A Beautiful New Lawn Shouldn't Require A Sore Back.

   ALL YOU REALLY NEED ARE GOOD SPRINKLERS AND SOIL THAT'S FIRM, SMOOTH AND CLEAN, and free of weeds, rock and debris.

   Sod Farms advise preparing the ground by roto-tilling or adding loose, fluffy top-soil.  That's because sod is grass that was grown somewhere else, usually in sandy-loam soil (different than the heavier clay soil in most of the Phoenix area), then cut off of it's root system. By the time it's finally delivered and installed, it's dehydrated and stressed. Sod needs a layer of loose soil and a lot of water as soon as it is installed, in order to recover and grow a new root system.

   But that loose soil can become muddy, and sodded lawns often settle into an uneven lawn that's hard to mow. Any traffic that's on it before it settles just makes it more uneven. So after it's established they advise you to level it with sand - but that creates places where the water can puddle just under the surface, where you can't see it. Adding sand can lead to fungus and disease problems.

   HYDROSEEDING IS NOT LIKE SOD. Adding top-soil or roto-tilling in amendments is hard work and can be real expensive. And truth is, we can't find enough difference in the quality of a HydroSeeded lawn (in the kind of clay soil found in the Phoenix area) to justify all that work and expense. If we planted two lawns next to each other (and we have) and one was roto-tilled and the other wasn't, we doubt you could tell them apart three months later. (And we certainly don't recommend adding a layer of "top-soil" or "sod-mix" or sand.)

   We think we have a better way. The seed that's embedded in the HydroSeeding mulch is going to take about a week to germinate. The same light watering that causes germination also softens the soil enough to allow rapid, deep root development. A new HydroSeeded lawn is never stressed or in shock and will usually become deeper rooted and healthier than a sodded lawn in about three months. Besides, the new grasses we use are very well adapted to our native soils.

   We're not saying you shouldn't, we just don't think you have to roto-till unless the soil is severely compacted (not just hard and dry) or was messed up with a pre-emergent herbicide. (If a pre-emergent was used within a year it has to be tilled or the new lawn won't germinate.)

   If you'd feel more comfortable roto-tilling before we plant your new lawn, we won't criticise your decision. There's little doubt that roto-tilling can be beneficial. The grass over trenches often grows a little faster in the first few weeks. Tilling in gypsum and starter fertilizer (not manure) and to some degree, shavings definately helps it establish deeper roots a little faster. But is that difference enough to justify all that hard work? Perhaps the following might be helpful:

   If you were thinking about roto-tilling as a way to get rid of an old bermuda lawn - it's a bad idea. Even if you do a very good job of raking out the pieces. That's because breaking apart the bermudagrass nodes in the stolons and rhisomes (runners and roots) into smaller pieces buried in the top few inches of soil stimulates new growth. Instead of making it easier to get rid of an old bermudagrass lawn, rototilling is one of the most effective ways we know of to re-plant it.

   If you want to roto-till to improve the drainage - it's a lost cause. Add water and even a little bit of traffic to roto-tilled clay soil and all by itself, in a very short time, it reverts to the same hard as concrete state it was before it was rototilled. O.K. you say, we'll add sand or shavings and ammend the soil to keep it porous. After all, almost every "expert" you talk to advises you to ammend the soil.

   In our opinion, adding soil ammendments doesn't work in our clay soils because the fine clay particles surround the coarse particles, reducing the entire process to a lot of exercise for the sake of getting a lot of exercise. It just doesent work unless you add enough ammendments to actually change the structure of the soil. But that's dangerous too.

   If you add enough ammendments to change the structure of the soil - sure you'll loosen it up - but you could also change where puddles form - to just below the surface. That's why we also advise against buying expensive ammended top-soil or sod mix.

   Add hot weather to saturated soil and you could create ideal conditions for fungus and nasty bacteria to grow. On days when it's 110 or 115 degrees, it could even cook tender new roots. A layer of loose soil over dense soil can even make it more difficult for a lawn to become deep rooted (and heat tolerant and drought resistant).

   Adding mulch, shavings, polymer or other ammendments works great to help sandy soil retain moisture - but most of the Valley doesn't have sandy soil. Sure, there's a lot of sandy-clay soil in the valley, but it's still predominantly clay.

   The probability of a call-back (or a fungus problem) is much greater if you till in manure or shavings, or add soil with a different structure than your native soil.

   So we're right back where we started, you can't make clay soil accept water by making a layer of porous soil over it. Clay soil retains moisture just fine, it just has trouble accepting moisture. Other than lightly raking in gypsum THE ONLY SOLUTION WE KNOW OF FOR CLAY SOIL IS PROPER WATERING. And that's why we devoted so much of our 20 page watering instruction book how to take care of your new lawn after it's established.

   HAVING SAID ALL THAT, THERE MIGHT STILL BE A BIG REASON FOR ADDING DIRT. That's because one of the best things you can do for an established lawn is to aerate it once or twice a year. (You can rent a machine or have a landscape maintenance company do it for you.)

   Walking, playing and mowing compact and reduce the air spaces in the top 1½" of soil. The problem is worse in clay soil. Grass grows more slowly in compacted soil, lacks vigor, can become thin and even die. It's especially noticeable under playground equipment, where dogs run back and forth along a fence, next to a patio or anywhere damp soil is subjected to traffic.

   Aeration removes small cores of soil and deposits them on the surface. In about a week the plugs break up and disappear. As they break down, the soil from the cores is incorporated into the thatch. That helps soil organisms to break down the thatch. A few days after aeration, the holes fill with little white roots. That means the lawn is responding to additional oxygen, moisture and nutrients that aeration allows into the root zone.

   Aeration improves resiliency and cushioning so it causes a lawn to be more tolerant of traffic. You'll water longer before you see puddles. And you'll go longer between waterings before signs of wilting occur.

   BUT AERATION DOESN'T WORK IF THE SOIL IS SO FULL OF ROCKS AND STONES THAT THE MACHINE CAN'T PENETRATE THE SOIL. If your soil is so rocky that you couldn't areate it, it's a real good idea to add a couple of inches of good clean fill dirt, as similar in soil structure to your native soil as you can find.

   THE GRASS DOESN'T CARE HOW SMOOTH YOU GET THE SOIL - but you should. Make it smooth and clean enough that you can roll your mower around on it without feeling like you are off-roading.

   Rocks that are large enough to damage your mower should be removed. Don't worry about small rocks that your mower won't hit or pick up. The new grass can grow around gravel sized rocks.

   There are a couple of techniques that landscapers use to smooth the soil. A flat bladed shovel is one of the most versitile tools you could own. The two most effective ways to use it are to use small choping motions straight down on the top of high spots to loosen the soil and to use sweeping motions to move the loosened dirt into the low spots.

   If the dirt is too hard, a few days of light watering should soften up the top inch or two. But don't go overboard and make it a muddy mess.

   If there are places in your yard that are too high or low, create small flat spots that are at the right grade. Then expand the flat spot into a grid of shovel wide lines that are at the right grade. Then work on getting the areas in between the grid lines to the right grade.

   Two or three foot wide landscape rakes are sold at most irrigation supply stores and some hardware stores, or are available at most rental yards. Think of them as dirt smoothing tools, not as rakes. The ends of the rake are great for chopping to loosten high spots, and the flat portion of the rake is great for moving dirt and leveling the high spots into the low spots.

   And finally, get down on your hands and knees, You'll be able to see how smooth the lawn area is much better from a lower perspective.

   If roto-tilling will make it easier to smooth out the dirt, that's just fine. Just don't go any deeper than you need to. If you need to change the grade by adding dirt - use cheap clean dirt, similar to what you have. Avoid top-soil containing manure or shavings, or described as amended or sandy loam.

   If you roto-till or add soil, make sure to settle it before we HydroSeed. The easiest way to do that is to roll it with a water filled drum (that you can rent). After you roll it, use the flat side of a landscape rake to blend the high spots and the low spots together. Expect to do it two to four times before you get it smooth and firm.

   And make sure to tamp the trenches or they can become muddy. (Muddy soil encourages fungus and settles into an uneven lawn that's hard to mow.)

   Sprinkler heads should be flush - or at least low enough that your mower won't hit them. That's because you won't be getting that inch of soil you'd get if you installed sod.

   Curbing should be any height you want it to be. Some people prefer the more manicured look of a lawn that's mowed close, and others prefer a plush lawn with a taller mowing height. Fortunately, the more recently developed grasses we use are extremely adaptable.

   If you choose to lower the curbing, the easiest way is to lower the dirt an inch or two (about 12" wide) before the new curb is installed. Then after the curb is in, put the dirt back around it. And finally, we can shoot it if it's damp, but we prefer dry soil.

   If you follow our instructions - proper watering, fertilization and maintenance will make your new lawn as lush and green as any in the Valley - in your native soil - even if you don't rototill or add top-soil.

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Nature's Way HydroSeeding
Post Office Box 1114
Queen Creek, AZ 85242
www.WhySod.com
(480) 540-9850
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