Disclosures
The seed, fertilizer, and mulch are in place. Keep the lawn moist at all times. Soak your lawn for thirty minutes (equivalent t o ½ " of standing. water) or until run off is detected. This watering process should be repeated twice a day (early morning and evening), every day for 7-10 days and every other day after that until the first cutting. DO NOT LET THE LAWN DRY OUT!! I f the germinating seedlings dry out, THEY WILL DIE.
It is a relatively new process whereby seed, water, fertilizer and wood fiber mulch are mixed together and are applied over the ground. In one application, the ground is seeded, fertilized, and watered. The soft green mat that covers your lawn is wood fiber hydromulch that performs these functions:
1) Water Retention. Because hydromulch fibers can retain up to ten (10) times their weight in water, seeds are kept moist. The result is quicker and thicker grass strands.
2) Soil Retention. Hydromulch fibers help prevent wind and water erosion.
3 ) Protection. Hydromulch fibers protect young seeds from the scorching sun and maintains soil temperature. It forms an almost perfect environment for maximum germination.
As your lawn grows and becomes established, the fibers will gradually decompose and add nourishment to the soil. Because hydromulch fibers are processed mulch, foreign seeds and other waste materials are not introduced into your new lawn. Since you do not have to remove the fibers, the messy cleanup operation and loose blowing debris that results from other mulches is eliminated.
Watering Your Lawn
Watering is most effective if done during the evening o r early morning hours when sunlight cannot cause excessive evaporation. After your lawn becomes established it requires approximately one inch (1") of water per week. The soil should be soaked through when watered. Water should penetrate at least six inches (6") into the soil to ensure deep rooting.
Fertilizing Your Lawn
A commercial fertilizer has already been applied with your lawn seed and hydro mulch. This initial application of fertilizer should provide the nutrients to give the young grass seedlings a healthy start.
An additional application of fertilizer should b e considered after two (2) to three (3) weeks of growth. Consult your nurseryman or landscaper concerning the type and frequency of fertilizer that should be apart.
Mowing Your Lawn
A new lawn should be mowed as soon as the grass blades are two t o three inches (2" to 3") high. Delaying the first cutting may allow long blades to bend over, causing a shabby appearance. Subsequent mowing should be done thereafter, and lawnmower blades kept sharp to prevent bruising or tearing of the grass. The cutting heights for lawns vary accordingly to grass species. Fescues, Reyes and Bluegrasses should be at the heights of two inches (2") or more.
Weed Control
Weeds will appear in your new lawn. They come from seeds which have lain dormant in the ground or which have been carried by winds or birds. These weeds can best be controlled by growing good healthy grass. Grass, which is properly watered, mowed and well fertilized provides too much competition for weed plants to gain any stronghold. If weeds do appear, consult your local nurseryman for the proper methods and chemicals to control weeds before they gain a stronghold in your lawn.
Pest Control
Pest control generally required chemical treatment. Beetle grubs, cut worms, sod webworms are generally controlled with applications of various compounds. If ants, moles, chinch bugs invade your lawn, a treatment of Chloridane is recommended. Ask an entomologist for advice.
Maintaining Shaded Areas
Shaded areas require some additional effort to assure healthy turf. Turfs in these areas generally suffer in three ways:
1 ) Tree root systems tend to rob nutrients from the grass blades
2 ) Lack of sunlight caused by the shading effect of trees.
3 ) Fallen leaves create a matted condition which prevents the turf from adequate exposure to sunlight and air.
Adequate nutrients for turn can be provided by thoroughly fertilizing the trees and heavily fertilizing the turf. Leaves should be raked early in the spring while tree branches are still bare to allow maximum amounts of sunlight t o reach the grass, which is generally shaded throughout the remainder of the growing season.
In all seeding operations, we use only the highest quality seed that has been tested for germination and purity. Additional seed and fertilizer are the key to a plush, green lawn. Our seed suppliers are very reputable and given no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the productiveness, due to many variables beyond their control. The landscaping company or Faber Builders is not responsible for washouts due to rainstorms or other acts of God.
