Budget Gardens in March
So now is the time to turn attention to the lawn.
If you are making a new lawn then the cheapest option is to use seed. First of all you need to decide what sort of lawn you will have, i.e. a very ‘fine’ lawn or something more hardwearing. Lawn mixtures containing rye grass are the hardest wearing.
Once you have decided you need to make best use of the seed, it is expensive. Work out the area and multiply by the rate. You will need approximately two ounces (56g) of seed per square yard.
When you obtain your packet of seed and before you use it give the packet a good shake or tip it upside down a few times. This helps the fine seeds in the mixture to be mixed up well with the rest of the seed so that when it’s sown you do get ‘a mixture’.
Mark off an area one yard by one yard with sand. Weigh one ounce (28g) of seed and sow it across the square north to south. Then weigh another ounce (28g) and sow this west to east.
Now you have a physical guide to what the whole area should look like when complete at 2oz per square yard.
After sowing, lightly rake in the seed. In a few weeks you will see signs of growth. When growth gets to about 2 inches (5cm) high, lightly roll the lawn, if you have a roller on your mower then this is ideal. After another couple of weeks your lawn will be ready for a first cut.
Ideally try to use a hover mower for the first couple of times you cut your new lawn. This will avoid accidentally pulling out the new grass which will still only have tiny roots.
Through Summer the lawn will quickly become established in time to play football on by Winter!
