Taking care of your new lawn often requires no more work overall than taking poor care of the lawn. A lawn that is properly watered, fertilized and mowed has fewer problems with weeds, diseases and insects. A well-kept lawn also remains lush and attractive, giving you much more enjoyment.

Watering Requirements

Your newly established sod lawn needs to be kept moist for a period of 14-21 days. These watering requirements should be practiced accordingly to weather conditions. It is very important to keep the lawn area moist for the establishment period, especially if the weather is hot, daily watering would be necessary. After the initial establishment period, watering practices can take place two to three times per week at one inch per application.

Mowing Practices

Once the lawn has passed the 14-21 day establishment period, the grass should be 2-3" tall. You should never remove more than 1" off the existing lawn. Your lawn should be mowed weekly throughout the growing season. The appropriate height to keep your lawn is 1-1/2 - 2-1/2". Your lawn should be mowed at the higher end of the scale throughout the heat of the summer, lowering the grass level into the fall.

Fertilizer Requirements

We have provided you with the information from the Eugene Farmer's Coop, which explains to you the fertilizer application rates. We recommend fertilizing your lawn every 60 days throughout the growing season with slow release plant food, 25-5-10 at 10 lb. per 1000 sq. ft. We also recommend the application of Calpril lime in the early spring and late fall, at 50 lb. per 1000 sq. ft. In the late fall we recommend using a 10-20-20 or 15-5-10 Quick Release Lawn Food along with Calpril lime. It is not recommended to apply the Calpril lime and Slow Release Lawn Food at the same time. Please make sure that the Calpril lime is watered into the soil before you apply the fertilizer. The Eugene Farmers Coop is also very helpful with any questions relating to chemical applications

Notes:

If your lawn has already turned yellow, then you are a little behind on the fertilizing applications. We recommend that you use a calendar and use a common date to keep track of fertilizing and liming applications.

We do note through our watering requirements, head to head sprinkler coverage is ideal watering conditions, like natural rainfall. We recommend this for a uniform watering application. If your lawn is not watered evenly this may affect the growth rate and consistency of turf color.

All information is based on average or normal conditions. Individual sites and situations may differ; therefore we are here to answer questions if more detailed information is needed on specific maintenance questions.

Thank you, Scott Schmale, Star Landscape