Lawn Grass Foundation Starts With Soil

In building a lawn the initial preparation and conditioning of the soil is essential, perhaps more so than for any other garden feature. First of all, for any lawn to be a success it must have soil with good drainage and ample organic matter in it to insure good aeration.

Deep Root System

In a well aerated soil the grass roots will grow deep and be in a good position to obtain moisture during dry periods. Deep roots do not become stunted or hardened by high temperatures.

Aerate Soil

Once you establish a turf with a deep root system you have in effect attained a permanently ideal situation. Indeed, simply by getting the roots down deep you more or less guarantee that the soil will remain well aerated.

Topsoil Preservation

There are two ways in which to provide an ideal seed bed for a lawn. One is to have good topsoil to begin with (or be able to purchase it); the other is to build up the soil you have by the addition of organic matter and plant nutrients.

Most properties (unless they have been “scalped”) have at least some topsoil on them. As a future home gardener, you should insist when you start to build your borne, that the topsoil be scraped from those areas where the house, driveway, and garage will be built. If there is any grade changing to be done, the topsoil should be removed from those areas. When the final grade is established, the topsoil can be pushed back and spread over the entire property.

Topsoil Depth

It is possible to build up a lawn on less than six inches of topsoil, but we have in mind ideal conditions which, of course, are what we should try to attain. If the soil in your region is very sandy, as along the Atlantic Coast, you should start out with at least ten inches of topsoil. If you do not, in eight or ten years much of it may leach down through the sand and disappear. A ten-inch soil bed will induce the grass roots to go deeply in the first few years and thereafter largely prevent the soil from leaching down through the sand.

On the other hand, in regions with a suitable subsoil as little as four inches of topsoil may be sufficient for good grass growth.

Neutral Soil

Most lawn grasses prefer a soil with a neutral (that is 7.0) pH reaction. This can be attained by the addition of agricultural lime if the soil is too acid to start with.

Building Soil If you have to work with poor soil, it is an arduous task to build it up. One way is to grow cover crops and turn them under to add their organic matter to the soil; or you can apply organic matter such as peat moss or humus and work that in.

Chemical Soil Builder

Recently there have appeared on the market some manufactured chemical compounds that can have a beneficial effect on clay or hard soil in that they bring about changes that make the soil looser, more porous, better aerated. In some cases that makes it possible to grow grass on what would otherwise be highly unsuitable soil for that purpose.

The important thing to remember in using these organic materials or chemical compounds is that they must be put down in the soil so that their effect will be exerted to some depth.