Building and Maintaining a New Lawn
Steve Doom

There are many different ways to create a new lawn and important factors in starting and maintaining this work.When creating that new lawn, the first step is to prepare the soil. 

Soil Preparation for a Beautiful Lawn

1.Remove weeds from the planting area. 

2.Till the area to break up dead grass and compacted soil. 

3.Work in any needed lime or organic matter as you till. 

4.Use a steel rake and remove any remaining dead grass or stones in the planting area. 

5.Level the area so that the ground is even.

The next step is to choose whether you want to lie down pre-grown sod or to plant new grass seed. There are pros and cons to both options. 
 
Seed
Sod
Coverage
Takes weeks to fill out
Makes an instant carpet of grass
Appearance
Not uniform right away
Rarely patchy or poor in color
Planting
Must be planted at beginning of growing season
Sod is less seasonally restricted
Customized Blends
Your garden center will have different varieties to fit your environment
Usually available from local farm and different varieties aren�t always available
Labor
Takes few tools and little effort
Requires more physical activity and more tools than seed
Weeds
Encourages weed seeds to develop
Less susceptible to invasion by weeds than seed
Cost
Relatively Inexpensive
Can be costly and installation is also if you cant do it yourself

www.centralsod.com

After choosing the lawn option that is right for you, you can go ahead and get started. 

Grass Seed � This method is simple enough you should be able to do it yourself. Contact your local garden store and they will tell you what type of seed to use, how much seed to use, and the proper way to apply the seed to the soil. After seeding, it is best to apply some type of cover (straw works well) and keep off the newly seeded area. Frequent watering is also necessary for the newly seeded grass. 

Grass Sod � This procedure is more difficult than grass seed. It is best to have a professional turf company select and install new sod because of the difficult labor and the extra tools required. Once the sod is installed, be sure to water frequently.

Tips to maintaining your new lawn

1.Mowing 

-Mow at the proper height (never cut more than one-third the height of the grass)

-Mow every 5 to 7 days under normal growing conditions, when conditions become dry, mow less frequently

-Keep the blades sharp on your mower

-For a healthier lawn, don�t bag grass clippings. It may look nice, but the grass needs the clippings for nutrients and frequent mowing will keep the clumps away

2.Watering

-Water your lawn thoroughly in the early morning every couple of days in peak growing season (about one inch of water for strong roots)

-Apply extra water to light soils and ground in high sunlight and less water for shaded, heavy soils

3.Fertilizing

-Talk to your garden center about which fertilizer to use

-Try to keep a soil ph of about 6.5

-Use a lime product to raise soil ph

-Use a gypsum or sulfur product to lower soil ph

www.bayeradvanced.com

By following these above procedures you will have a healthy and beautiful looking lawn. 

Reference: www.bayeradvanced.com, www.centralsod.com