Laying turf
If you don’t want to grow a new lawn from seed and you don’t want me to come and do it for you, then turf is another option. Again, best done in autumn as the grass can root easily while not being baked in the sun.
Turf will establish itself fairly easily if the soil is warm and moist. As with grass seed, there are different types of lawn designed to suit different needs. Ensure you choose the one that is right for you. Most garden stores will deliver the turf to your door too. When it arrives ensure you store it in the shade and sprinkle with water to keep it moist. You must aim to have it down as quickly as possible to get the best result.
Prepare the ground as with seeding. Cleaning it up and removing larger stones and raking. Walk over the are and rake again. Add a granular fertilizer a couple of days before your plan to lay.
Have a straight edge ready for laying. You can butt up to a path or flower bed if you have one, or a long plank like a scaffold plank will suffice if not.
Lay the first row along the straight edge slowly so you don’t damage the turf. Butt the edges against each other and the edge, then tamp down firmly with the back of the rake. This will ensure good contact with the ground.
Continue laying the rows of turf so they are tight against one another and arrange them like bricks so they overlap. It is easiest to lay over edges then trim back with a spade or cutting tool. This will give you the best edge, and ensure you don’t trim short.
Sowing a new lawn
Early autumn is the ideal time to sow a new lawn while the soil is still warm but a bit damp. You can buy seed mixes which are tailored to suit different types of garden. There are ones for drought, shade or any kind of lawn. I use them all the time doing lawn and yard maintenance and can thoroughly recommend them!
Prepare the soil by removing stones and weeds and roughly leveling it. Clean it up the best you can then rake it. Firm the soil up by walking over it, then rake it again. A couple of days before you want to seed add a granular fertilizer to give your lawn a good start.
Mark your area out in to meter squares using canes and string. Then shake the seed box to mix it all up. Weight out your seed mix so you have approximately 50g per square meter of ground. If the type of seed mix you have says something different then go with that.
Split your meters worth of seed in two and scatter half in one direction, then take the other half and scatter in the opposite direction. Then lightly rake the area over and water. This will give your lawn the most even finish.
It’s important not to let the area dry out until the grass is well established. Seeds are very susceptible to drought so keep an eye out for the weather. If you find birds eating your seeds then you can spread netting over the area to protect it. This will also stop any curious cats or other animals from walking all over your newly sprouted lawn.
Once the lawn is at least 2″ high you can begin mowing it.
Lawn Brown Spots
They look like brown stains on your nice green grass. Unsightly or downright ugly. They can be caused by a few things, and prevented to a degree too. There are a couple of lawn maintenance tricks for this.
If your yard faces the pavement or borders a public right of way then a common cause is dog urine. Dogs and their owners seem to think peeing on your lawn is okay. Prolonged exposure to urine will cause your grass to go brown and die off. The easiest way to prevent this is to fence the area off with a low fence or catch the dog and owner in the act. Politely remind them that a bill for lawn repairs can be expensive to dog owners…
Obstructions just underneath the soil can prevent your lawn developing proper roots. The easiest way to diagnose this kind of problem is to push through the grass with a long screwdriver and see if you it anything. If there is something under there then you have to dig it out and replant the turf.
Over feeding and over watering also causes brown spots on your lawn. Just like us if we eat or drink too much it affects our health, grass suffers the same fate. Too much nitrogen or water can cause the grass to discolor. Too much water can also be a problem if drainage is an issue. Clay soils suffer from this a lot, where water just sits on the surface as the soil underneath is too compacted to allow it to soak through.
Keeping your lawn rodent free
Not only are holes in your lawn unsightly but they can be painful if you twist your foot in one. A hazard of the job of lawn maintenance that could easily be avoided. These little pests can also dig under your foundations and through your service pipes too.
Gophers, you gotta love ‘em. They leave big open holes on your lawn that look bad and then abandon them when the mood takes them. The easiest way to get rid of gophers that I know of is the trap. Most garden stores will sell them. Ensure you disturb the area as little as possible when setting them, and remember to keep children and pets away from them once they are set.
Moles are a little sneakier. You only know they are there if you run over the burrow with a mower or they break the ground with their little mounds. Moles are blind but apparently have quite good hearing. Therefore the best way to get rid of these little critters is to use a sonic device. These can also be bought from your local garden store. You can buy solar powered ones that will sit and generated a noise that moles find unbearable.
I don’t know anyone who likes rats and mice, especially near their house or children. You can set traps and poison down for them, but be aware of children and pets. This should clear your property of most rodent visitors. A non lethal trick is to use fox scent around the garden. Although once the rodents see there isn’t actually a fox around they will come calling anyway. If all else fails, call the exterminators. You really don’t want mice or rats around you.
Managing a lawn during scorching weather
Unfortunately when a drought hits watering your yard is quickly banned to save water. If grass doesn’t get at least an inch of water per week it begins to die back. My lawn and yard service can cure all these problems for you, but there are a few tricks to keep your grass looking as healthy as possible during these times.
Adding Microbial Soil Agents will help your lawn endure by providing fungal spores which modifies the soil to allow it to retain moisture. It also acts as an insulator like when you add hay to your vegetable garden.
Stopping the use of fertilizers during this time is also essential. We don’t want to encourage the grass to grow too much because growth requires water. Growing slower will also encourage hardier growth which will benefit the plant in the long run.
Keeping a rain barrel or water butt allows you to store water for a non rainy day. It’s quite easy to set one up so your gutters feed into it to give you the most water possible. You can then use it sparingly on your lawn at dusk.
As I said in a previous post, letting your grass grow that little bit longer will enable it to grow its roots. This will allow access to any water underground within reach of the root. Cutting the grass short with severely limit the roots reach.
These methods won’t work miracles, but in my experience they will help to keep your lawn looking beautiful whatever the weather.
Lawn Strategy
Would you believe there is such a thing as a Lawn Strategy? Well there is when you run a lawn service.
It’s based on the planning ahead of your lawn care to ensure it is ready for heavier use in good weather.
For instance, all plants balance their root mass with their shoot mass. Meaning if you cut your grass too short then the roots will only grow to the same length. This will decrease the plants ability to reach water underground.
Ideally for the hotter weather like here on Space Coast you need between 1″ and 3″ to maintain a healthy plant or lawn. If you want your lawn to be short enough to practice your golf on then you will need to water it regularly. The best time to do this is at dusk. Then the water doesn’t get evaporated and has the opportunity to sink into the ground before the next day.
You also need to consider your fertilizer. An iron rich one will give you a nice deep green, while being rich in nitrogen will allow you to avoid a too lush top growth. Magnesium forms part of the chlorophyll which allows the plant to turn sunlight into energy. There are also organic fertilizers which will achieve the same aim.
Fertilizing your lawn little and often will make my job of cutting much easier and give you a much better end result. Once the fertilizer runs out then the plant dies back a little. Doing it little and often will minimize this effect, giving you a much better result.