Sowing & Growing - Lawn & Amenity

Suitable Soils and pH

These mixtures will grow on most soils down to a pH of around 5.6, on extreme sites mixtures should be tailored for acidic soils, water logged areas or very free draining soils.

Sowing Rate

Generally these mixtures are designed to create a dense, robust surface as quickly as possible, their ability to create a low growing sward means that they do not produce large amount of leafy growth or ground cover, as a consequence they must be sown at a robust sowing rate to create the desired turf. Sowing too thinly will lean to a gappy, less robust surface.

These mixtures are usually sown from 35 - 70 grams per metre squared, a much higher sowing rate than agricultural mixtures, which have a much better ability to spread and fill in gaps within the sward.

Mixtures including ryegrass will germinate and estbalish quickly, with a better ability to 'green up' an area quickly, however it will also need to more regular maintenance.

Mixtures without ryegrass may take up an extra 5-7 days to germinate and start to appear visible as a seedling, due to their slower growing nature.

When to Sow

These mixtures should be sown from March to September, the higher sowing rate than many mixtures means they have a wider sowing window than some agricultural mixtures.

How to Sow

A fine but firm seedbed should be created, care should be taken to remove any weeds from the area. Once sown the area should be lightly raked over to cover the seed and well consolidated with a roller or similar seed to encourage maximum seed to soil contact and conserve mositure. Seeds beds should not be left unconsolidate and if you leave a foot print on a newly sown area it should be rolled again!

Management

If practical, try to water newly sown area during dry conditions to maximise germiantion, once the seedlings have enough anchorage not to be plucked from the ground by a simple 'pluck' test, aim to mow the area on a high setting to remove the top 1/3 of growth and encourage new plants to tiller out and start filling the sward.

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Date Posted: 13th June 2019