Use Sod

To Repair Problem Lawns

“Lawn Patches” aren’t a heading in the telephone Yellow Pages, neither are they a way to describe really small yards. It’s a way homeowners can easily repair areas of dead grass in their lawn.

Turfgrass sod can be purchased directly from sod farms in rolls, you don’t have to order a truckload of the stuff.

With a sharp knife, a straightedge shovel, a stiff bow rake, and a fair sized board homeowners can make immediate lawn repairs. Here are the simple steps:

1. With a sharp, large-blade knife, cut around the dead area, using a thick board as a guide to ensure straight cuts.

2. With the straightedge shovel scoop out about one-inch of soil and the dead grass up to the newly cut edge.

3. Spade or till the area to be replaced. Rake the bottom of the area where the grass was removed, perhaps adding topsoil to raise the level to within a half inch of the existing grass.

4. Measure and cut one or more pieces of newly purchased turfgrass sod to fit the repair area and lay it in place.

5. Push the new sod down by walking across a board placed on top of the sod.

6. During times of dry weather and heat, apply water until it begins to rise to the surface or run-off, stop for an hour and repeat the watering process.

7. Apply water daily for the next five to seven days.

Even smaller areas can be repaired just by cutting into the soil with a sharp knife and inserting a “plug” of new sod into the hole. Most grasses will spread as they grow, thus filling in the area between the new and old grass.

Give Choice Turf, Inc a call for your maintenance and installation needs. 360-568-6951

In Case your ever playing a trivia game and need to know the answers:)

· Grass plants are 75 - 80% water, by weight.

· Up to 90% of the weight of a grass plant is in its roots.

· Grass clippings are approximately 90% water, by weight.

· 1,000 sq. ft. of lawn will generate 200 pounds of clippings annually ... one ton of clippings will contribute only 200 pounds of decayable fiberous matter to a landfill. (Unlike a 200 pound appliance - taking centuries to decay.)

· Clippings contain nutrients useable to the grass, when left on the lawn.

Fetilizer content of typical grass clippings (by percent of weight)

- Nitrogen (N) = 4%

- Potassium (P) = 2%

- Phosphorus (K) = 0.5%

· A dense lawn is six times more effective than a wheat field and four times better then a hayfield at absorbing rainfall.

· Sodded lawns are 15 times more effective in controlling runoff than seeded lawns, even after three years of management.

· Sediment loss from sodded areas is 8 to 15 times less than for tested man-made erosion control materials and 10 times less than for straw covered areas.

· Runoff from a sodded area took 28 to 46 times longer than for any of five tested erosion control materials.

· A 50 by 50 foot lawn (2,500 square feet) releases enough oxygen for a family of four, while absorbing carbon dioxide, hydrogen floride, perosyacetyle nitrate.

· In a well maintained, thick 10,000 square foot lawn there will be:

- 6 turf plants per square inch - 387 miles of roots per grass plant

- 850 turf plants per square foot - 3 billion miles of roots per average

- 8.5 million turf plants per average home lawn (which equals 15 round trips between the sun and earth)

SOURCES: Anonymous. “Lawns Can Heal the Environment’s Wounds. & What Has a Lawn Done for You Lately?” Spring 1990. Journal of Environmental Turfgrass. American Sod Producers Association.

Anonymous. “Turfgrass Sod Tips...Toward a Greener, Cleaner World.” Spring 1992. Journal of Environmental Turfgrass. American Sod Producers Association.

Beard, J.B. 1985 “An Assessment of Water Use by Turfgrasses.” Turfgrass Water Conservation. University of California Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources.

Watschke, T.L. “Turfgrasses Can Safely Clean Our Water Supplies.” Spring 1990. Journal of Environmental Turfgrass. American Sod Producers Association.

Hopes are high for a beautiful new lawn after you’ve spent the time, money and energy to plant that seed or lay the sod. But reality doesn’t always deliver on that hope and what was a daydream becomes a nightmare.

What goes wrong for many homeowners?

The lawn’s failure can usually be tied to one or more common mistakes homeowners make anywhere in the process…from selecting the grass to mowing and watering.

To help people avoid future failures, please follow our list of recommendations:

* Select seed, or sod that is suited to the area and its use. Tell a turfgrass sod producer in your immediate vicinity how much shade your yard has, how you intend to use the yard (lightly and casually, or as a heavy play area, for example), and how much time you want to devote to its maintenance. Not all grasses are up to every possible use.

* Spend the time and money to properly prepare the soil before planting. Sprinkling seed or laying sod on soil that has just been scuffed up with a rake is certain to result in failure. Take the time to have a soil test performed, add the recommended amendments and deeply till the soil.

“There is no better time to enhance a lawn’s ultimate beauty and success than by improving the soil before any planting takes place.” Once the grass (even if it’s of marginal quality) begins to grow, it’s practically impossible to significantly improve the soil beneath those little plants.

* Select the season to optimize success and according to your own availability. In most climates, fall is the best season to start a new lawn whether it’s by seed or sod, but beyond that, there are no common “best times.” Sod can be installed whenever it’s available from a farm, (even if the ground is frozen), although it will require more water during peak summer heat. Seeding can be attempted in the spring, but homeowners should keep in mind that whatever they do to encourage the grass to grow in the spring will also encourage weed growth. Because of the grass seed’s need for cooler temperatures and large amounts of water, summer seeding is not practical in most areas.

For seeding, homeowners need to plan on watering two to three times a day for at least a month, and then less frequently for the next two to three months. Sodding will require frequent watering for at least a week and even longer during the summer. Missing even a day’s watering at this critical time can totally eliminate all of the hard work that has gone into the project up to that point. Newly sprouted grass seed can die quickly.

* Watering should be done infrequently and deeply to encourage deep roots that will have a larger reservoir of water available to it in times of drought or heat. Deeper roots also make the grass less susceptible to wear. Watering as early in the morning as possible is recommended because of the reduced evaporation and wind losses and reduced chances of disease outbreaks.

*Mowing should never remove more than the top third of the grass blade with a sharp mower blade. Clippings can be left on the lawn because they will degrade and return nutrients to the grass and not create thatch. Changing mowing patterns each time will avoid scalping and rutting.

It is that time of the year.  This year really flew by.  We were fortunate to have the river stay in its banks so far this year.  It got a little scary on sunday when it started to rise at a rate of 1.5 ft/hr.  The storm I guess wasn't as bad as they predicted, so about 3ft under flooding the river crested and started to go back down.

You may be seen the results of the hard freeze when had in the beginning of December.  Is your grass looking a little yellow.  That is caused by basically frost burn.  The hard frost we had with little or no snow on the ground burns the tops of the grass leaving it looking real yellow.  Unfortunately, there isn't a quick fix for this however, I have had some success using an iron on the grass in the winter to help improve appearance.  Be sure to follow all directions on the bag because iron will stain your concrete or other surfaces.

We are looking forward to another great year here at Choice Turf.  We have plenty of inventory in the ground that will be mature and ready to go all spring and summer.  As for the excessive rain and funny weather patterns we have been having the grass really is looking good right now.  No need to wait the spring to get the mud and dirt covered up in your lawn.  We are here and open and ready to serve you.  Be sure to call and place your order today.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!