8 Steps to Preparing Your New Soil for Planting
Before you start planting your new lawn, you need to take the necessary steps to make your new soil as healthy as possible so that future plants and grasses will be able to grow healthily.
Here are eight steps to get your soil ready for planting.
1. Decide how big your lawn will be
This is the first step and is very important, as many aspects of lawn care require this information. Get a measuring tape and calculate the size of your new lawn.
2. Do a soil test
Send a soil sample to a soil test lab for testing. The result is much more accurate. Basically, you need to know the soil composition and its pH level, which range from 1 to 14. The pH level measure how acidic or alkaline your soil is and for most soil, a pH level of 6.5 to 7.0 is considered ideal and balanced.
3. Adjusting your soil pH
Most of the time, your new soil pH is likely to be off balance. If the test result showed that it is more acidic, you can add limestone to reduce the acidity. On the other hand, if it is too alkaline, you can add sulfur to bring the soil back into balance.
4. Improve your soil texture
If your soil is too sandy, it will not be able to retain water very well. On the other hand, clay soil will be able to retain water very well but due to poor aeration, the water takes a very long time to reach the root level. The ideal soil type is loamy which provide good aeration and water retention capacity. You can add organic matters such as compost to change the texture of your soil. Organic matters can help to loosen and aerate clay soil. They can also help to improve the water holding capacity of sandy soil.
5. Add starter fertilizer
A starter fertilizer is one that you have to work into the soil before planting. It is usually higher in phosphorous than nitrogen and will help the root system to be established in the soil. Adding more phosphorous at this stage is appropriate as phosphorous does not move into the soil with water easily. However, if your soil test indicate that there is already enough phosphorous in the soil, you can switch to another fertilizer with a higher nitrogen concentration.
6. Dig them into the soil
Once you spread the organic matters, the lime or sulfur and starter fertilizer, you will have to use a rototiller to dig all these stuffs into the top four to six inches of the soil. Dig in a crisscross pattern, which ensure that all the materials will be well incorporated into the soil. This digging pattern also breaks up soil clods and big clumps so that your soil is smooth and well aerated.
7. Level the soil
You can use a rake to make your soil smooth and even. You want to get the soil to the right level for sowing seeds or laying sod. If you intend to sow seeds, the soil should be on the same level as your surrounding walk paths or edging. If you are taking the sod route, ensure that the soil level is about 1 inch lower to accommodate the sod thickness.
Pull the rake in a back and forth fashion over a designated area until the soil looks smooth. Then flip the rake over and try to make the soil smoother. As you rake, move backward so that you do not leave your footprint on the new soil.
8. Let the weeds grow first
There may be weed seeds in your new soil now. Water the new soil and let the weeds grow first. Once the weeds appear, uproot them so that they will dry out and die. You may have to do these a couple of time but this process will greatly reduce the number of weeds growing in your lawn in the future.
All new lawns begin with healthy soil. Apply and refine these eight steps to get your new soil ready for planting and you will have a green and lush lawn in the very near future.
