Table of contents
- Lawn rehabilitation by reseeding
- Mow deep
- scarify
- soil improvement
- fertilizing and sowing
- Cover
- rolling and sprinkling
- With the rolled turf sandwich method, you can easily lay out old lawns again
- Mow super short
- even out unevenness
- fertilizing and laying
- Water
- Maintain turf properly
- Conclusion
Is the holey, overused lawn a thorn in your side? Do not be annoyed about this impairment of your garden, but take the initiative. Replanting an old lawn is less time-consuming than you might think. In addition, the entire budget for the hobby garden does not have to be used up to renovate a lawn. Various methods are available to choose from. Patient gardeners choose the slow, inexpensive method of lawn seeding. If you want to invest a little more, you can choose the rapid approach using turf. How to do it step by step.
Lawn rehabilitation by reseeding
Hobby gardeners who want to replant an old lawn and consider the time factor to be secondary use fresh lawn seed. Ideally, the exact type of grass that was originally used is still known. If this is not the case, suitable reseeding mixtures are available in specialist shops, tailored to the function of the grass surface as a play and sports lawn or decorative lawn.
Tip:
The best time to replant an old lawn is in the spring months from May to June. Alternatively, September can be considered for lawn renovation.
Mow deep
The lawn is first mown as deep as possible. If the blades of grass are very high in the spring, you should preferably mow in two stages so that the lawn mower is not overused. The drier the grass surface, the easier it is to cut by hand. The clippings are then completely removed.
scarify
In this work step, thorough scarifying creates the optimal conditions for all further stages. The usual working depth of 3-5 millimeters does not meet the requirements in this case. If you are replanting an old lawn, it is important to break up the turf so intensively that space is made for the absorption of effective ingredients for soil improvement and the lawn seed. Only then does the desired homogeneous unit develop, which ultimately results in a lush green carpet of lawn. We therefore recommend using a professional scarifier, which can be hired from well-stocked rental shops or hardware stores.
- Scarify the mowed lawn in two passes
- Work lengthwise and crosswise
- Rake off all loose plant parts and compost
soil improvement
If there are isolated settlements in the old lawn, these can be easily recognized after scarifying. Now is the perfect opportunity to level them out with a suitable filling floor. Then give the soil a few days to settle so that you can add some more soil if necessary. If the bumps are due to the disastrous work of moles or voles, it is advisable to scare them away or to remove them as an intermediate step. combat. Although the diggers will be away for a few days as part of the clean-up work, they are guaranteed to return as soon as peace has returned. Where this interlude can be skipped, enriching the old lawn with soil additives is now on the agenda. If the grass area suffered from compacted soil, a layer of sand now provides the necessary loosening with a maximum dosage of 3 liters per square meter. On the other hand, enrich silted lawn soil with clay powder. Mature compost, which you apply with the sand in a 1 centimeter thick layer - i.e. 10 liters per square meter - has a revitalizing effect on the stressed lawn.
- Work compost and sand or clay powder into the soil with a rake
- Work in a layer of soil additives of more than 10 millimeters using the scarifier
If the soil is so compacted that a higher sand application is required, you cannot avoid breaking up the soil and then leveling it.
Tip:
Use a filling soil with a similar structure as the previous one to level out ground settlements. Physical differences that are too great later cause an inhomogeneous appearance because the lawn seeds develop differently.
fertilizing and sowing
A phosphorus-rich starter fertilizer is now used, which is administered before the lawn is seeded. A spreader ensures even distribution. Ideally, apply the fertilizer lengthwise while spreading the lawn seed crosswise. This little trick effectively prevents incorrect scattering.
Cover
To give the lawn seeds a good soil contact as light germinators, finally cover the seeds with a lean substrate such as peat. This top layer must not be applied higher than 0.5 centimeters. This way, enough light reaches the seeds while at the same time protecting them from being washed out.
rolling and sprinkling
If a lawn roller is available, this ensures additional stabilization of the seed. The rehabilitated lawn area is then intensively watered.
- Do not water a newly laid lawn in direct sunlight
- Irrigate every 2 days for the first 14 days after sowing
- Mow for the first time from a growth height of 8-10 centimetres
With the rolled turf sandwich method, you can easily lay out old lawns again
The sowing of lawns always requires a longer thread of patience from the hobby gardener until the longed-for, lush green carpet is presented. The renovation of an old grass area is much faster with the help of rolled turf. Thanks to the innovative sandwich method, there is no need to peel off the used sod. The turf is laid on top of the old turf, which quickly decomposes underneath and turns into a nutrient-rich layer for soil organisms. How to do it step by step:
Mow super short
Since nothing is expected from the roots of the old lawn, mow the area as short as possible. No measures are required against the weeds in it, such as scarifying or even using a herbicide. As extensive tests have shown, the subsequent rolling turf leaves no chance for weeds to develop.
even out unevenness
The smoother the subsoil, the more even the new appearance of your lawn will be. It is therefore worth investing a little effort in creating the fine planum with a finely crumbly soil structure.
- Level the mowed lawn with topsoil
- Alternatively apply a compost-sand mixture
- Smooth out with a rake
Tip:
If possible, the first two steps are carried out on the day before the turf is delivered. Since freshly peeled turf dries up very quickly, it can be processed within 12-24 hours.
fertilizing and laying
Before you start laying the rolled turf, apply a suitable starter fertilizer to the old lawn. As with sowing, a phosphate-rich fertilizer is advantageous. Then proceed as follows:
- Laying begins along a straight edge
- Place the lawn rolls end to end
- Offset laying is ideal, as with clinker brick walls
- Do not leave any joints or gaps
- Trim the edge with a sharp knife
- Finally, roll the lawn lengthwise and crosswise
Lay the lawn in such a way that you do not have to walk on it if possible. If this is unavoidable, lay out wooden slats there. If you are out and about with the lawn roller, only step on the already compacted grass areas. If necessary, post-processing of fixed lawn edges is required. Since rolled turf is 2 to 3 centimeters high, a balance is required here with bed borders, terraces or garden paths.
Water
On the day the turf is laid, it must be sprinkled with water. When the grass is no longer in direct sunlight in the evening, run the tap until every square meter has been soaked with 10 to 15 liters. After this makeover, the old lawn is beautiful to look at from day one. In order to carry out regular watering in the following weeks, the turf can be walked on without any problems in order to set up the lawn sprinkler. You should not expose the grass surface to the stresses of a barbecue party for four weeks at the earliest.
Maintain turf properly
If your old lawn shines in a new, fresh green dress, the weather determines the first mowing pass. Experience has shown that after 7 to 14 days the new lawn has grown so much that it requires a lawnmower. If intensive irrigation is still taking place at this point, it is initially reduced. If the surface has dried, proceed as follows:
- Do not step on the blades of grass in advance
- Cut the lawn by no more than a third
- The optimal stem height is 4 to 6 centimeters
- Never mow in direct sunlight
- After a rain shower, let the surface dry first
When the turf is laid, there is a supply of nutrients that is sufficient for the next 4 to 6 weeks. Then apply a high-quality slow-release fertilizer. Apply a nitrogen-rich preparation in March/April as a start fertilization in the seasonal rhythm. For summer fertilization, a long-term fertilizer is indicated in mid/end of June. It is also advisable to prepare the lawn for the hardships of winter with a potassium-rich fertilizer at the end of August.
Conclusion
Sooner or later, every lawn gets old and leaves a lot to be desired in terms of appearance. The more intensively the grass area is used or in the face of cumulative soil problems, the entire garden area suffers from the deficiency of a flagging lawn. It's a good thing that renovating a lawn is effortless. Elaborate breaking up is just as little necessary as grading work. Instead, it is mowed deep, scarified and overseed. If necessary, take the opportunity to fix the floor problems with the help of improvement measures. You can lay down an old lawn even faster with rolled turf, using the innovative sandwich method. If you look at the understandable step-by-step instructions, you will quickly recognize the uncomplicated procedure and no longer bother with an unattractive, old lawn.
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