The New Lawn In Your Garden – The grass in your lawn can come from seed or turf. The choice between them may have to be made only once in the life of your garden, so consider the relative merits and drawbacks carefully before making your decision.
Small sprigs of grass for planting a lawn, so popular some years ago, are no longer available. But novel forms of planting material continue to appear – now there are the seeded turves which are unrolled like a carpet.
Seed for the new lawn
Sowing seed is the cheapest method of lawn production. Effort as well as money is saved – there are no heavy turves to lift and lay. You can also pick your day for lawn making – unlike turf, seed does not quickly deteriorate after purchase so you can wait days or even weeks for suitable weather.
You can pick a mixture of grasses which will be suitable for your conditions and the grade of lawn you require. Unlike turf, you will know exactly which grasses you are buying. Best sowing time is mid August to mid September or in April.
Disadvantages of sowing seed. The preparation of the seed bed must be thorough – weed removal is very important. The recommended months for sowing are busy times for the gardener, and the young seedlings are at risk from all sorts of problems – bad weather, birds, disease and so on. Until grass has covered the surface, there is always the risk of weed colonisation.
Standard turf
Laying standard turf is the quickest traditional method of lawn production. In a matter of a few weeks a mature-looking lawn is obtained, ready for use and immune to all the seedling troubles such as damping off, birds, cats and annual weeds. A fine seed bed does not have to be produced and turf is laid in late fall or winter, the quietest period of the gardener’s year. The bare ground is given instant color, and the edges of the new lawn are clearly defined.
Disadvantages of laying standard turf. Turf will cost you several times more than grass seed to make a new utility lawn. Much of the turf offered for sale contains a high proportion of coarse grass and numerous weeds – good-quality turf is hard to obtain.
Seeded turf
Laying seeded turf is the newest method of lawn production. Like sowing a seed mixture, the 1 sq.yd or 3 sq.yd rolls of seeded turf provide specified varieties of lawn grasses. These rolls are quicker to lay than standard turf, and the weight needed to cover the new lawn is considerably less. It can be cut with an ordinary pair of scissors.
Disadvantages of laying seeded turf. Seeded turf is more expesive than the standard turf used for lawn making, and the luxury grade of seeded turf is much more expensive than a fine-grass seed mixture. A level surface is essetial; you cannot easily correct bumps and hollows as you can when laying strips of standard turf. The number of suppliers is strictly limited and there is as yet no longterm garden experience of this new development in lawn making, although it has been used professionally for some years.