could not even dream that the lawn in front of the house would be transformed in an instant and turn from an unkempt gray patch of land into a green lawn, today it is a common reality and a rolled lawn from the manufacturer helps in this.
What is Lawn Rolls?
A miracle was made possible thanks to the use of the technology of laying roll lawn, a natural covering consisting of grass grasses that formed a strong sod on a cut substrate of soil. Such an unusual living surface got its name due to the shape in which the lawn is rolled onto the area where it will grow further.
Specially grown turf before shipment to the customer:
- cut in the form of rectangular plates or long strips;
- rolls up into tight rolls;
- sent for further packing.
If the lawn is created according to the usual technology, with the help of a seeder and a package of seeds, then it takes many months to prepare the site, sowing, waiting for seedlings and further care for them. In some cases, a natural lawn acquires density and saturation only a year after creation, and sometimes requires restoration if the grass is spoiled by frost, rain or heat.
Advantages of a roll lawn over a conventional lawn
To completely transform the landscape, to make the site green and well-groomed with the help of a roll lawn, it will take many times less time than with ordinary sowing of a grass mixture.
The best time to purchase and then lay a roll lawn is spring, when the snow cover has completely disappeared on the site, and the ground and air have warmed up to stable positive temperatures.
When thinking about purchasing a man-made lawn, it is worth remembering that there are many types of such coatings. And the price of a lawn in rolls, its durability and properties directly depend on the composition of the grass mixture used to create it.
The basis of most common species is meadow bluegrass - an unpretentious perennial grass that does well in the conditions of the Russian central zone. Sometimes fescue, ryegrass or other herbs are mixed with bluegrass seeds to make the cover soft, decorative or other qualities.
To obtain a lawn bed, only high-quality plant seeds are used that are adapted to life in a particular area. But not less than them for the success of growing, it is important to adhere to technology and competent selection of soil.
So that the efforts invested by the manufacturer are not wasted, and the coating quickly takes root after the transfer, certain rules must be adhered to when laying a roll lawn.
How to install a roll lawn?
Work begins with the mandatory preparation of the site, which is best done in advance.
Since the rolled lawn does not like long storage and cannot wait until:
- the site will be cleared of old grass cover, roots, stones and other large inclusions;
- the territory will be leveled;
- if necessary, humus, sand or black soil are added to the soil, depending on its type.
The coating in convenient rolls will not cause trouble even for an ordinary summer resident, it is unpretentious and easy to use. Therefore transform landscape design of the site you can independently, without the involvement of third-party specialists. With some skill and careful preparation, laying a roll lawn with your own hands on an area of 50 square meters will take only a couple of hours, but the effect of the work will remain for many years.
When ordering a rolled lawn from the manufacturer, it is important to indicate a slightly larger area than the calculations showed. Living material in dry weather has the ability to shrink, and one cannot exclude any unforeseen circumstances.
The shelf life of rolls does not exceed a day. Therefore, immediately after arriving at the site, the laying material is unloaded. They are laid out on a flat surface, protected from the sun, so that the grass in rolls does not deform.
When laying, the sides of the panels should close tightly together, leaving no gaps. When laying on the ground, one roll should go a couple of centimeters onto the other. When the grass layer is well crushed, the edges are joined end-to-end and tamped. In large areas, special rollers are used for such work. The gaps that appear during the laying of the rolled lawn or a little later are immediately filled with sand. Soon, when the vegetation gets used to the new conditions, the narrow ones will be covered with fresh shoots.
If you need to trim the turf along with the turf, it is convenient to use a sharp garden knife. Moreover, such work must be carried out with gloves and in compliance with safety measures.
After the completion of all work, according to the technology of laying the rolled lawn, the covering is abundantly watered with the help of sprinklers. In the next two weeks, during acclimatization, the root system of the grass must not be allowed to dry out. With constant humidity, the plants recover faster and start growing.
Features of the care of the rolled lawn
According to reviews of the gardeners' roll lawn, who have already appreciated its merits, such a turf is not only easier to create, but also saves energy when leaving.
Professional selection of seeds and their germination in specialized conditions provide:
- excellent winter hardiness of the lawn;
- its evenness;
- stable density.
The formed root system of the grass does not allow weed shoots to break through. This is also aided by the preparation of the soil before laying the rolled lawn.
And yet, care for the roll lawn is necessary. Mandatory measures to maintain the health and decorativeness of the grass cover include:
- watering;
- top dressing;
- cleaning and combing the lawn;
- soil aeration works;
- mowing.
The first thing every green plant needs is moisture. For rolled lawns, sprinkler systems should be used. This will prevent damage to the surface root system of the grass and will not erode the layer of fertile soil. The grass cover and the soil under it are soaked to a depth of at least 15 cm. Otherwise, the color of the vegetation and its wilting cannot be avoided.
Top dressing of a rolled lawn is carried out in the same way as for traditional grass coverings. In spring and summer, plants receive complex fertilizers based on potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen, it is useful to include trace elements in the mixture. Closer to autumn, the lawn is fertilized again, but with a different composition with a low nitrogen content.
Raking the lawn and regularly cleaning leaves and other debris from it is a necessary preventive measure:
- to improve the growth of herbal rosettes;
- protection of the rolled lawn from the dispersal of weeds, infection of the site by insect pests and pathogens of plant diseases.
Aeration, that is, piercing the grass cover and upper standing soil, helps to oxygenate the soil under the densely woven roots. A simple but extremely effective measure, it is possible to quickly improve the absorption of nutrients by plants and to maintain a high quality of the substrate at all times.
Mowing the grass as part of the maintenance of the rolled lawn is carried out from May to August. If the lawn covering on the site is only taking root, it can be trimmed only after a week after laying. And you can't try to make a low cut. This will damage the future quality of the lawn.
Regular mowing is carried out as needed. Most often, the frequency is 7-10 days. For processing the site, choose dry, but not hot weather, and after mowing the lawn is watered.
Before wintering, pruning of the grass is possible until mid-October, while there is no stable frost, from which damaged leaf plates and shoots may suffer. The optimum height of the grass cover at the time of the arrival of winter is 4–6 cm. In this case, the plants will be reliably covered with snow and healthy will begin the new growing season.
Features of a roll lawn and its laying - video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnJrBQGNTeQ
My husband also decided to sow a lawn in our yard. The grass grew in places, here and there. Friends advised us to buy a roll and not to steam. We have never regretted it.