What is the right grass seed?

You can buy the very best lawn mower that is on the market but if your lawn is not constructed properly the results you are going to get well never leave you satisfied.

The preparation of your soil is an essential process and here are a few tips to keep you on the straight and narrow.

* If your new lawn is to be constructed on an old building site then make sure that the hard pan layer which has been created and compounded by dumpers and diggers then it is essential to break through the hard pan layer to allow your new grass roots freedom to move and expand.

If the soil is heavy clay and drainage is poor then it is advisable to ameliorate some horticultural sharp sand and compost into the surface to infiltrate the small pore spaces of the clay.

Sand will stop the clay from binding together thus allowing water and air a free passage through the soil structure.

* Cultivate the soil by digging over your proposed lawn. Double digging is best if the compaction is deep but a single spit will suffice if your soil is already light and friable. Make sure that your sand and compost is evenly distributed through your existing soil.

If you have a large area to prepare then a rotovator would be advisable. Using a machine will help you cover a much larger area without breaking your back and of course, as the times (or paddles as some would refer to them) turn, they break into the soil effortlessly and create a very even tilling of the soil. It is also a great way to ensure your compost and horticultural grit or sand is worked well into your proposed root zone.

* Now remove any large pieces of debris such as stones or wood (and if you are preparing an old building site watch out for the nylon bands that bind the brick packs together - these bands will easily bind your machine up.

* Now start preparing rough levels by marking out the four corners with pegs. Draw out a garden line tightly from the tops of the pegs and bang in intermediate pegs along your line so that the top of the peg touches the line. These pegs can now be used as a profile to form your surface.

Once you have raked the soil out you will then need to start raking the soil out much more finely. My favourite tool is a wooden hay rake which has wooden tines. I find that you can be a lot more sensitive and craft the soil into a fine tilth.

* Tread the soil using the heels of your boots. You just need to gently firm the surface and not compact it too tightly. After the initial treading, take the soil out again using the wide head of your rake. The width acts very well to grade the surface as well as prepare the tilth. Turning the rake upside down and using the straight edge also helps as a grader.

Once you are happy with your tilth, broadcast a base dressing fertiliser over the surface at 35 grams per square metre (or one ounce per square yard) and lightly rake in.

Broadcast your grass seed at 35 - 70 grams per metre and once again, rake the seed into the surface tilth. By raking it over the seed will be protected from birds and also protected from drying out. It will also mean that when germination takes place, the new roots are anchored into the soil and not vulnerable to drying out too quickly.

You have to make your choice now for the right grass seed - will the lawn be purely for ornamental purposes or is it going to be a an all purpose lawn which includes ball games etc?

For an ornamental lawn, you will need something like Rolawn Minster Pro® Ornamental which contains Slender Creeping Red Fescue and Chewings Fescue.

For a more robust lawn which is capable of handling heavy wear and tear from children then the Rolawn Medallion® Premium Lawn is the better option.

The seed mix contains Slender Creeping Red Fescue and Chewings Fescue and also Dwarf Perennial Ryegrass and Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass for the durability.

The Rolawn Minster is is tolerant to disease, shade and drought and is especially recommended if you wish to mow you lawn closely.
Now just wait two to three weeks for sufficient germination to take place and on a dry day, preferably in the cool of the evening, give the new seedlings (call monocotyledons) a light trip with a rotary mower with a sharp blade (a blunt blade will cause bruising). The grass will start to thicken up in subsequent weeks after which you may adopt a more systematic maintenance regime for your new lawn.

If you are planning a new lawn in the autumn you may be interested in The Lawn Guide by Philip Sharples.