Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

[IndianaSmith]

Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

This is a bit of a spin-off of my "sod gun" post, but would basically apply to digging a hole in the yard in general. If there's anyone here who is familiar with sod & fertilization, feeding, care etc, please chime-in.

I've wondered if after cutting a plug, digging a hole, using a probe or screwdriver to remove a find, leaving a "flap", or any form or perforating a layer of sod, if there's anything that could be done to aid in the repair of sais spot?

Could a person carry a spraybottle say filled with water & plantfood & give the spot a shot after it's replaced? Or plain water, fertilizer, maybe a 1/2 teaspoonful of grass seed? I'd think all the things I mentioned are cheap, and if it helped eliminate "brown spots", wouldn't it be beneficial to do (for all of us)?

Play-out the sceniro of hunting a park, and being stopped by someone of "authority" (self-imposed or otherwise), don't you think they'd be amazed at seeing the extra effort being put-forth to prevent/repair any possible damage to the turf?

Anyone have any thoughts or input? I mean I know it's grass, but it's kind of that "ounce of prevention & pound of cure" thing..........

Smitty

 

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[deepskyal]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

Well....here's my 2 bits on the sod issue. I professionally landscaped for a few years and went to a half dozen turf seminars by Penn state U.

For what we are doing, it all boils down to weather. In dry seasons, no matter what you do...in a manicured lawn area, you'll end up with some brown spots. You need moisture for disturbed lawn so the roots will replensih. Once you dig a clump of grass, you're disturbing the roots, tearing some of the feeders and causing shock to the plant, otherwise, the plant will sacrifice the leaves (blades of grass) to conserve moisture in the roots. Once the roots are exposed to air, rapid evaporation occurs and moisture is essential to rejuvinate the plant.

One other thing, in dry times, lawns need about 3" of water a week to maintain vigorous growth. When you cut a plug and the grounds dry, the smaller the plug, the faster it's gonna brown out. You've destroyed the soil composition surrounding the roots. I know I hear lots of people say dig small plugs...but I dig mine about 5 or 6" across. The grass stays in a healthier clump with less dirt falling away, thus not exposing as many roots to the air. And....I find my stuff faster, in less time , so the plug goes back quicker.

When you replace the plug...just give it a good press back in with your foot.
If the grounds dry, what little water you'd give it would probably evaporate within hours....and ...really...how much water do you want to carry.

If you're finds are like mine, a lot of times I have to dig through the roots to recover a shallow find.

In cool, moist weather, the less likely the probability the grass will brown out.

Carrying fertilizer won't accomplish anything without a regular water schedule. Shallow fertilizer burns tender roots when they are trying to grow. The moisture needs to be deep so the roots grow where they're suppose to be...not on the surface where they burn.

So...if it's a hot dry summer....you're gonna get some browning, depending on the root damage. But the fert and water......won't help at all. It might look good as an effort to nebby people though.

 

[Marc]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

You raise an interesting point. I happen to have quite a bit of lawn care and landscaping experience.

Some people PAY for soil aeration! However, proper soil aeration (which can be VERY beneficial to a lawn with compacted soils) is done in a systematic way, not a sporadic way like a metal detectorist aerates the soil.

It is PROBABLY best to just try to return the soil to it's original condition. If it is compact dry soil, recompact it... don't add water... or fertilizer unless you want a spotty lawn! Wait for a lawn care specialist to do the aeration, watering and fertilizing... so the lawn stays consistent.

Just my 2¢!

 

[IndianaSmith]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

Thanks for the input guys. So if it were a well-kept laws, and say the middle of summer, would it be beneficial to grab a nearby hose & water spots that were dug? I'm just trying to find an honest answer to give (or solution to the problem) when asking permission & asked "will it kill my grass". I just didn't know if anything woulf help prevent damage & brown-spotting.

Thanks
Smitty

 

[Marc]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

I guess that depends on the type of grass. If it's a rhizome type grass, such as St. Augustine, it would probably make sense to make as few cuts in the rhizomes as possible. "Rhizomes" are basically crawling stems that lay roots down at intervals. So in that type of grass, it probably makes sense to cut and peel it back, instead of taking out a plug. You could easily kill a section of rhizome grass by cutting out a plug and NOT keeping it well watered until it heals.

With a seeded lawn, such as rye, it is less critical, and plugs may be removed.... and yeah, maybe you are right, a touch of water in the hole before replacing the plug might be a good idea!

I certainly wouldn't fertilize a lawn unevenly... and preferably wouldn't water unevenly either. At least that's the way I see it!

 

[IndianaSmith]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

OK. thanks Marc. I wasn't sure if fertilizing/feeding would help any. I guess some water would be the best thing, atleast it won't cause any harm.

I was just looking for anything to "help the cause"

Smitty

 

[sniffer]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

I used to work bridge construction in MN. and layed a lot of sod, small plugs will dry out quickly and once they're dry they die, you're better off cutting a larger plug to retain more moisture and more of the root system intact in the plug, water wouldn't hurt but, like others have said, unless you're watering on a schedule it won't help that much

 

[fatsmahoney]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

If your gonna do a private lawn ask the homeowner to water the lawn before you dig anywhere a good half hour watering should be enough for an avrerage lawn if the lawn is larger just move the sprinkler to the next area while you are searching the watered area

 

[corklabus]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

Should you choose to put a little water in your holes, a small caution you may want to consider, is that city tap water is loaded with lots of chlorine and can do damage to root systems and leaves of ANY plant if the concentration is too strong. Since we have no control over when large concentrations of chlorine is added to our water systems, the best way to control this is to fill yourself a 5 gallon bucket of water at least 24 hours in advance and let it set outside without a lid to let the chlorine gas escape before making use of it. This is also a good idea for any flowers or garden plants you may have. That would lessen the problem of creating worse brown spots that you expect to.
I learned this lesson the hard way. I killed my whole garden of tomato plants by using water straight out of the garden hose right after they chlorinated our system. At any rate, the most it would cost you is a little bit of pre-planning, which you are obviously accustomed to.
Everything else mentioned also seems to be very solid advice. Hope it helps.

 

[Idig4beer]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

8)Hi Indiana, When you dig in the grass with small tools probes etc., you are doing the grass a GREAT favor.I use to work on Golf courses and when you dig down, you cut roots which helps in new growth of the grass.Every year we would ariate the course,and have 1/2in plugs from the machines doing it. this also allows O2 to reach down in the soil.If you are doing a large area you might carry a plastic bottle with fine sand and grass seed and sprinkle it in the area.Go to your nearest Golf course and ask the course superintendent about the grass seed that is in your area.In the spring and summer that grass will grow back within 2 weeks and you'll never see where you dug. Hope this helps.

 

[rmptr]

Re: Lawncare "specialists" (someone who knows sod/grass)

I don't much care for pulling a plug.
Most of my coin shooting is in public parks where targets are shallow.
I probe and slice.
If it's deeper, you can lay a slice open to get further down.
With some types of grass and soil, a flap works well and does not completely sever the system as a plug would.
In our area, some turf builds thatch and they use cutters.
Other places they aerate with plug cutters.

We also see many baseball champs and soccer stars with cleats.
Metal detecting is selectively recovering a castoff.
Far from aggressively running, jumping, sliding and gouging at the turf as in many popular sports.

If it were not for us, many valuables would be lost to mankind forever.
We are a very beneficial hobby!

R M P T R