28 Oct What is the Best Soil for Your Turf?
To get a healthy lawn, first, you have to think about where you are laying that turf. A good foundation when it comes to the soil under your turf is critical. The quality of the soil is key when it comes to the healthy growth of your lawn or turf. The soil holds the nutrients necessary for plant life and for your grass to flourish. This is why before getting started, you have to ensure that you have the best soil for your turf.
The ideal soil for healthy, thriving turf features a good balance of sand, silt and clay. This is called loam soil, which is ideal for plant-growing purposes. Loam soil absorbs moisture and also drains well when the lawn is watered. It retains nutrients well, which is necessary for the growing grass, and loam allows proper airflow as well.
Sand
Sand is the largest soil particle. Sand drains water well, indeed often too well. Thus, it doesn’t retain moisture as effectively and dries out quickly. Sand is not good at retaining nutrients or water and is a poor choice for turf by itself.
Silt
Silt is smooth and powdery, with particles smaller than sand but larger than clay. It holds water and nutrients better than sand but is still not quite as good a base are the more aerated loam. Silt can also compact to clay during ongoing wet weather and so it becomes hard for turf roots looking to grow. When mixed with sand to form loamy soil silt can be very useful.
Clay
Clay has the smallest particles of the three, resulting in it being able to retain the most water and nutrients. Ideally, you don’t want too much clay in your soil as it can prove impenetrable for turf roots and it can become soggy, with the outcome root damage as the drainage is not sufficient.
Having a balanced soil that is rich in nutrients will get your lawn turf off to a good start. Healthy soil with plenty of organic matter means the lawn grass will be well-fed. If you see worms in your soil, that means it’s healthy and perfect for living things.
Understanding your soil and how it works is essential in maintaining a healthy lawn turf. If you want your lawn to be the best it could be, start it right with the ideal soil.
In future instalments, we will outline how you can improve your soil so that it is best suited for your installed turf to flourish.
Need help with taking care of your lawn turf?
Australian Seed and Turf provides a range of lawn solutions for your commercial or domestic turf. We have experience with many turf types and can deliver promptly too. From growing the best turf for Melbourne climate to helping with your turf installation, our team is happy to help.
A beautiful lawn is only one call away! Contact us at (03) 9772 7632 or send us an email today.
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