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- How often and for how long should I water (1) newly laid sod, (2) newly seeded grass and (3) new plantings?
- What’s the best time of year to spray to kill such insects as Chinch bugs?
- I have a lot of shade on my property. What type(s) of grass would you recommend that I plant?
- How soon should I mow new sod after it’s planted, and when can the kids play on the new lawn
- What is hydro-seeding?
- What is soil aeration?
- Contact us for answers to questions not listed here!
Plants, sod and grass seed all require fairly constant
moisture if they are to take root or germinate properly. (1) Water
newly laid sod for one half-hour daily, between the hours of 11 am
and 3 pm for the first 15 days and then as needed. (2) Newly seeded
lawns should be watered three times a day, for 20 minutes each, at
10 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. After 15 days, simply apply water as needed to
maintain adequate moisture. (3) We recommend that you water new
plantings every other day, providing 5 gallons of water for each
plant that is more than 30 inches tall and 15 gallons of water for
each tree. You should continue this watering schedule throughout the
first growing season.
You should apply insecticides when these bugs are active, during the height of summer, from June 1st to the end of August.
The best grasses to plant in shady areas are either Fine Fescue or Tall Fescue. In extremely shady areas, even these varieties may not flourish. In such cases, we recommend that you substitute natural ground covers for grasses. Some of the best choices include ferns Hostas.
New sod generally won’t need mowing for the first 10 to 15 days after installation, but it should be mowed as soon as it is ready. DO NOT allow the grass to get too tall before the first mowing, either – or before any mowing, for that matter. We recommend that you keep you mower blades at their highest setting for the first six weeks. Then, bring them down to 3-inches for the remainder of the growing season. Do not use your new lawn for play or other activities until at least one week after the first mowing and then only if the lawn is fairly dry at the time. Moist, recently laid lawn is highly susceptible to compaction. Compaction will restrict root growth, putting your newly laid lawn’s future health in jeopardy.
Hydro-seeding is a seeding and soil erosion-control technique used to promote rapid grass germination in difficult planting areas, such as on steep, bare hillsides. In this approach, seed is suspended in a hydro-mulch (a paper or wood-fiber product) and then sprayed over the planting area. The hydro-mulch retains moisture, stabilizes the underlying soil and keeps the seed in contact with it improving the odds of germination. Hydro-seeding is NOT RECOMMENDED for planting seed on existing lawns because the hydro-mulch and its payload of grass seed, will frequently become entangled in the existing grass blades and never reach the underlying soil below.
Soil aeration involves repeatedly puncturing the lawn surface to relieve the effects of soil compaction and to provide new, open channels for air, moisture and nutrients to reach the grass roots. Core aeration is the preferred approach when seeding, because in this process, the soil core, or plug, is actually returned to the lawn surface, where it breaks down, providing an excellent environment for new seed germination.
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