How to improve your soil for growing turf & lawn

Once you have had a good look at your drainage situation, it is now time to have a look at your soil.  The best soil for a lawn is a Sandy Loam,  this type of soil allows for enough drainage and enough moiture holding, for the lawn to grow well.   Also, a sany loam provides for easy levelling and good retention of fertilisers.  

The root system of a lawn grows down to around 30cm below the level of the lawn, however the top 20cm is the most important.   If you have decided to completely improve your soil problem by bring in soil, keep in mind that you require around 15 to 20 cm of soil depth of good soil, although less may be needed in some situations.  Many soil supply companies sell soil mixes which are suitable as a substrait for a good lawn.  These soils are usually a mixture of sand, clay, and in some situation organic matter. 

If you have an soil situation which is harder to change, or you would like to do things on a more economical basis, you can improve your present soil.  Generally speaking if you are attempting to improve your present soil you will need to dig in a soil improver.   If you have a clay soil, you will need to dig in a more sandy soil, and or organic matter to increase drainage.   One way to do this is to use a Rotary Hoe.   It can be a difficult process if your soil is a hard clay, but it will be worthwhile in the long run.   When using a Rotary Hoe,  your soil improver is placed on the surface and then the Rotary Hoe is used to dig the soil improver into the clay.  Usually you can improve the first 20cm of soil using this method.   It is worth adding enough soil improver so to the make the whole process worthwhile, as it can be a lengthy exercise.   Most handyman hire companies hire out Rotary Hoes.

If you have a sandy soil you will need to add organic matter, top soil, and in some cases a soil with some clay.   Clay has the benefits of holding moisture and nutrients.   Basically you follow the same process as above, however it is a much easier process with a sandy soil.   Using organic matter is important to help hold and release nutrients and moisture.  Cow and sheep manure and excellent soil improvers, and fertilisers, and a good choice when improving your soil.  

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