Time To Plant A New Lawn
By Bob Chapman
A nice, freshly cut, dark green lawn that you have installed is a joy to look at and will bring a feeling of accomplishment every time you see or walk across it. Now is a perfect time to put in a new lawn. The weather favors germination or growth and it takes less care to get lawns started. Follow the suggestions below, whether sowing seed or installing a sod lawn, to make the task easier. You'll find that an amateur can do a professional-looking job and save a lot of money.
First things first
- Kill all unwanted vegetation. Spray Easy Gone Weed and Grass Killer, wait one week and spray any missed spots. When everything is dead you can start the next phase.
- Start a watering program a day after spraying to wet the soil and keep it moist until the demolition phase.
- Remove all vegetation and debris, sticks, rocks, etc. If replacing an old lawn consider renting a sod cutter to remove it. This tool is easy to use and inexpensive. Removal eliminates problems with clumps of grass when grading the soil. Compost the old sod.
Preparing the soil
- Spread generous amounts of organic matter. Use compost, nitrogen-fortified sawdust or peat moss. One inch of organic matter will help loosen the soil and provide humus.
- Rototill the area to a depth of six inches. Rent a rear-tined rototiller for ease of handling.
Bring soil to grade
- Bring the soil to rough grade, using rakes and shovels and a wheelbarrow, if needed. An extra-wide aluminum landscape rake or a hand-pulled, wheeled land-leveler is ideal for this task. Check with tool rental firms for availability of these handy tools.
Install hardscapes
Not part of lawn installation, but this is the point at which the following is done:
- Install hardscapes such as sprinkler systems, lighting, edgings (mow strips, header boards), walks, pathways and drainage.
Lastly
- Bring soil to finish grade. Rent a water-filled lawn roller, rolling it over the soil. It will easily show all the little humps and hollows. Using a rake, fill in the hollows and knock down the little humps. Bring it to one half inch below walks, drives, headers and mow strips. Take time to do a perfect job. Rake the soil as smooth as a billiard table. You can't go back after the lawn is established and redo it.
Seeding the new lawn
Now you've properly prepared and leveled the soil and are ready to seed it.
- Purchase fresh seed in the inside garden department of our stores. Fescues are preferred for use in home landscapes as they are free of diseases and use less water than Kentucky bluegrass.
- Sow the seed with a drop or broadcast spreader. Spread half the seed in one direction, the other right angle to the first.
- Spread Superfine Lawn Fertilizer over the top of the seed to give the new grass seedlings enough food as they emerge.
- Use a half-filled lawn roller to press seed into contact with the soil.
- Using a rented cage roller spread a thin, quarter-inch layer of mulch over the seedbed. Or scatter it, "throwing" the mulch with a square-nosed shovel. Mulch protects the seed from birds and from drying out.
- Start a watering program. Water the new seedbed thrice daily until the new shoots of grass are about an inch or so tall (it will take about ten days to three weeks depending on weather factors). Then establish a thrice weekly watering program.
- Start regular mowing program when the new grass tips start bending over.
Laying Sod, An "Instant Lawn"
If you plan on laying sod for your new lawn, follow all the steps above for soil preparation and grading, including spreading Superfine Lawn Fertilizer.
- Order sod in advance. Call the sod company for the number of days to order in advance of delivery.
- Place markers or stakes at each sprinkler head to avoid burying or hiding them. When laying the sod, cut a hole in the sod where the sprinkler head is located.
- Start laying sod at the further edge, working towards the nearest edge to avoid running the wheelbarrow over freshly laid sod. Getting deep furrows out after the sod is in place is not feasible. It's easy to smooth any furrows in soil with your hands as you lay the sod.
- Lay the strips or rolls in a brick-bond pattern to avoid seams.
- Lay the first row. Kneel on this row to "pull" the next row tightly against the first and continuing rows of sod, avoiding gaps between rows. Butt the ends of the sod tightly to avoid gaps, uncurling the ends, if needed
- Cut sod for curves, edges and openings for sprinkler heads with an old, sharp kitchen knife or sharp hatchet.
- After all the sod is laid, lightly roll it with a half-filled lawn roller to ensure contact of sod with soil.
- Water the new lawn immediately after laying. Water it daily, if needed, to keep the sod wet and until the new roots have grown into the soil, then establish a normal watering schedule.
Stand back and admire the nice, green expanse of your handiwork.
TOOLS NEEDED
- Shovel
- Rake
- Wheelbarrow
- Hose
- Fertilizer/seed spreader
- Sprayer
- Knife, axe or hatchet for cutting sod
RENTED TOOLS
- Rear-tined rototiller
- Water-filled lawn roller
- Cage roller
- Land leveler (if available and if needed)
- Landscape rake (if needed)
MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
- Easy Gone Weed and Grass Killer (if needed)
- Superfine Lawn Fertilizer
- Organic matter for soil preparation
- Organic matter for covering seed
- Seed
- Sod