The green between your pavers can make your eyesight cool undoubtedly. And also, it is a great way to enhance the beauty of your landscape. So, you might be thinking about how to grow grass between pavers. You yourself can grow grass beautifully, but there are some factors you need to care about at the beginning of the project itself. Today, we will talk about all the important factors regarding growing the grass between pavers.
Why Is It Challenging to Grow Grass Between Pavers?
As you guess, it is challenging to grow grass between pavers since it is a small space and the surface is often trampled.
The grass has a somewhat deep root. Therefore, it requires enough healthy soil to grow well. If there is sandy or rocky soil, the grass will not grow easily. Similarly, if the space is not enough to grow grass, lately there will be water retention issues.
And if the pavers are often trampled, you will hardly see grasses between them, although you treat the grass well. If there is a walkway across the pavers, the grasses find it difficult to come out; eventually, they might die due to the beat of feet.
What Type of Grass is Best for Growing Between Pavers?
As we discussed above, grass needs enough soil and water to grow. Thus, every kind of grass will not grow between pavers. The best varieties are Creeping Thyme and Dwarf Mondo Grass. The reason why, they usually spread on the surface gradually but consistently.
Over time, the grass will expand between the gaps and cover the bricks. Moreover, you do not need to maintain it painstakingly. Another benefit is they are evergreen grasses, so you can see them throughout the year.
If the paver area faces harsh sun rays, you can go for Centipede or Bluegrass. They grow well under even the bright sun. If your soil is loose, St. Augustine is a good option for you. Another nice variety is Bermuda Grass. It will grow nicely in both sunny as well as shaded areas.
When you consider a variety of grass for this project, you should choose short grass that does not grow long. So, you can maintain the grass conveniently. You can either grow seed or sod. Sod is pricy, while seeding is cheap.
How Can you Prepare the Pavers for Grass Growth?
Basically, you need to clean the paver area thoroughly before you begin the project. Indeed, Pre-cleaning will make planting easy.
First, wear gloves and take a bucket to collect all the rocks and chips. Sweeping is not enough because chips can be left.
After collecting them, you should use a gardening fork to remove the grass or any other plant which have already grown on the soil here and there. After that, sweep the area thoroughly to make the surface neat because now there might be soil and sand on the pavers.
In fact, it is a good decision to leave spaces between the pavers because it can promote water drainage and soil aeration. Especially if your landscape is in a depression, there should be ways to drain the rainwater.
How Can you Prepare the Soil for Grass Growth?
It is crucial to prepare the soil before you try to grow grass since the grass needs healthy soil. Mainly there are two types of soil. It might be too dry or too saturated. So, first, you need to carefully observe the condition of the soil between the pavers.
If it is too dry and contains a lot of rocks and debris, you have to loosen the soil as the roots of the grass can descend into the soil. So first, remove all the rocks, chips and debris. Then spray some water and loosen the soil using a gardening fork. Here, you can add and mix some organic fertilizer, like compost, to the soil to enhance its richness.
Moreover, you can add some chemical fertilizer which contains phosphorus to the soil; it can boost root growth.
If the soil is too loose, mix some thick soil, like red soil, with a small amount of sand. Then add the mixture to the soil between the pavers.
How Can you Maintain Grass Growth Between Pavers?
After preparing the soil, you can plant the grass. Make sure to plant the seed evenly and gently press the grass into the moist soil.
You need to water two times a day to keep the soil moist till the grass seed germinates. However, you should avoid watering heavily. Thus, it is highly recommended to use a misting hose. If the climate is hot, watering is highly important.
Do not try to put some chemical fertilizer to grow grass quickly. Most grasses can germinate within around a week, so be patient. It is okay to fertilize after a few months.
When the grasses grow long, you need to mow them regularly to keep them looking nice and tidy. And mowing helps to avoid any difficulties in walking on the pavers. It would be better to utilize a mulching-type motor for mowing because it does not harm the plant, only cut grass ups into small pieces.
Can I Just Put Pavers Over the Grass?
If the surface already has grasses, you might think you can just put the pavers over it. Yes, it is possible to put some kind of paver over grasses, such as porcelain pavers.
They are mostly used as stepping stones which you need for pathways. To be honest, it is not a wise idea to put pavers over grass. Because the result will be an unstable/ uneven paver surface. Thus, it is highly recommended to remove the grass and install a paver base.
Different types of pavers need different foundations, so get some advice from a professional.
What Should I Put Between the Pavers?
Sometimes, there is not enough space to grow grass between pavers. In such cases, you can use polymeric sand to fill the paver gaps.
It is also known as jointing sand and paver sand as well. Basically, it is not a natural sand; polymeric sand is made from other fine grains. Then some addictive particles are added to it. Or else, you can use 3/8-inch crushed stones to fill the gap between pavers; they are stabler than sand.
Watch this video,
Video Credits – ENVIROBOND
Discover More: Related Articles You Can’t Miss
Can you Play Basketball on Pavers?
How to Decide Between Bluestone Vs Pavers for Your Walkway or Driveway?
