We often talk about sod on a large scale, from athletic fields and golf courses to housing developments and private homes. But our sod has many more uses, as you’ll see.

Events

One place sod can be very useful is at events. You can lay down temporary sod for an outdoor area you’d like to soften up and give a more natural look. It looks great as decorative pieces, as well. We recently served a wedding where sod was used as a tabletop, as well as side accents.

Compost 

One popular and helpful way to use sod is by creating a sod composting pile. When you take out sod to create a hard path or walkway, you will have extra and wonder how to dispose of it. The answer is not to dispose of it at all, put it to use! While the sod is still fresh, find a corner of your yard and lay down a piece of sod grass. Stack face down pieces of sod on top of that, wetting each piece before adding another. Once your composting sod pile is as high as you’d like it to be (not to exceed 6 ft), cover the it  in thick black plastic. Weigh the edges down against the ground with stones or cinder blocks, making sure not to let any light to get in. Let your composting sod pile sit until the following spring and uncover it. Inside, you will find rich compost ready for use!

Gardening

Another great use for sod is creating the base for a garden or flower bed. Follow these steps to starting your new garden base! Pile the sod, grass down, in your new garden space until it reaches the desired height. Then cover it with 2–3 inches of topsoil. Finally, add 3–4 inches of mulch. This is a great way to use old sod to increase garden height for better drainage, or even build a tall, raised bed if desired. The sod slowly decomposes into rich soil which will eventually feed the plants in your garden.

Those are just a few small-scale uses of sod. Talk to us about your sod projects – large and small – and see what we can do for you! For more information, visit our website westcoastturf.com

Churchill Downs kicked off its opening night on April 30 for a season of horse racing. Not just any horse racing – turf racing. This newly revamped track has a $10 million lawn debuted and was a huge improvement from the old turf, which many say was not holding up well. The old mix was four-inch high Kentucky 31 Fescue (90%) and Bluegrass (10%) grown in a three-inch topsoil layer over a 13-inch course masonry sand base. The new turf course is Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass overseeded with ryegrass. Tahoma 31 is a variety we have at West Coast Turf and is the most water-saving of all the varieties we use. Currently, we have Tahoma at Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, and Dignity Health Sports Park (home of the L.A. Galaxy soccer club).

A little trivia: John Foster had the #2 horse in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on the dirt surface last year, Hot Rod Charlie, and just got a horse named Tahoma! This Saturday, the country’s most elite racehorses will make their “run for the roses” during the Kentucky Derby. 

Why is the Tahoma 31 such a huge improvement on the turf course? Award-winning jockey, Julien Leparoux, says, “For some reason in the spring, the turf course was actually good and by the time we come back in September it was… the opposite of this (new) turf course now. It felt like, even if we didn’t have any rain, it felt we had like 10 inches of rain the day before the races. It was crazy. The horses were going down pretty deep. A lot of kickback. So, I’m glad they fixed it.”

Said jockey Declan Cannon, “With the old course the roots system was dead and there was no growth. And basically, it needed redoing. It had run its course. It just really needed to be replaced.” Churchill jockey Corey Lanerie concurred, “I’m happy to see them invest money in it and redo it because the other one was getting pretty chewed up, and it wasn’t holding together. So, it’ll be safer for the horses and the jockeys.”

In addition to the new mix of grass, they have improved drainage, and the removal of a crown on the outer part of the old course. The crown was there for drainage, but effectively eliminated that part of the course for running. Providing this new turf for the efficiency, and especially safety, of the jockeys and horses is crucial.  For more information, visit our website at: https://www.westcoastturf.com/

These are trying times, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop learning.  West Coast Turf is now offering virtual Zoom educational opportunities for landscape architects!

Include your whole office! Find out about the newest varieties including the exciting Kurapia sod natural turfgrass alternative ground cover.  It’s drought tolerant, unique, versatile, and beautiful.  There are some great new native grasses that look spectacular. We also can update you on our old standbys such as West Coaster Fescue, Santa Ana, Bandera Bermuda, and Tifgreen that are tried and true.

Call or e-mail us today to schedule your presentation–760/340-7301 or danielle@westcoastturf.com.  The presentation takes about an hour, and we are able to answer any questions you might have on natural turfgrass varieties or Kurapia sod ground cover for your next project.

We miss you and are excited to “see” you again virtually! Contact us today!

Thinking about a new lawn in California or Arizona? Then West Coast Turf’s West Coaster fescue sod is a grass that you should consider. This very versatile turfgrass can thrive in many soil types. It is the most drought tolerant and resistant of any of the tall fescue varieties we have found. Mature fescue sod is available for an instant, rich, green, lush lawn, and seed is available for easy repairs. At West Coast Turf, our sod is harvested daily and uniquely packaged to ensure that your delivery is fresh and ready for planting.
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