Lawn Installations
Lawn installations at Earth-in-Hand include:
- In our area the soil is very easily compacted. In order to grow good grass it is necessary to loosen and aerate the soil. We use a small chisel plow to do this.
- After we have chiseled the entire area we intend to seed, we will begin to prepare our seed bed. With a York rake we are able to grade the area to the proper pitch to drain water and remove all of the heavier debris, such as, rocks and roots. This leaves us with an area that is fully graded and relatively debris free.
- Left with an area that is almost ready for seed, we simply hand rake the area to remove all the finer debris.
- We seed our lawns twice as heavy as it is recommended. We do this so the grass comes in thick and lush from the start and does not need as much time to grow in. We have found that fescue grows the nicest lawns. This is why we use a tri-fescue blend of grass seed for all our lawn installations. Fescue does not require as much water as blue grass, therefore will stay greener longer in instances of dryer weather. Fescue is also more resistant to Japanese beetle grubs than blue grass. Additionally fescue will grow equally well in sun and part shade.
- After we have seeded the area we use a lawn roller to roll the entire area. This not only helps to flatten any unevenness but also pushes the seed into good contact with the soil, decreasing the time the seed takes to germinate.
- We cover the entire area with a biodegradable aspen fiber blanket. The blanket will prevent the loss of seed, eliminate most soil erosion, and help keep the seed and young grass moist. These are the major problems that affect the establishment of a lawn.
- We will return after the lawn has established itself to remove and dispose of the fabric. At this time we will over seed the lawn to fill in any bare or thin spots that have not germinated as well.
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