Detailed Explanation of Lawn Planting Techniques: Sowing Methods and Management Points
The content of lawn construction is to complete the process of lawn establishment and planting according to the already determined design. In this construction process, land preparation work must be done well; while preparing the soil, base fertilizer and pest-control pesticides must be applied well, the land must be leveled, and drainage and irrigation facilities must be arranged well. There are 4 planting methods: sowing, planting, laying sod pieces, and laying sod rolls. The sowing method requires good seed selection and seed treatment work, and determination of sowing time and sowing method; the planting method requires determining the planting time, selecting a good grass source, and digging up grass for planting; laying sod pieces and laying sod rolls requires selecting a grass source, determining the size specifications of sod pieces and sod rolls, transport and storage, and laying, among other steps. Different laying methods each have their own advantages and disadvantages. When laying lawns, an appropriate planting method should be chosen according to actual conditions so as to produce an economical and high-quality lawn.
Treatment of the Lawn Planting Site
To plant a lawn, the site must first be prepared according to the design elevation. The main operations include digging (loosening) the soil, leveling, fertilizing, and so on, and soil replacement is also necessary when required. For lawns with special requirements, such as sports field lawns, underground drainage facilities should also be installed. 80% of the root system of lawn plants is distributed in the soil layer above 40cm, and more than 50% is within 20cm below the ground surface. Although some lawn plants can tolerate drought and poor soil, planting them on a 15cm-thick soil layer easily leads to poor growth, and management should be strengthened. In order to keep the lawn at excellent quality and reduce management costs, the soil layer thickness should be made to reach about 40cm as much as possible, and the soil layer should be thickened in places where it is less than 30cm. For soil containing impurities such as bricks and stones, although it does not have much effect on the growth of lawn plants, it hinders management operations, so the impurities should be picked (selected) out, and when necessary, all of the 30-40cm-thick topsoil should be sieved. If the soil contains substances harmful to the growth of lawn plants, such as lime, then all of the 40cm-thick surface soil should be transported away and replaced with sandy loam to facilitate the growth and development of lawn plants.
In order to improve soil fertility, it is best to apply some high-quality organic fertilizer as base fertilizer. Apply farmyard manure at 40-50t/hm2, or apply sesame residue at 15-20t/hm2. If phosphate fertilizer is needed, calcium superphosphate can be applied at 150-200kg/hm2. No matter which fertilizer is applied, it should be crushed and mixed evenly with the soil, and after spreading, turned into the soil. But do not apply horse manure, because it contains a large amount of weed seeds, which will cause wild grass to sprout in the lawn later. To prevent and control underground pests and protect the tillering roots of the lawn, apply an appropriate amount of pesticide at the same time as fertilizing. Spread it evenly to avoid the pesticide powder forming clumps and affecting the survival of lawn plants.
After completing the above work, level the ground according to the design elevation, and pay attention to maintaining a certain drainage slope (generally a slope of 0.3-0.5 degrees). There must never be pits or depressions in the site, so as to avoid water accumulation. Finally, gently roll it once with a roller. Sports field lawns have higher requirements for drainage. In addition to paying attention to surface drainage (the slope can generally be 0.5-0.7°), an underground drainage system should also be installed. The quality of land preparation is one of the keys to the success or failure of lawn establishment and must be taken seriously.
Arranging Drainage and Irrigation Systems
Like other sites, lawns need to consider removing surface water. Therefore, when finally leveling the ground, the issue of surface drainage should be considered together. There must be no low-lying areas, so as to avoid water accumulation. Lawns mostly use gentle slopes for drainage. Within a certain area, a gently sloped ditch can be built, and a rainwater inlet can be set at its lowest end to receive the discharged surface water and drain it away through underground pipes, or the ditch can be directly connected to a lake or pond. The surface of an ideal flat lawn should be slightly higher in the middle and gradually slope toward the surroundings or edges. For lawns with overly flat terrain, or lawns with an excessively high groundwater level or excessive water accumulation, and sports field lawns, etc., hidden pipes or open ditches should be installed for drainage. The most complete drainage facility is a system composed of hidden pipes connected to a free water surface or a drainage pipe network. A lawn irrigation system is an important item in lawn construction. At present, lawns at home and abroad mostly use sprinkler irrigation. For this reason, before the final leveling of the site, the sprinkler irrigation pipe network should be fully buried.
Alright, now the preliminary preparation work for lawn planting has been completed. Next, let us take a specific look at lawn planting techniques!