
The information below is merely intended
to assist you in learning more about your lawn. Consult your
garden center or your subject matter expert for more information.
Click on links below to expand information.
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Lawn
Care |
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Most Lawn Care items fall into one of the
following categories. From Establishment to Mowing or
Watering. We will follow the example of a new lawn being
established and cared for over the course of a season
and list the things that may need to be done. We can't
cover every single item that there is possible so please
consult your garden center to find additional information.
Let's start with Establishing Turf grass.
Establishment
Turf grass can be established a variety
of ways. The method you choose will be determined by the
situation your lawn is in. Do you have a new construction?
An existing lawn that is thin and rough? A fair lawn that
is just a little thin? Depending on what condition your
lawn is in will determine where to start. Let's say you
have a lawn that is in fair condition but needs thickened
up. An easy way to do this is to Aerate and over seed.
An aerator is a machine that will poke a hole in the ground
(thousands of them actually) and remove a core of soil
and leave it laying on the surface. These are called core
aerators. Some aerators will simply push a spike into
the ground creating a hole, this type is not as good.
To start with, mow your grass as low as you can safely,
don't throw rocks and dig dirt with the mower, but get
it down to about 1" high. This will stunt the grass
and slow it's growth allowing the new grass that you will
seed to get started with limited competition from the
existing grass. After mowing take an aerator, rent one,
buy one or borrow one, and go over the entire lawn at
least twice. Depending on the model you use, the aerator
will poke holes every 2 to 8 inches apart. I like to be
able to look down at the lawn at any point and not see
spots that don't have holes larger than 6". If you
have a spot larger than 6" without holes in it, you
won't have very much grass come up in that spot, so go
over the lawn as many times as it takes to be sure you
have holes everywhere. Once your done aerating, spread
your seed. The amount of seed you use is important. If
you don't use enough you won't get the desired results.
Spread the seed with a spreader of any type, do not use
your hand and just throw it around, you won't get even
coverage. Spread the seed using half of the required amount
spreading it in one direction, use the other half spreading
the opposite direction creating a cross hatch pattern
on the lawn. This way you are assured of getting even
coverage. After spreading the seed take a drag of any
type, a piece of chain link fence, a board with a rope
tied to it, or what ever you can drag behind your mower.
Drag the lawn, this will push and drag seed into the holes
you created and break up the little plugs of soil that
the aerator left on the ground, it will cover up most
of the seed giving much better germination and a thicker
lawn. After dragging, spread a starter fertilizer, this
can be done first if you want, it really doesn't matter.
A starter fertilizer has a higher middle number than first
and last numbers. (More Phosphate) For complete explanation
on what the numbers mean on fertilizer bags, how they
affect grass and what micro-nutrients grass also needs,
refer to our Lawn Care Manual. You will need to put down
8 pounds per thousand square feet of a 6-12-12 or 4 pounds
per K of a 6-24-24. This will give the ground the nutrients
needed to germinate and start a turf lawn, thus the name
"starter fertilizer". After about a month the
new grass will start to yellow off some or maybe turn
pale green, this is showing you that it is time to fertilize
again. Apply 6# per K of 15-15-15 this will provide the
nitrogen for green and growth and phosphate and potash
for root growth and overall vigor. After the grass is
about 3 weeks old you should be able to start mowing.
CUT IT HIGH!!! Refer to the section on mowing for more.
Fertilizing will also need to be done on a regular schedule.
Refer to Fertilizing for a complete schedule. If you have
a new home and this is the first lawn a few things are
different. Mainly you will have to do clean up and get
the proper grade before working on seeding. Once this
is done you will have to till up the ground to make a
soft seed bed. After tilling fertilize, and seed just
as described above using the same amount of seed. After
this you will have to cover the entire lawn with straw.
Shake out straw to cover approximately 50% of the soil
from view. After done you should be able to look down
and still see about half of the soil showing through the
straw, no more. This equates to about 100 bales per acre.
After your done strawing it's time to start watering.
Soak the lawn until runoff the first watering, followed
by daily watering's of sufficient length to keep the soil
wet. If it dries out, the seed won't germinate.
Fertilizing
Fertilizing the grass does more
than just make it green. Of course it will make it grow
too, but lot's of things happen when you fertilize. Going
back to our establishment, fertilizer makes the seed germinate
faster, and get started out of the ground. After the grass
has a good start fertilizer will make the grass get thicker
send off Rhizomes, Stolons or Tillers all making the grass
thicker and healthier. What most people want to know is
how much and when. Simply put, most grasses will benefit
from four applications of fertilizer per year. Spread
out 60 days apart starting in early spring approximately
30 days before the growing season starts in your area,
continuing through the growing season until fall. Spring
fertilizing gets the grass off to a fast start giving
you that rich green color everyone wants. A word of warning
though, don't use too much fertilizer, follow the listed
guidelines on the bag, or these generic instructions.
Too much fertilizer will cause excess growth, lead to
Fungus growth and weaken the grass.
Weed Control
Controlling weeds in a new or existing
lawn is vital to the health and overall appearance of
the lawn. A beautiful smooth lawn gets most of it's good
looks from the fact that it is smooth and level with no
weeds sticking up above the turf. You have probably mowed
your lawn before only to have dandelions popping up above
the grass a day later making it look like you need to
mow already. A weed free lawn holds it's good looks for
several days if the grass is a mono culture with uniform
growing heights.
Proper Mowing
Mowing is the most misunderstood
part of lawn care, and the most often incorrectly performed
part of lawn care. Far too many people will set their
mowers too low or "scalp" the lawn. This leads
to thin and dying out grass, shallow root systems, and
in the long run, NO GRASS.
Watering
Once you have
achieved the perfect lawn, after hundreds or thousands
of dollars on Renovating or installing a lawn, it just
doesn't make sense to let it go back to being a pasture
from lack of watering or other maintenance that needs
to be done. Spend a little time and money and keep it
watered and you will keep the lush grass you spent your
hard earned money and time on. The Ideal way to water
your lawn is with an Automatic Underground Sprinkler System.
This way the watering is done every day that it needs
it, you don't have to drag hoses, you don't waste water
from over watering, you get all of the lawn watered, not
just where you happen to set the sprinkler. How many times
have you started the sprinkler then forgot to move it?
This wastes water and over waters some parts of the lawn
while other parts may never get water because it's too
far to drag a hose to. Another common problem in hand
watering is that you can only run one or two sprinklers
at a time. If you have a very large lawn this could take
all day to water. Automatic systems will water when you
program the system to come on, once a day, every other
day, once a week, your choice for what needs to be watered.
Also, shrubbery and annuals need to be watered separate
from the lawn. If you applied the same amount of water
on your landscape as gets put on the lawn you would surely
kill some plants from over watering. An automatic system
waters landscape plants on their own zone at the times
they need it, even multiple times per day for tender annuals
like impatiens.
Make sure you follow the rules
for Flower Mounds watering restrictions.
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Establishment
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Some lawns are started from scratch, like
a new home just completed with no lawn at all. Some are
existing lawns that are in need of renovation. Some people
have nice lawns right now but just want to keep it that
way. Regardless of where you are follow these steps and
get the lawn you want.
Seeding
Depending on the situation you
are in your method of seeding will change. For new lawns
with no grass just a lot of dirt or mud, the grade work
must be done first. This is done by the contractor or
by you if you are good with a tractor and box blade or
a tiller and rake. Once the grading is complete and you
are happy with the surface as far as smoothness, no holes
or low spots, drainage taken care of, etc. then you are
ready for the seeding process. The soil must be worked
up to fluff it back up to make a good seed bed. Good seed
to soil contact is important for good germination. After
the soil is prepared you will apply the seed with a spreader,
rotary type is best, apply half of the required seed in
one direction and the other half in the opposite direction,
this gives good coverage of the seed and uniform germination
over the lawn. The required amount of seed will be determined
by the type of grass you are planting, warm season or
cool season grasses. Warm season grasses are planted about
30 days before the temperature turns warm in your area.
April through May in the Southeast. Cool season grasses
are planted in Fall (Best) or Spring 30 days before the
optimum growing conditions exist. September or March in
the Southeast. Warm Season grasses like Bermuda and Zoysia
are to be planted after the temperatures reach optimum
growing condition for Warm Season Grass. This is when
it is 80 to 90 degrees. Warm Season grasses are very small
seed, only 2-3# per thousand square feet are needed. Cool
Season grass seeds are larger and require more pounds
per K. 7-8# per thousand square feet are needed for good
coverage and thick grass.
Seed can be used in several machines
that will power seed the lawn. One machine has several
terms, "power seeder", "no till drill seeder"
are the most common.This machine has a hopper you pour
the selected seed into, the machine will cut grooves in
the lawn and drop seed into them in one pass. They do
a very good job on lawns that are fairly level. If the
lawn has pot holes and roots everywhere the cutters won't
make contact with the ground leaving spots not seeded.
These machines can be rented for anywhere from $50.00
to $125.00 per day depending on your area, the type of
machine and how long you need it for. Another way of seeding
is to Hydro seed. This is usually a process hired out
since it requires special equipment not usually rented.
Hydro seeding is a method used to renovate lawns or establish
from scratch. On a lawn that needs thickened up, the mixture
of Seed, Fertilizer, and a mulch material made from recycled
wood or paper products is sprayed on the lawn. The mixture
is dyed blue or green to help the operator see where he
has sprayed it, this will turn white in a few days. The
benefits of Hydro seeding are quicker germination and
usually thicker germination since the seed is soaking
in water as it's being done. It is one of the more expensive
forms of seeding. A less expensive way to renovate a lawn
is to use a Dethatcher followed by broadcasting seed.
The Dethatcher will remove thatch and other material from
the surface of the lawn while scratching the surface up
enough to provide good seed to soil contact that is essential
in germination. One of the drawbacks is that the machine
will sometimes bring so much material up that you have
to rake it up and haul it away, it can be a lot depending
on your lawn.
Sodding
Sodding is the quickest
way to instant grass. We sod mostly on new constructions
but quite a bit on renovated landscapes. There is nothing
quite like having dirt one day and lush green grass the
next. Of course it is 3 to 4 times as expensive as seeding
depending on the contractor's prices in your area. Proper
preparation of the lawn is important again to get the
sod started off right, fertilizing before or after the
sod is laid is needed as well as proper watering after
the sod is down. Sod is usually laid in checker board
style so you don't have a long row of seams lining up.
If this happens you have the possibility of erosion developing
in the seams. Another procedure not always done, but sometimes
helpful is to roll the sod with a heavy roller after it
is laid. This will mash out some of the uneven spots and
give better contact with the soil. If you do a careful
job of laying you won't have the problems that some have
after the sod is laid, and you shouldn't have to roll
it. A new form of sod has been popular lately. Big Roll
sod, these are rolls up to 42" wide and 120 feet
long. It takes a tractor or forklift to install these.
Mostly commercial installers will use these large rolls.
Also there are less seams to worry with and it grows in
quicker. Whatever method you use, you will love a newly
sodded lawn. Instant Grass !!
Sprigging
Sprigging is done by either a
machine that cuts grooves into the soil then mashes sprigs
of grass into them, or you can till up the ground and
spread sprigs across the surface followed by rolling to
mash the sprigs into the soil. Most home owners will have
to till up the ground and spread the sprigs since the
equipment isn't usually rented. Only warm season grasses
can be sprigged. Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahiagrass.
These grasses have stolons, rhizomes or both. These pieces
of live grass plants will take off growing after being
transplanted or sprigged. Since cool season grasses like
Fescue and Ryegrass don't have these rhizomes or stolons
they are not candidates for this method.
To Sprig a lawn with Bermuda or Zoysia,
Till up the lawn, level it, apply starter fertilizer just
like when you would be starting seed, at the same rate.
Go get your sprigs from a local sod farm and spread them
over the lawn by whatever method you have. You can use
a pitch fork from the back of a pickup, or dump the sprigs
in the drive and use a front end loader if you have one
to shake the sprigs over the lawn. After spreading them,
take a roller and roll the lawn pressing the sprigs into
the loose soil. At this point you are done and ready to
start watering. The sprigs will dry out and look like
dead, dry straw for a couple of weeks. Don't get alarmed!
Just keep watering to keep the soil wet and the sprigs
will start to show signs of life. They start slowly but
take off growing quickly in a couple weeks. Keep the water
coming.
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Fertilizing
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Without Fertilizer most turf grasses will struggle to maintain
vigor and color. Fertilizing increases growth, color, vigor,
hardiness, thickens the grass and is the mainstay of having
a rich dark lawn. While Fertilizing alone will not provide
a perfect lawn, it is one of the 5 most important parts
of lawn care.
Fertilizer has three main elements. Nitrogen,
(the first number) Phosphate, (the middle number) and
Potash (the last number). Each element has a particular
purpose as to what it does to a grass plant. Let's be
simple here and just say that your lawn needs all of the
above, but in different amounts. Nitrogen is the most
used of the elements. It produces fast growth, dark color
and helps thicken the grass. But a Fertilizer that is
high in Nitrogen and low in Phosphate and Potash will
create too much top growth and not enough root growth
or energy storage for recovery and over wintering. A balanced
fertilizing program for your lawn will include all three
main elements with some of the micro-nutrients also needed
by grass. Micro-nutrients are minerals like Iron, Manganese,
Zinc, Boron, Sulfur and others. These are not used as
much as the three main elements but are needed some. Some
of the micro nutrients are readily available in the soil
you have, others have to be added. To be certain what
is needed a soil test is the place to start. After receiving
the results of your soil test apply the recommended amounts
of fertilizer in the quantity suggested. It is important
that you do not over apply. This only stimulates top growth
and has potential to harm the grass and cause runoff problems
in surrounding lakes and streams. Without a soil test
the basic idea of Fertilizing is to apply one pound of
each nutrient per K ft. of lawn area. Going back to the
numbers on a bag of Fertilizer, say 15-15-15, this means
that each bag contains 15% of each Nutrient, so 100#s
of this fertilizer would have 15# of Nitrogen, Phosphate
and Potash. So if you were putting down one pound of Nutrient
per K ft. 100# would cover 15 thousand square feet of
lawn area with the correct amount of Fertilizer. Again,
measure the lawn area of your property to know exactly
how much grass you have. Don't assume that because you
bought a one acre lot and built a house on it that you
have one acre of grass. You will subtract the space for
the house, the driveway, any landscape beds, any unimproved
areas of the property that are not lawn areas, and by
the time your done subtracting area you will arrive at
a smaller area than you thought. Applying too much Fertilizer
is dangerous, and costs you needlessly. Warm season grasses
will require more fertilizer than the cool season grasses.
Bermuda will need 1 pound of Nitrogen per month of growing
season to spread rapidly and keep a deep dark color. This
will mean two or three more applications than Fescue depending
on where you live and how long your growing season is.
Also the level of maintenance you want to give your lawn
will determine your Fertilizing schedule. Some people
will only Fertilize in the Fall, some Fall and Spring,
and others follow a strict 4 or 6 application schedule
for each year. The time to start Fertilizing is 30 days
prior to the start of the growing season where you live.
In our area that is Middle of Feb. to Mar. farther North
might wait a month. A four application program will be
spread out approximately 60 days apart through the growing
season
Key Benefits
Provides Dark
green rich turf color
Keeps grass healthy
Keeps grass thick helping to keep weeds out
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Weed
Control |
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Weeds germinate and grow during all
seasons of the year. Because of this many people fail in
trying to control the weeds themselves since they will use
a weed control product in the Spring only and then wonder
why they have weeds in the Summer. Weed control products
need to be used regularly just like the regular fertilizing
schedule. Most people will use a "weed and feed"
product that contains weed control products and fertilizer
together. This is the easiest way to do both tasks. There
are two types of weed control products. Pre-emergent and
Post emergent. Pre-emergent products control weeds before
they germinate and come up. Post emergent products kill
existing weeds. This is another reason the average home
owner will get discouraged after attempting weed control,
often the wrong type of weed killer is used on the wrong
weed. Good weed control is achieved only when you use the
right product for the right weed at the right time.
A typical weed control program will be
something like this: First application of the year in
early Spring. Feb to Apr depending on where you live.
This will be a pre-emergent product with fertilizer. The
idea is to apply the pre-emergent herbicide approximately
30 days before the time that the weeds you are trying
to control would come up. So by applying in Feb. you will
keep any weeds from coming up that would normally be coming
up in Mar. through May, depending on the product used.
Most weed control products will last around 60 days depending
on how much rain falls on the product after it is applied.
Excess rainfall will weaken the weed control and make
it not last as long. Proper application is important since
the product won't work unless you follow directions and
apply it the way it should be done. Always follow label
instructions and never go by the old adage that if one
ounce is good then 2 ounces will be really good. Applying
twice the recommended amount of a weed control product
than what is called for can kill all existing grass and
weeds in your lawn and possibly prevent new grass seed
from germinating for some time. After about 60 days, apply
another round of Weed and Feed. This time you will use
Fertilizer with Post Emergent Herbicide, this will kill
weeds that have already come up and are showing above
the soil. If your lawn is in fairly good shape weed wise,
you shouldn't have many weeds left after the 2nd application.
If you do, apply another round 60 days later and then
a final round in the fall. Spreading the applications
out around 60 day intervals you should cover the season
with 4 applications. Some people will put down 5 or even
6 applications but it depends on the product you are using.
Always follow the label instructions for amount and frequency.
Regardless of the brand or type of weed control you use
it will take more than one application in the year to
get control of weeds and keep them under control. Be patient.
Key
Benefits
Less weeds means the grass will look smoother or more
even
After you mow,
with no weeds the grass will keep it's good looks
Your Turf grass
will be thicker with no competition from weeds
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Mowing
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Mowing is they mst often incorrectly
performed part of lawn maintenance. Each grass type has
a height range that it prefers to be mowed at, if you will
cut the grass at that height the grass will be healthier,
look better and most importantly last through the season
without dying out from lack of water. The depth of the root
system is in direct correlation to the height you mow at.
So, the higher you mow the deeper the roots, the more water
the grass can get and the less you have to water.
In general, two types of grasses are
what we deal with. Cool Season grasses: Fescue, Bluegrass,
Ryegrass. These are the most common in the Southeast.
These grasses like to be mowed at a range of 2.5 to 3.5
inches high. I like to mow Fescue at least 3" high,
it just looks better. Bluegrass is the most tolerant to
lower mowing, but still I wouldn't take it lower than
2.5".
The other type of grass is Warm Season
grasses: Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede. These grasses will
tolerate as low a cutting as most home owners mowers will
cut. Golf courses use a lot of Bermuda, and Zoysia and
they routinely cut it as low as .5" A typical home
lawn will look nice at 1" providing you have a smooth
grade .
Do you Stripe your lawn? Have you ever
noticed the football and baseball fields that have patterns
on them? This is done with a mowing technique called Striping.
Anyone can do it, it just takes a little time and care
in mowing to get straight lines.
Key Benefits
Keeps the grass
alive since the roots will be deeper
Grass cut at
the proper height will look better
Saves water and
money from needing less water and time
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Watering
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Watering your grass is an important
step of the lawn care process. Especially after seeding.
Start watering now and when you think you have watered too
much, water some more and your probably just getting there.
No Water.... you get NO GRASS.
Two main types of watering are Establishment and Maintenance.
The establishment watering is done by watering every day
if not 3 times per day every day for short periods of
time. First, water as often as possible, if you have an
automatic system set it to water 3 times per day morning,
early afternoon and 6 or 7 at night. Most automatic systems
will be set to run from 5 to 15 minutes per zone depending
on what kind of heads are running on that zone. If watering
by hand, water until the point of runoff then move the
sprinkler. Use this method until the new grass is out
of the ground and about 3 inches tall. At this time you
are going to want to start cutting the grass. Turn the
water off for a couple of days to let the ground dry out
before mowing, then use a new or freshly sharpened blade
with your mower set at 3" or higher. After mowing
start watering again except back off by half, water every
other day once a day for a longer period of time to start
soaking deep. Slowly change your watering schedule to
watering once or twice a week and watering for long periods
on each zone to soak the ground to 6" deep. This
will encourage deep root growth. Also, do not water at
night except during establishment. The first watering
session to knock off is the night watering. Watering at
night will encourage fungus' to start on the grass and
this is a very bad thing. Fungus will spread across the
lawn in a week or less and kill the new grass as it goes.
Fungus will look like straw colored spots in the lawn
in a circular pattern. It looks like the grass is dyeing
for lack of water. But more water just increases the fungus.
Once a fungus gets started a Fungicide application is
needed to kill it out. Fungicides are usually label Danger,
the strongest signal word on Pesticides. So you are best
to call a local lawn spray company to come handle it for
you. Besides, the chemical is very expensive and sometimes
only sold in gallon or larger containers that you would
never use up.
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Aerial
Maps of Stone Hill Farms
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