Starting
a New Lawn:
1.
If your lawn
contains 50% weeds or more, kill it and start over.
Colchester
Place recommends using Finale Herbicide, but you can use Round-Up
if you already have it. *Use
only concentrate at maximum strength in order to get the best results.
2.
With a thatching
rake or a power rake remove all thatch, dead weeds and grass and dispose
of it. *Do not add it to
your compost. The dead material contains the remnants of Finale
or Round Up.
3.
Wet the entire
area a day or two before attempting to use a core aeration machine. The machine needs to penetrate the ground 3" minimum to
promote moisture and air penetration to the soil. *Any less is a waste of time and money.
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Use Finale
to kill the existing lawn and weeds. |
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Invest in a
Ph Meter! |
4.
Buy a PH meter.
For a beautiful lawn, you need to know the PH level of your soil.
Check it twice per year – March and September.
Based on the reading, add Lime per the instructions on the
package. *We recommend Sweet-n-grow
lime, as it breaks down quickly.
5.
Add Gypsum twice
per year at 40 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. the first year, then 20 lb. per
1,000 sq. ft. each year after that.
*Gypsum breaks down clay.
6.
Buy
only a top performing, specialty grass seed.
*We
recommend Carolina Blend - a blend of three hybrid fescues
- for full sun and
light shade areas, and Shady Nook
- a blend of two hybrid sun fescues
and four shade fescues - for filtered sun to heavy shade, .
7.
Coat your grass
seed with Seed Coat.
Seed Coat is a mix of Soil Moist powder and graphite.
It holds a moisture barrier around the seed for thirty days to
assure better germination. *Just 1/2 lb. treats 50 lbs. of grass seed.
8.
Fertilize your
lawn with Espoma Organic 18-8-6 Lawn Food,
every 8 weeks from September-April.
Cool weather grasses store all their food for the entire year
during these months. The
first feeding needs 10 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft. and 5 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft.
thereafter.
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Use only
Espoma Organic Lawn Food |
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Use only
PennMulch to cover your seed |
9.
After you have
seeded your lawn, cover the seed in the bare areas.
We recommend Penn-Mulch at 60-75 lb. per
1,000 sq. ft. *With its use, lawns
normally start coming up in 6-10 days.
DO NOT USE STRAW. Straw
contains an abundance of weed seeds, does not decompose fast enough and attracts
birds that will eat your seed!
10.
When finished, water well to wet down your Penn-Mulch,
then water about 10 minutes in the mornings and evenings the first week.
Once the grass starts growing, water only in the mornings 10-15
minutes 2-3 times a week depending on moisture levels.
11.
Most people are surprised to hear that planting in the Fall is
better than in the Spring. For one thing, Spring plantings face
much more weed competition. But more importantly, as soon as
Spring-planted grass is up and growing, it has to face the rigors of a
Carolina Summer - intense heat and dry weather. Remember, we live
in the South. Our Fall season is longer than it is up North.
Fall planted grasses have a long Fall season to come up and become
established before Winter and then a nice Spring season to mature before
facing summer heat.
Disease
and Pest Prevention:
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Spray Ortho
Weed-Be-Gone when weeds are actively growing. |
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Control lawn
diseases with Ortho Lawn Disease Control. |
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Apply
Milky Spore three times per year for two years and control grubs and
Japanese Beetles forever!
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Spray
a fungicide every month beginning in May through September.
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Other
lawn diseases can be controlled with sprays, as well.
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Apply Milky
Spore for 2 years to control grubs and Japanese Beetles for
life! |
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Use a
fungicide to control lawn fungus, an overnight killer. |
Helpful Websites for your Lawn:
