Photos of soil mix, red soil, yellow soil, packaging,...
Soil Packing Process
Soil
at preparing soil for a garden to ensure the grass you choose will grow well. It is very tempting to just buy grass sods (slabs of grass) and lay them on top of your garden. You will see an almost instant garden. However if you do not prepare the soil properly, you will be disappointed when the grass don’t grow well or dies off.
The worst thing is that you have to redo your garden again. Your time, money and effort will be wasted. Do it properly from the onset and you will have a minimal maintenance garden
with nice green grass
The worst thing is that you have to redo your garden again. Your time, money and effort will be wasted. Do it properly from the onset and you will have a minimal maintenance garden
with nice green grass
Here are the steps briefly.
Remove construction debris and rocks
Level the ground
Install subsoil drainage pipes if needed
Add a layer of sand if needed
Cover with topsoil
Spread the grass sod
Water regularly
First, is to check how much rocks, clay and construction debris is the soil. Trust me, all these things will be in your garden. You need to have these removed. At the minimum, a layer of soil 3 to 4 inches thick usually needs to be removed. Remove any rocks larger than 2 in, small tree stumps and other things the
contractor “hides” in the garden. Next, the garden must be leveled. If not, you may end up with a bumpy garden. Grade the garden in such a way that water will flow towards drains. You do not want a water logged garden since too much water will stunt the growth of grass.
If your garden has bad drainage, you may need to install subsoil perforated pipes to drain the excess water. Otherwise fungus will grow. You can determine this by looking at how long puddles of water remain after heavy rain. If it goes away within a hour or so, then you probably won’t need to do install the subsoil pipes. Normally such drainage pipes are required especially when you land area is larger (say 20 ft wide by 80 ft long) since it takes a long time for water to flow through the soil from the center of the garden to the drain at the sides of your house.
Level the ground
Install subsoil drainage pipes if needed
Add a layer of sand if needed
Cover with topsoil
Spread the grass sod
Water regularly
First, is to check how much rocks, clay and construction debris is the soil. Trust me, all these things will be in your garden. You need to have these removed. At the minimum, a layer of soil 3 to 4 inches thick usually needs to be removed. Remove any rocks larger than 2 in, small tree stumps and other things the
contractor “hides” in the garden. Next, the garden must be leveled. If not, you may end up with a bumpy garden. Grade the garden in such a way that water will flow towards drains. You do not want a water logged garden since too much water will stunt the growth of grass.
If your garden has bad drainage, you may need to install subsoil perforated pipes to drain the excess water. Otherwise fungus will grow. You can determine this by looking at how long puddles of water remain after heavy rain. If it goes away within a hour or so, then you probably won’t need to do install the subsoil pipes. Normally such drainage pipes are required especially when you land area is larger (say 20 ft wide by 80 ft long) since it takes a long time for water to flow through the soil from the center of the garden to the drain at the sides of your house.
Okay, next you will need to put a layer of sand to help improve drainage. If the soil in your garden is already quite sandy, then you do not need this layer of sand. How do you tell if sand is required? Dig up a some soil from your garden after you have cleared it of debris. Add water if it is dry. If the soil sticks together like clay or plasticine, then you will likely need to add the layer of sand. If the soil breaks up easily in your hand, then the soil is sandy already.
After this, you need to spread a layer of topsoil approximately 3 to 4 in thick.Topsoil will encourage the grass root to take hold faster as the soil is loose and have nutrients for the grass. Make sure your garden is level after your spread the topsoil. Finally, you can put grass sods to cover your garden. Water regularly at least 2 times a day initially when the weather is hot until the grass takes root. Then you can reduce it to once daily. Some grass do not need watering once they have taken root. It is better to plant this type of grass to reduce work and also to reduce water usage.
If your area is surrounded by wild grass, then it is better to place the grass sods close together and not leave space in between. It will cost more money but this prevents wild grass seeds that gets blown into your garden from taking root. If you leave too much space in between, weeds will grow and you will need to spend quite a bit of time weeding. For a small garden of say 200 sq ft, you can easily do this
yourself. However, if the garden is larger, it is advisable to hire someone to do it. Moving soil is back breaking labor.
After this, you need to spread a layer of topsoil approximately 3 to 4 in thick.Topsoil will encourage the grass root to take hold faster as the soil is loose and have nutrients for the grass. Make sure your garden is level after your spread the topsoil. Finally, you can put grass sods to cover your garden. Water regularly at least 2 times a day initially when the weather is hot until the grass takes root. Then you can reduce it to once daily. Some grass do not need watering once they have taken root. It is better to plant this type of grass to reduce work and also to reduce water usage.
If your area is surrounded by wild grass, then it is better to place the grass sods close together and not leave space in between. It will cost more money but this prevents wild grass seeds that gets blown into your garden from taking root. If you leave too much space in between, weeds will grow and you will need to spend quite a bit of time weeding. For a small garden of say 200 sq ft, you can easily do this
yourself. However, if the garden is larger, it is advisable to hire someone to do it. Moving soil is back breaking labor.