It’s best to water deeply and infrequently rather than frequently and shallowly, as this encourages deep root growth and helps your lawn tolerate drought better. Plant species like wattles such as White Sally wattle, pravissima, and boormanii, willow-leaved Hakea, Pangola grass, Callistemons, and so on are also known to tolerate clay soils.

There is often only a brief period when clay soils are workable between waterlogged soils after winter and baked hard clay from late spring Whether you want an ornamental lawn, a soft surface for the kids to wrestle on, or the best of both worlds It’s best practice to cut your grass to a height of 6 to 8 centimeters (2.5 to 3 inches). This height will promote growth, prevent weeds, and discourage insect pests. Roll the area you have seeded with a lawn roller filled with water, and spread a thin layer of straw mulch over top.

Seed versus turf

But if your lawn sits in shade for most of the day, you’ll need a grass seed that’ll cope well in it. In which case, The Grass People’s Steadfast is fantastic. It creates a shade tolerant lawn that looks pretty phenomenal. 3. Your Budget As a rule, treating clay soil before planting grass seed is essential. Ripping it up at around 350mm to 450mm comes highly recommended by experts in gardening to ensure adequate root development. This also helps to break compacted soils up. There was one corner of the lawn that took a lot longer to grow than the rest as it was pretty much in constant shadow from a large shed, but eventually that patch too started to show signs of life, so top marks and two green thumbs up for the GBW grass seed from us.

Water your lawn deeply but not too often to promote the growth of deep roots. Apply about 2.5 centimeters (i.e 1 inch) of water, usually no more than once a week. Place a small pet food or tuna can on the lawn to help you measure how much water has been applied. Stop watering when the can is full. Too much water starves the soil of oxygen and invites disease. If you find that it is forming a ribbon longer than 1 inch, spread, and work in another layer of organic compost. Wait for a period before conducting the ball test again so that the compost gets time to change the composition of the soil. Remember to choose the right grass type for your soil and climate, and adjust your lawn care practices accordingly.Having a lush green lawn to be proud of is in reach for just about anyone these days. In fact, you’ve actually got more ways of achieving it now than ever before. The problem is that there are hundreds of grass seed products on the market. With different companies supplying different mixes, choosing one can be pretty confusing. You as a reader are the focus of our editorial work. The best advice for you - that is our greatest goal. We want to help you solve everyday problems and make the right decisions. The grasses in formal lawn seed mixes like Rolawn Minster Pro or A1 Lawn Am Pro-1 prefer the soil to be a little acidic. They will grow in loamy soil too but it won’t do well on clay.

Are you overseeding? Then half will suffice: 17 grams per square metre. Not sure about the size of your lawn? Easily measure it yourself; a large step is about 1 metre. Step #2: Work in small sections Choosing the right grass seed for your lawn can be a dificult task. However, by understanding the characteristics of different soil types and the best grasses for clay soil, you can make an informed decision. Clay particles are amazingly dominant in a soil. This is explained by the relative size of the different particles (clay, sand and silt) that soil contains. Clay particles are very small but, because this allows more particles to fitin any givenspace (say 1cm cubed), they have huge surface areathat dominates the physical properties of soil. In comparison, sand and silt particles arelarger, so fewer particles are neededto fill a space(say 1cm cubed again). As a result,the overallsurface area of sand and silt is smaller andso much less influential on determining the characteristics of a soil than the clay particles. The main downsides are that it’s slow to establish, and the ryegrass-free mix requires warmer temperatures to germinate. Sow it in spring and you should see a healthy growth in early summer.

Editorial integrity

Sandy soils will always thrive with a 100% fescue mix which is what we used in our THRIVE: Sandy Soils – why did we do this? This application is designed to get into the soil and significantly improve its general structure. Above and beyond helping the soil, it will also help promote greener grass blades by creating better growing conditions. When the soil is finally ready, sow two portions of seeds vertically then, perpendicularly. Use a broadcast spreader to help lighten the load and for a more even spread.