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FAQ |
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| Good planning will help you establish a beautiful lawn. Always consider established trees, plants, contours for beds, rocks, and amount of shade and light exposure. Proper soil preparation is key in developing a lawn responsive to your maintenance program. |
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SOIL COMPACTION
Mechanically break up (rototill/soil chisel) and relieve surface compaction, an invisible layer of compacted soil, to a depth of 8 inches before seeding or sod installation. You will greatly increase the success rate by performing this task.
Remove stones and other debris. This will prepare the soil to accept the new roots after sod instillation.
Do not confuse this task with grading or incorporating soil amendments (like fertilizers and pre-emergent products). |
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TOPSOIL AND PEAT MOSS
Add 2 - 4 inches of good quality topsoil before seeding or sod installation.
Most soils (i.e., light or sandy soils) can be further improved by incorporating 2 - 4 bales of peat moss per 1000 sq. ft.
Lawns with little or no topsoil may require more frequent feedings and watering. |
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LIMESTONE AND FERTILIZERS
Most soils have an acidic pH and should be neutralized with limestone. The amount of limestone depends on the existing pH, and the pH you are striving to achieve (optimal pH = 6.0 - 6.8). A soil analysis can be helpful to measure the pH for lawn and sod areas. Fertilizer applied to the soil will also be more efficiently used by plants when pH levels are optimum.
Phosphorus is another important plant nutrient and is usually deficient in soils. Apply a pre-plant high phosphorous fertilizer and rake/till it into the soil with soil amendments (i.e., peat moss and limestone) to a depth of 2 - 3 inches. Remove stones and other debris.
Gypsum as a soil amendment is also beneficial to help improve soil drainage and calcium enrichment.
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INSTALLING THE SOD
Use care to achieve the proper grade/pitch relative to walks and curbs for water drainage. Firm, but do not compact soil, this will ease installation and protect the desired contour.
• Avoid creating low areas that may become natural ponds.
• Complete run off is necessary for the survival of turf grass.
• Start at any straight line and lay sod butting the joints tightly without overlapping, smoothing the area directly ahead.
• After the sod is installed, soak thoroughly with water.
• During hot weather or extremely dry conditions, the soil should be moistened before installation to cool the ground temperature and not damage the root system.
• All watering should be started as soon as a sizeable area is installed, or within 30 minutes.
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CAUTION: HEAT ALERT |
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SOD WILL HEAT UP DURING WARM WEATHER. CHECK FOR HEAT. USE TOP THREE LAYERS OF SOD ON EACH SKID FIRST. IT IS BEST TO INSTALL SOD IMMEDIATELY. |
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| To keep the sod from over-heating during longer storage, it is necessary to break down the skid into smaller stacks. The internal temperature of full skids of sod is regularly checked before delivery. Heat problems which develop after delivery are due to long term and/or improper storage. |
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