| Lawn Management News Release Installation #5 - 2008
Lawn Management Tips For the past four weeks, we have discussed weed control, fertility, mowing, and irrigation needs. All these are the ingredients for a beautiful lawn. Now, all these activities that we have discussed are ways to properly maintain an established lawn. This final installment will cover how to establish and care for a new lawn as well as how to tackle re-establishment First, you must determine what variety of turfgrass you are going to plant. Second, you need to determine if it needs to be seeded or planted vegetatively. And finally, identify a source for high quality seed or roots. When planting bermudagrass or buffalograss, you can plant using seeds, plugs, or full sod squares. St. Augustine is available only as plugs or squares. Cost will dictate whether you use seeds or sprigs as will the size of the area, level of care, and time frame you are interested in. First, regardless of your planting method, you need to obtain a soil test. However, indicate on the submission form that the test is “for establishment”. This will recommend a different fertility regime than established lawns. Primarily, the newly starting grass will need potassium and phosphorous, and not lots of nitrogen. In fact, too much nitrogen can burn seedlings and burn newly forming roots. However, be prepared to provide nitrogen once it starts to green up. Seeding requires more site preparation to prepare for the seeding process. Tilling several times and smoothing the area are integral to success. Then the seeding process occurs, followed by covering of the seeds and packing. Difficulty in evenly spreading seeds can occur as the seeds are not evenly sized. For example, bermudagrass seeds are the size of grains of sand or salt. Whereas buffalograss is large, and has awns similar in size to an oat seed. Bermudagrass is often mixed and spread with sand to disperse the seeds. Cornmeal is also another option that matches more closely the density of the seeds. Following dispersion, the seeds need to be covered with soil and rolled and packed to remove air spaces that will disturb germination and growth. If you choose to vegetatively propagate your lawn, you again have options. However, the processes to prepare the site are similar for each. Remove all unwanted vegetation by spraying with herbicide or tilling. Smooth the yard and remove any debris. If using plugs, use high quality plugs that are growing, vibrant, and moist; not dried out and ashy. Open a small hole in the soil and place the plug in the hole. Step on the plug to pack the soil around the roots of the newly transplanted plug. Proceed to the next plug. Typically, plugs are planted on a grid and the spacing depends upon the area and the length of time to cover completely. To solid sod, order your grass and make sure that it is freshly cut. Look at the roots; make sure they are still moist and creamy white, not dried out and ashy. Begin to lay sod at one corner of the yard and lay the squares in a running bond pattern, like bricks. Lay each square tightly against the adjoining squares. After laying the squares, you will need to roll and pack the newly laid lawn. For small repair areas, a 5 gallon plastic bucket with lid filled with water pushed back and forth over the area will do the trick. Larger areas may require a larger roller packer that is pushed over the area. The packing process makes good soil contact between the roots and the soil. It also removes voids and air spaces that can cause the roots to dry out and not take hold. As with sodding, you can also install solid sod on a checkerboard pattern where every other square is laid in a corner to corner pattern. Again, it takes longer to spread. If the sod is laid on inclines, protect from excessive runoff until established as the force of the water may upheave and remove the sod from the area. And with all these methods, water frequently to ensure they do not dry out, have adequate moisture to grow, and produce new root growth. Once the newly seeded or sodded grass takes root, leaf growth will begin. When it begins to green up, add fertilizer as recommended by your soil test. Finally, just like with established lawns, frequent, almost constant mowing, will encourage root growth and not remove dangerous amounts of leaf material. Use discretion when using herbicides and make sure they are labeled for use in new establishments. Hand removal of weds may be the best measure. Many of the grassy weeds will go by the wayside once the lawn takes full root and begins to out-compete the other grasses. Hopefully these past 5 weeks have been helpful in putting together your lawn management puzzle. Remembering these basic practices, and understanding their individual importance will not only make your lawn more beautiful, but will make the entire process more rewarding and hopefully significantly less difficult. |
If you have questions on these or other topics, please contact the Milam County
Extension Office located at 100 East 1st Street in Cameron, on the web at
www.milam-tx.tamu.edu or call 254-697-7045.
Caption for picture:
Jarrett Beckhusen, Milam County 4-H Plant I.D. Team Member, explains to
producers how they identify plants at contests. The presentation was given at
the 2007 Milam County Crops Tour.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 1775317 |