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Lawns |
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KEY CONCEPTS
A. Mowing
II. Lawn Establishment
A. Soil preparation
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LAWN ESTABLISHMENT
Installing a new lawn is an opportunity to amend the soil. Proper soil preparation will affect the lawn's health and ease of care for many years. By adding amendments (organic matter, lime, phosphates, etc.) to the soil and working them in, the ideal soil structure, pH and nutrition for growing turfgrasses can be achieved. Once a lawn is in and growing, changing soil structure is nearly impossible. Lawn grasses will grow in soils of poor structure and fertility, but quality will suffer.
Whether you sod or seed the lawn, it is important to kill persistent perennial weeds. The next step is soil preparation. Begin by testing the soil. Often, the soil around a new house site may be of very poor quality. It can include large pieces of construction debris and often is the subsoil excavated for the basement of the home. The topsoil may have been removed and sold. A soil test will reveal soil deficiencies so they can be remedied before the lawn is established.
Recommended amendments should be worked into the top 3 to 6 inches of the soil. Grade the soil and rake it smooth, removing debris. Now, the soil is ready for seed or sod.
Selecting the right type of grass seed or sod for the site is an important decision. Bargain seed or sod is not a bargain if the resulting lawn becomes infested with weeds or infected with disease.
Turfgrass should be selected according to sun or shade exposure, and for disease resistance. The seed should be weed free and have a high germination rate. Turfgrass species selection should be based on how the lawn is used: beautification or recreation. Level of maintenance is another important consideration as some turfgrasses demand more care than others.
Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and fine fescues are recommended for Ohio lawns. Kentucky bluegrasses provide the highest quality lawn. They are hardy and provide thick, even turf and the improved cultivars are disease resistant.
Tall fescues are more wear and drought tolerant, but not as winter hardy. They also are a clumping grass. With age, tall fescues produce a spotty, uneven lawn.
Perennial ryegrass is more shade and drought tolerant than Kentucky bluegrass. Its seed germinates quickly, but it is not as disease resistant as improved Kentucky bluegrass. Some ryegrasses have been developed with ENDOPHYTES which provide resistance to certain insects.
Ohio law allows turfgrass seed to contain some seeds of two troublesome weed grasses: annual bluegrass and bentgrass. This must be stated on the label. Search for a seed source that is free of these two weed species. Reference Turf.18, Fact Sheet 4028, provides detailed information on selecting lawn grasses.
Kentucky bluegrass is recommended for quality Ohio lawns. It is important that a blend of 2 to 4 cultivars be chosen. Some cultivars are more resistant to certain diseases than others. A mix of cultivars and species is like an insurance policy against the entire lawn being wiped out by disease.
Starting a lawn from seed takes more time to get an attractive lawn than laying sod. Timing is critical to the success in seeding a new lawn. Seeding in early fall (late August through mid-September) is ideal. Very early spring before May 1 is the second-best time. It is important to avoid subjecting tender seedlings to the stresses of summer.
There are many advantages to seeding a lawn. The advantages of seeding over sodding include the following:
! Seeded lawns generally last much longer than sodded lawns.
! Many available seed cultivars allow more "tailoring" to the site in terms of disease resistance, number of cultivars in the mix, and sun/shade adaptations.
! Seeded lawns adapt better to the existing soil.
! Seeding is much less expensive than sodding.
Sow the seed at the rate recommended for the species of turfgrass. Sow the seed uniformly. Raking will help disperse the seed and establish good seed-to-soil contact. Tamp the seed into the soil. A light mulch of weed-free straw will keep the soil moist longer and protect the seeds from birds. The soil must be kept moist until all species have germinated. Cut the grass when it grows to 3 inches or higher.
Sod is turf that has been lifted with roots and a thin layer of soil. The obvious advantage of laying sod is that it provides an instant lawn. Sod can be laid from spring until fall. Ideal times, however, are early spring and late summer through early fall for cool-season grasses. Laying a sod lawn avoids the potential weed problems of seeding. But, laying sod is much more expensive and labor intensive.
The first step in laying a sod lawn should be a soil test. The roots of the sod must knit into the existing soil where it is laid. Often, there are considerable differences between the soil in which the sod had been produced and the soil at the new site. This difference is usually one of quality. Soil preparation is as important for sodding as it is for seeding. Tamping the sod into place ensures root contact with the soil. Details on laying sod are provided in Fact Sheet 4014, Reference Soil.19.
Improper watering is the most common cause of failure in both seeded and sodded new lawns. Sodded lawns require watering every 1 to 2 days for 2 to 3 weeks until roots become established. Immediately after transplanting, water sod to a depth of 6 inches. A light fertilizer application of 1/2 to 3/4 pound nitrogen per 1,000 square feet may be made several weeks after the sod is established. Mow new sod lawns when the grass reaches 3 inches in height.
Seeded lawns require careful watering until the seed germinates. Water enough to keep soil moist, but not wet. Light watering may be required several times a day. Bluegrass seed takes up to 3 weeks to germinate, while ryegrasses and fescues germinate sooner. Seed germinates faster if temperatures are higher. Rapid growth after germination depends on nutrient level of soils and favorable conditions. Starter fertilizer helps a seeded lawn get established. Mow a seeded lawn when the grass is 3 inches high.
Lawn renovation is any method, other than routine maintenance, that improves a poor quality lawn. This can be as simple as seeding bare spots or as extensive as overseeding an entire lawn. If soil modification (addition of amendments or contouring) is required, it is best to remove all grass and reestablish the entire lawn. However, the decision to renovate or reestablish is not always clear-cut. If a lawn is more than 50% weeds or if the thatch layer is thicker than 3/4 inch, the turf should be removed and the lawn reestablished.
When large areas are to be killed and reseeded, use a nonselective herbicide containing glyphosate, such as Roundup, to kill the vegetation. Prepare the soil as described for seeding or sodding.
Renovation can involve dethatching and overseeding the entire lawn. Another renovation treatment is to SLICE SEED. This works well when the lawn is thin but not weedy. Slice seeding is normally done by a lawn care professional.
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