With the rising temperatures we have quickly entered the best time of the year to plant sod. I’m sure a few of you just read the first sentence and thought that I was crazy since we’re hitting 105-110 degrees most days. Warm season turf is so well adapted to this type of weather that establishing a lawn during the summer is a simple process with the right prep work and follow up. I’m going to outline some simple cost effective steps for those looking to put in a lawn this summer.

Living in the desert we all know that water is scarce so we want to do our best to preserve it and not overuse it. One of the best water saving tips is putting in an automatic sprinkler system. Before I proceed I will tell you that I don’t recommend putting in a new lawn without one. A good sprinkler system will allow you to put out the correct amount of water in a given period of time and will help eliminate waste.

BOBSod does very well during the hot summers.

Setting up a manual sprinkler or hose is inefficient, time consuming, and most of all it is very tough to gauge the amount of water you actually put out. Before putting in an irrigation system you should by a small gauge to check your homes water pressure. Knowing how much water pressure you have will determine how many sprinklers can be on each valve. Depending on the area you will be watering you may need a couple to several valves to correctly operate your irrigation system. Most sprinkler systems are set up with a valve that controls the drip lines to the plants and then a valve for each section of the turf. A home with 1000 square feet of turf will typically have two valves to control the lawn. If you have very low water pressure you will probably need to add a third valve so less sprinklers are running at one time.

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Fall has finally made its way to the valley and with the onset of shorter days are cooler temperatures. We’re right in the middle of the overseed season and with a few weeks left to get seed down I wanted to address what to do if you haven’t seeded yet and the next step for those of you that have overseeded. The window of opportunity to overseed is actually quite large but optimally it is done between October 1^st and the second week of November. That is not to say you won’t have great success if you go a little earlier or later but historically this is when the weather is on your side.

Let’s start with those of you who haven’t overseeded yet. There is no need to worry or get out there this afternoon and do it; but you should have a plan. Part of your plan should include purchasing ten pounds of perennial ryegrass seed for every 1000 SF of lawn area, a starter fertilizer, and doing a full irrigation check. I have received a lot of questions about using a seed cover or mulch to protect the seed. This is completely up to you but it isn’t necessary during this time window. The seed cover or mulch will keep the plant moist and allow heat to stay in the ground but unless we really dip down in temperature the conditions are already favorable for growth. Birds seem to be another concern but you can rest assured that you’re putting down more than enough seed to get your lawn established even if the birds throw a party on your lawn. I know many people have always covered their lawn to speed up the growth of the ryegrass. I can’t say scientifically if this works or not but I do know that we don’t cover our seed here on the sod farm and golf courses do not cover the courses wall to wall to prevent birds or to help speed up growth. A cover is typically only necessary if you’ll be applying seed to an area after a frost has occurred.

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For the past few days the deserts have finally woken up to some fall temperatures. It almost seems like the weather knew to change with the calendar on Friday but looking at the not so distant future it probably won’t stay this way. Driving around this week I’m starting to see lots of places begin the overseed process but it is still a little early to do unless you absolutely have to get the lawn done for an early event. For those of you that are new to overseeding I’m going to describe exactly how to overseed your lawn, what it means to overseed, and answer the questions if overseeding is right for you. This time of the year can be tricky for home lawns but with the right care your house will look just like West Coast Turf’s farms.

Overseeding is mandatory in the south and western portions of the United States for people that would like to have a green winter lawn. When the air and soil temperatures drop too low warm season grasses will lose their color and go into dormancy for the winter. If you’re from an area that usually receives significant snowfall or cold temperatures you’re well aware of the dormant season. For those of us that have warm temperatures during the day we have the ability to overseed our lawns with BOBSeed perennial ryegrass for the winter months to keep our lawns green.
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As we approach the end of August we are starting to get people asking about overseeded turf. When can they overseed or when will out turf be ready? I know most of us are optimistic that the end of August should indicate the end of a hot summer but we’re still a long ways off. The month of September will typically see at least 10-15 days above 100 degrees and night time temperatures will still be in the low 80’s. The last thing you want to do to your lawn is cut the growing season a month short and pay for it in the spring by having weak turf.

For those of you who follow my blog monthly you know how important it is to have a minimum of 100 days of growth for your summer lawn without any competition from ryegrass. One thing you need to keep in mind with that statement is that even though many of us think all of the ryegrass has been eliminated by June, it is doubtful unless you chemically transitioned your lawn like most golf courses do. Today’s ryegrass varieties are so strong that it takes a few days with high temperatures and high humidity to completely remove them. Have you ever gone on vacation in the month of July with a perfect lawn and returned to a lawn rich in ugly brown hues? The humidity is the final straw for ryegrass so once it hits it will eliminate your grass stand overnight if you’re not treating it with a fungicide. Many of us will try and hold on to ryegrass under a shade tree as long as we can but once the monsoon’s arrive you can say goodbye to your pretty lawn. My point being that you really need to start your 100 day count around July 1st, not June 1st because the ryegrass sticks around a lot longer than you think.
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With the fourth of July landing on a Thursday this year many of you will have a long weekend so I figured I would give you a to do list for your lawn. We’re probably a week or two away from getting any monsoon activity so now is a great time to clean up the yard and get it ready to grow when the humidity starts to kick in.

Living in the desert it is often tough to get ideal growing conditions for a warm season grass. The high temperature help bermudagrass and paspalum grow but what they really desire is humidity. The humidity is a kick starter for your grass and if your grass has space to grow you can expect to see some quick changes to your lawn. Before I go into detail about what you will gain from the humidity I should address anyone that still has lingering ryegrass from the spring. Ryegrass has a tendency to stick around in shaded areas at this time of the year but you can bet the first blast of humidity will wipe it out. If you’re looking to hold on to this grass because you can’t grow bermudagrass in that spot then you will want to apply a fungicide now and every 14-21 days throughout the monsoon season. This is not a guarantee of success but the best way to try and save it through the summer. Read the rest of this entry »

With the holidays right around the corner I’m sure everyone wants to spruce up their lawns to show off to family and friends, so I’m going to give you a few tips to help make that happen.

We have been pretty fortunate to not receive any frost yet which has allowed the ryegrass to really take hold and start to flourish.  If you’ve been following the overseed plan you should be seeing a good amount of growth and the color of the turf should be bright green.  If you’ve missed a couple fertilizer applications, now is going to be your chance to really catch up and get that color back before the holidays.

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Before I begin talking about the next step in perfecting your lawn I will let everyone know that overseeded sod is now available if you’ve been waiting to sod your lawn.

The overseed season is well under way for most people so I thought I would take a few moments to talk about the next few steps after your seed starts to emerge from the ground. Read the rest of this entry »

While we are still topping out at 100 degrees during the day the night time temperatures are getting close to overseeding range. Ideally you would wait until the night time temperatures drop into the 60’s consistently, but I know many of you are getting anxious and want to get started. I put together a new video today on how to overseed so take a look and then get your BOBSeed and get ready to overseed. Read the rest of this entry »

In my last blog a week ago I mentioned that we were still a little warm with the nighttime temperatures to drop seed, but we are in the clear now. The month of October is a great time to drop seed and you should see your ryegrass popping out of the ground in 5-7 days. I know the temperatures will climb back up into the 90’s again during the day, but it is the nighttime temperatures that are most important at this time of the year. If you have already put down seed and are 7-10 days out, it is time to get the second application of fertilizer down. I am going to keep today simple and short, just wanted to give everyone some reminders.

Our overseeded sod will be available at the farm on October 18th.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Jay

We’re getting closer to the overseeding process! I am sure many of you reading my blog have started to see perennial ryegrass arriving in stores by the truck full, but we are still a little early. It isn’t too early to start some of the initial prep work, but it is still a little hot to drop seed. I realize that some of you won’t have a choice in the timing of overseeding, but if you do have a choice it is best to wait. Today’s blog is going to give you 10 easy steps on how to overseed and establish a great lawn for the winter. I have also attached a short video on doing so. http://www.youtube.com/ Read the rest of this entry »