Planting the Perfect Lawn
Whether establishing a new lawn or replacing an old one that is terminally choked with weeds, you must start the job from scratch. Although not complicated, the process requires careful planning and hard work.
Choosing the Right Grass:
The type of grass you plant should be a blend of three different kinds. The Gardener’s Choice recommends Blue Grass, Fescue, and Rye. This is commonly called an Athletic Mix. This blend of grass is very drought tolerant and can resist high traffic. There are three different kinds of grass planted because the grass comes in at different time periods. Rye comes in first, starting to show itself in about two weeks. Fescue comes in after about 3-4 weeks, and the Blue Grass comes in during the last 5-6 weeks. The Blue Grass will give your lawn the lush green beauty you would expect. The Gardener’s Choice offers a variety of high-quality grass seed for you to choose from.
Selecting a Planting Method:
How you plant your new lawn depends on the kind of grass you plan to grow and how quickly you want to lawn to be established. Seeding is the lease expensive way to start a lawn and offers the widest range of grass choices. Seeding is also the slowest because the plants must sprout before they can begin to spread and fill the lawn. Although it takes about two weeks to appear, growing a lawn from seed will provide long-term lush green benefits.
The quickest, but most expensive, way to a new lawn is sodding. Long strips of fully developed turf are set on bare ground. Lay sod within 24 hours of its harvest and have your plot ready before the delivery date. For large lawns, consider having a sod party and invite all your friends to help!
Randy’s Tips for Watering Your Lawn:
Position a few coffee cans around your lawn and turn the water on. After 15 minutes, check to see how deep the water is in the cans. Multiply by four for the hourly watering rate. It takes about three hours of watering to penetrate one inch of clay soil. Grass needs to top half-inch of soil to be moist—especially for the first 28 days!
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