Both of those marvelous feelings can only come from a healthy, thick lawn. If that doesn’t quite describe your lawn, you should think about laying sod.

Why Sod?

A new lawn can up the property value of a home. Laying sod also provides an almost instant and luscious lawn as opposed to the 8 to 10 weeks required for seeding. Sod is also more resistant to weeds and other pests that can destroy seeded lawns before they even take.

How to Lay Sod

There’s a lot that goes into laying sod. Here’s a primer on how to do it.

Step One

The first step towards a new lawn is preparation. You will want to clear out all the old material in the soil, such as weeds, roots, trash, or any noticeable rocks. Although this step can be done by hand with normal yard tools, oftentimes it is better to use a machine called a rototiller, as it is quicker and does a more thorough job clearing out the soil.

Step Two

After the soil is prepped and the ground is leveled out, it is time to grab the sod itself. On average, sod comes delivered in rolls roughly 2 feet wide by 8 feet long. Before rolling out the sod, it’s important that the ground beneath it be thoroughly moistened. This helps ensure that the roots take to the new soil.

Step Three

When rolling out the sod, start the strips along the border of the yard, so it stays inside the boundaries of the property. Place the strips next to each other in parallel, but offset them so the laid grass resembles a brick wall. If you’re laying the sod on a hill, make sure you lay it horizontally to avoid washouts. Sod can be trimmed to fit difficult spots with a simple box knife.

Step Four

After the sod is all laid out and your lawn is looking just about complete, water it until the soil is soft enough to press your finger into. It is important to water the new lawn for the first two weeks after installation to ensure that its roots become firmly established into the soil. You shouldn’t cut your grass during this first two-week period, as it needs a chance to grow.  When it’s time for that first cut, keep the mower on its highest setting to avoid damaging the grass.

Need Help?

As you can see, laying sod can take some time and effort, not to mention the maintenance required to keep a lawn lush and free of weeds and pests.  But that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your dreams of a beautiful lawn. Our certified professionals at Turf Solutions can make your lawn dreams come true, so you can enjoy your lawn without all the work.  Give us a call at 816-566-5007 to schedule a free consultation, or fill out our web form and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

Get your lawn ready for summer relaxation!

Spring has come quickly to Kansas City, and no doubt you’ve noticed your grass already growing like crazy.  Now is the perfect time to get set up with a maintenance plan for the year.  Here are three things you can do to get your lawn looking its best.

Verticutting

Verticutting is a great way to thicken your lawn.  After last year’s hot summer, you may have noticed some thinning of your turf.  Combined with overseeding, verticutting is one of the best methods to reversing that condition.  Verticutting mechanically removes the thick layers of living and dead plant material between your grass and the soil, which in turn provides a better seedbed to give your grass room to grow.

Aeration

Aeration, sometimes called coring or core aeration, uses hollow tines or spoons to extract cores from your turf.  This has a variety of benefits, including releasing toxic gases from the soil, providing both better drainage and drying, stimulating root and shoot growth, and controlling thatch.  You’ll also get better results with fertilizers and grub prevention as well as overseeding.

Seeding

Once your soil is in good shape as well as free of harmful insects or plant disease, the next step is to seed your lawn.  Seeding is the best and quickest way to create a lush, thick lawn when combined with aeration and/or verticutting.  Seeding also helps get your lawn growing evenly again, and a thick lawn helps regulate hydration and prevents weeds.

How to Get Started

At Turf Solutions in Lee’s Summit, we know exactly what your lawn needs to look its best.  We have more than 20 years of experience in the lawn service business, and our technicians are state-licensed and tested.  We pride ourselves on keeping on top of the latest and safest turf products and methods to keep you and your family safe and your lawn beautiful.  Give us a call at 816-566-5007 to schedule a free consultation, or fill out our web form and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

Moles make your yard look bad!

A moles diet is restricted to ground invertebrates such as grubs, millipedes, ants and the like.  However, the mole’s primary food source is earthworms, so trying to control white grubs and lawn insects is no protection from mole activity.  Moles feed primarily on insects that feed below the ground.  Moles do not eat the roots and bulbs of flowers and vegetables.  Voles and shrews will attack the roots and bulbs.

Moles breed in late winter or spring and have a gestation period of about four to six weeks.  Single annual litters of two to five young are born in March, April or May.  About four weeks after birth, the moles leave the nest and fend for themselves.  Moles are active day and night throughout the year, but are most visibly active during the spring and fall on damp days or following rain showers when they push up more tunnels and mounds.  When the ground surface becomes frozen in the winter, or very dry during the summer, moles use only the deeper burrows.

There are several methods of mole control on the market: baiting, gassing, repellants and trapping.  With all methods and particularly with mole trapping, patience and persistence are the key words.  Trapping is usually easiest during the spring and fall with mole activity at its peak.  Trapping in the spring can also eliminate the pregnant females, reducing population.  It is completely essential to locate the main mole runways for successful trapping or baiting.  To identify main runways look for runways which:

Follow more or less a straight course for some distance.  Appear to connect two mounds or two runway systems.  Follow fence row, concrete paths or other man-made borders or follow a woody perimeter of a field or yard. Mole nests are commonly found along protected areas like fence rows or hedge rows.

To use a mole trap, such as the Victor Out of Sight Mole Traps first flatten the tunnels by stepping on them or using a lawn roller.  This will allow you to tell which mole tunnels are being used, because new ones will be appear the next day.  Put the mole trap on these new tunnels.  Set the trap and leave it, taking care not to trample or disturb any other portion of the runway system.  Check the mole trap once or twice a day.  If a mole trap fails to produce a mole within 4-5 days, move the traps to another portion of the runway system or use another runway.  Traps are good if you don’t mind moving them around once in a while.

The appearance of mole runs.

In most cases poisoned baits are not generally well accepted, but the Talpirid Mole Baits’ size, shape and feel let moles consume the bait in the same manner as its primary food source, the earthworm.  To find an active run find a tunnel and make a small hole about the size of a quarter with a stick.  Check the hole the next day to see is has been repaired.  If it has, place a bait in that run.  If the hole has not been repaired find a different run and make another hole.  With all pesticides be sure to follow the manufacturers label.

Gassers can be used to control moles, such as Giant Destroyer, but they are generally less effective unless you can gas the major mole nest.  Repeated applications are usually needed.

It has been suggested that spraying or treating the mole’s food source (insects and grubs) would eliminate the mole population, which had been true when products such as Ficam Granules and Oftanal had been on the market.  But killing beneficial earthworms is not a viable option to controlling moles.

There are some repellants on the market that must be sprayed or applied with granules to the lawn.  These are derived from castor oil beans.  These repellants usually are short lived and can be expensive for large areas.

Proper care will make garden tools last longer.

Clean soil, fertilizers, and debris from shovels, rakes, hoes and other tools. A wire brush followed by a good jet of water will get most of the dirt from the metal parts. Remove rust with sandpaper and a shot of WD-40.

Remove saps or residues from pruning tools that have built up on these tools with a rough cotton cloth. Use a 50:50 solution of rubbing alcohol and water to sanitize the tools and remove any remaining debris.

If the tool handle is wooden, check for cracks and splits. Sand smooth any splinters and apply linseed oil to the wood with a clean cloth. This conditioning prolongs the life of the wood, reducing the splintering and cracking that can occur when handles frequently get wet in the garden. Keep the joints on pruners working smoothly by applying WD-40 to the pivot points.

Sharpening tools is paramount to the performance of any gardening tool. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this you can always take to any lawn mower repair shop and they’ll give back a perfectly sharpened pair of pruners or clippers. If you do it yourself be sure and clamp down any tools you’re going to sharpen. A trip to the ER for stitches should not be a part of your spring routine!

One method of sharpening pruning tools is to use an oil stone. Draw the stone along the blade in one direction away from you until the blade has regained the desired sharpness. A whetstone will also produce a very sharp cutting edge. Depending on the type of whetstone, apply a few drops of oil or water to the stone.

Most other tools such as hoes and shovels are pre-sharpened but an 8 inch mill file is excellent for restoring a good edge. Draw the tooth side in one direction over the area, angling the file to follow the beveled edge.

The right tool for the right job is one of those sayings that holds truth. Caring for those tools will provide you with many years of gardening pleasure. And passing down a good tool is a tradition that’s worth starting.

At  Turf Solutions we know a great looking lawn is the basis for any happy landscape. But if your tastes run more towards gardening and less toward lawn care let Turf Solutions partner with you for your best looking yard yet. We’ll take care of the grass and you can do the rest!

Hellebores-Helleborus
Hellebores, sometimes known as the Christmas or Lenten Rose, are a perennial hardy to Zone 4 and can survive temperatures of -35 degrees. They’ll grace your yard from late winter on until March and sometimes April and come in a variety of colors with beautiful spear-shaped foliage as a bonus. Hellebores prefer a rich, loamy, neutral to alkaline soil, and some protection from sun and drying winds. One note of concern, the plants are toxic if consumed so best left to gardens without small children or pets.

Flowering Cabbage or Kale- Brassica oleracea
Not just for corn beef anymore! This ornamental annual is frost tolerant with leafy foliage in colors ranging from pink and purple to yellow and green. The best time to plant is early fall. The intensely colorful pigmentations that Kale plants are known for do not appear until after prolonged cool weather and a few frosts. Plant in a sunny protected area or close to a foundation or sidewalk as a very cold snap can injure or kill them.

Redosier Dogwood- Cornus sericea
This shrub is a multi-stemmed, large deciduous shrub with year round interest. Light green leaves in the spring highlight fluffy white flowers and then white berries in clusters during the late summer. Fall brings dark red leaves that show very well in the garden. As the leaves fall away in winter the branches turn a deep, dark red for show that doesn’t stop. Plant in rows or groups for a lovely red complement to evergreens in the snow.

Witch Hazel-Hamemelis
This late winter blooming hybrid shrub is will bloom in the last dreary days of winter, its branches becoming dotted with fragrant, colorful, spidery flowers. Plant hybrid witch hazel in full to partial sun and organic-rich, acid or neutral soil with even moisture and good drainage.

Winterberry-Ilex Verticillita
One of the most beautiful of the hollies, this is a deciduous specimen with lovely green leaves in summer that fall away to reveal stunning red berries in the winter. They are dioecious plants, that is, there is a separate male and female plant with the female producing the berries. One male winterberry will be sufficient for pollinating 9-10 female plants. Flowers appear on new growth. Plant in average, acidic soil in full sun to part shade.

This is a small sample of plants that can complement your garden in the dreary winter months. Of course don’t forget the early-blooming bulbs such as winter aconite, snowdrops and crocus. Pansies also do well if winters aren’t especially harsh although they are known to buck the trend and flower in spite of the cold or seemingly die only to come back as spring approaches. These plants, and many more, can add beauty and charm to help chase away the chilly doldrums.