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24
Apr

Arizona & California Sod – Managing Pet Urine

Pets are as much a part of our families as our kids and keeping them happy is important.

Do you know what makes for a happy dog? One of the best ways is by putting in a new lawn. Did you know that putting in grass has been shown to reduce ground temperatures by as much as 30 degrees? We continually see a trend for people to use rocks in their yards because they don’t like the perceived maintenance of a yard but in this day and age it is important to think about the environment.

Sod cleans the air and helps recharge our groundwater supplies. Turfgrass is one of nature’s finest and least expensive filters, and works to improve the environment. The front lawn of just 8 homes has the cooling effect of 70 tons of air conditioning. Just think how happy you and your pets would be to walk around during the summer months if everyone had grass in their yard.

Stewy the dog

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19
Apr

Arizona Sod Mower Maintenance

While technically the calendar says spring, it feels like summer here in the valley of the sun. As we go through the transition period in California and Arizona from ryegrass back to bermudagrass or paspalum I want to touch a little bit on getting your mower ready for the season. It’s always a good idea to start each season off with a clean, sharp, and ready to use mower. There is nothing worse than going out to cut your lawn and pulling on the lawn mower cord a dozen times only to find the mower won’t turn over. There are some simple things you can do to keep it running well and last for several years.

Before I go into maintenance of your mower I will touch on the two different types of mowers on the market. You can choose between a rotary mower and a reel mower. The reel mowers I will refer to will be self-propelled mowers instead of push reel mowers. The reason I’m skipping on the push reel mowers is because it’s tough to push through thick bermudagrass during the summer months. While it can definitely be done, its just not my favorite thing to do on a 115-degree Arizona day.

There are several brands of reel mowers on the market so deciding which one to buy is going through the various options and deciding what is most important to you. Some of these choices include desired height of cut, number of reels on the mower (the mower reels, the tighter you can mow), weight of the mower, cutting width, and deciding if you will be collecting clippings or letting them lay on the ground. Most of the new reel mowers have a front bucket attachment but there are still a few on the market that drop clippings out the back of the mower.

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02
Apr

Arizona Sod Care

As residents know, spring in Arizona feels like summer most other places. We aren’t well into April yet and already temperatures are well into the 90s. This makes spring a perfect time to transition your sod from winter rye grass to summer bermudagrass. As the experts in Arizona sod, we are asked about this often and have gathered a list of tips for transitioning your lawn.
1. Timing
Typically, the best time to make this transition is late April/early May, but it all depends on the temperature. On a consistent basis, when daytime temperatures are 95-100 and nighttime temperatures are above 65, you will know this is the optimal time. At this point, the winter rye starts to wilt and bermudagrass tries to grow.
2. Mowing
You can aid the bermudagrass’s growth by simply lowering the blades on your mower and giving the grass room to flourish. Be sure to collect all clippings when you mow, as these can impede the growth of the grass if left to create a layer atop it.
3. Watering
You’ll want to slightly reduce your normal water usage on your sod (by about 25%). Be mindful not to overwater – even if you see brown spots as temperatures get hotter. This is common during the transition process.
4. Aerifying
In order to allow oxygen, water, and other nutrients to reach the lawn’s roots, aerating the sod is necessary with a bermudagrass lawn. For this, we recommend a core aerator, which is a machine that contains hollow spoons that pull up soil plugs when the machine is moving around the yard.
5. Fertilizing

Be careful not to put your fertilizer out at full rate yet, as that will allow the rye grass to grow. You want to use your complete fertilizer at half rate until about June when the bermudagrass is at the height of its growth.

When you are ready to transition your Arizona lawn from winter to summer grass, West Coast Turf can help you! We are the leading experts in Arizona sod and can answer any of your questions. Call us at (888) 893-TURF or visit us at www.westcoastturf.com.

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