5 13 establishing lawns

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Establishing Turfgrass

Transcript of 5 13 establishing lawns

Page 1: 5 13 establishing lawns

Establishing Turfgrass

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Seeding Lawn

• Establishing Lawn from Seed Video:

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Soil Preparation

• Best success when seeding bare ground

• Use a tiller to prepare the seed bed

• Remove sticks, rocks, clumps of old grass

• Test the pH and the soil fertility

• Use a fertilizer with high phosphorus numbers to build root growth

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Rototiller

• Front-tine – smaller & lighter, bounce a lot when trying to break new soil – work better for re-tilling existing plots

• Rear-tine – bigger & stronger work best for preparing unused areas

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Seeding

• Most economical– Grass seed $15 - 20 for enough for 2,500 sq

feet– Seed specific cultivars or blends– Seeds develop into the area where they will

grow

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Seeding RatesSpecies Seeds per

poundPounds/

1000 sq ft

Cost/pound

Kentucky Bluegrass

1-2 million 1 – 3 $3 – 4

Bulk

Tall Fescue 170,000 – 220,000

4 – 8 $1

Bulk

Red Fescue

350,000 – 600,000

3 - 5 $1.75

Bulk

Perennial Ryegrass

250,000 6 - 8 $1.25

Bulk

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Seeding and fertilization pattern

• Divide the amount of seed in half and sow half in each direction.

• Remember to close the spreader when changing directions

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Lime

• Grass grows best at pH levels of 6.5 to 7• Liming rates for 1000 sq ft

Soil Texture

Sandy Loam Clay

pH 4 90 172 217

pH 5 67 127 150

pH 6 20 35 60

pH 7 None None None

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Establishing Turf by Seed

• Germination Rates:– Fast – Perennial Ryegrass– Medium – Fescue– Slow – Bluegrass & Bermuda Grass

• Sow – 15 seeds/sq inch– Use rates recommended on the bag

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Water

• Water frequently with small amounts

• Keep the soil surface moist

• Don’t water so much as to create run-off

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Seed types

• Turfgrass blends– Different cultivars of the same species

• Turfgrass mixture– Combination of two or more species– Examples:

• Shade mix• High traffic mix

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Grass seed label

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Seed Labeling

• Have information about the quality of the seed– Seed purity - % of identified species– Seed viability - % of seed that will germinate

• Seeding rates– Different seeds have different weights and

seeding rates– Also information on spreader settings– Want ~15 seeds per sq. inch.

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Lawn Renovation

• Kill everything and start-over

• Kill existing grass with glyphosate (Round-up)

• Allow 3 weeks to die completely

• Cut to ½” height

• Dethatch

• Reseed

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Overseeding

• Add new seed to existing lawn• Good for bare spots or to improve lawn

traits• Best in September• Cut grass short (1”)• Remove clippings & thatch• Reseed• May need to add compost or topsoil

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Bermuda GrassBermuda Grass

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Sod

• Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material.

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Installing Sod Movie

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Sod Farm

• Grown on specialty farms & harvested by specialty equipment

• Usually has 2-3 day life from harvest - can be longer if protected from heat or drying.

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Sod Cost

• Costs about $.20 - .30/sq ft if you are going to do it yourself– Very small lawn - 2000sq ft = $400 - 600

• Contractor will charge $.50/sq foot - not including soil prep

• Sod costs 20X more than seed

• Sod costs 10X more than sprigs

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Quiz tomorrow

• Review

• Best grass for shade?

• Best grass for quick greening?

• Best grass for drought tolerance?

• Best looking cool season grass?

• What grass breaking dormancy now?

• What grass are most lawns around here?