Your lawn is the workhorse of your new yard and taking proper care of it starts with our installation. We ensure that your yard is smoothed of all waves and bumps and that the soil slopes away from your house. We add new screen topsoil to even everything out before laying freshly cut sod that is a mix of 80% Kentucky Bluegrass and 20% Fescues to ensure its maximum hardiness in Southern Alberta’s climate. Lawn care is simple. From the City of Calgary:
Tips for watering your lawn
Check the weather forecast
Including rainfall, your lawn needs only 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water over the week to stay healthy. Check out the Calgary lawn and garden forecast at The Weather Network or Environment Canada.
Use your sprinkler only if you have to
Lay a Frisbee upside down within range of your sprinkler and time how long it takes to fill up. That’s how long you should run the sprinkler over the week, if there is no rain. Your soil can only absorb so much water, so it’s best to divide the sprinkler time up into several smaller time periods throughout the week.
Water in the morning
Avoid watering between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., which is usually the hottest time of the day. Use a sprinkler timer set for first thing in the morning. The water won’t evaporate as quickly and you won’t forget to turn off the sprinkler.
Properly aim your sprinkler
To avoid watering your driveway and sidewalk, be sure that your sprinkler is aimed onto your lawn and garden areas.
Tips for mowing your lawn
Keep your grass three inches long
When you mow your lawn, keep the grass at 3 inches long. Longer grass shades its own roots from the scorching sun and chokes out those pesky weeds, like dandelions. Longer grass also helps create a healthier, hardier lawn by allowing longer roots to develop and it holds moisture better so you don’t have to water as much.
Leave grass clippings on your lawn
Leave grass clippings on the lawn to increase organic matter, discourage weeds, and retain moisture. Grasscycling returns nutrients to the soil. These grass clippings provide free fertilizer to help your lawn grow greener. It’s easy to grasscycle with your mower. Keep the mower blade sharp and mow when the grass is dry. Clippings left on the lawn will break down easily.
Aerating
Allow air, water and fertilizer to reach the roots. Leave the small round cones of soil that are cut out of the ground. Rake or mow over these pieces to break them up. The micro-organisms in the cores will help to decompress thatch and allow your lawn to absorb more moisture.
Seeding
Pests, extreme weather conditions and neglected management can damage lawn, even when the soil is in good condition. If your lawn is a little thin, proper mowing, fertilizing and water practices may be all it needs. However, if that doesn’t help, overseeding with a quality lawn seed may be the answer. Before you broadcast the seed over the thin areas, make sure there is good soil-to-seed contact, and rake away any dead grass of debris. Contact us if you would like the seed blend that matches your original sod.
Tips for fertilizing your lawn
How to fertilize your lawn
When considering fertilizers, choose a slow-release variety. This will feed your plants slowly over time instead of the short burst of nutrition that quick release fertilizer provides. Quality slow-release fertilizers will provide proper balanced nutrition over time to develop a healthier plant and root system that combats heat, cold, drought and other stresses. Organic fertilizers, like compost, also add naturally-occurring material to the soil, which is important for air circulation, good water retention and drainage.
When should you fertilize?
Early summer (after your lawn begins to grow) and fall are the best times to fertilize. Fall fertilization increases winter hardiness of the grass and provides nutrients, especially potassium, which makes turf stronger. The specific time of day you fertilize depends on weather conditions, and fertilizers shouldn’t be applied if rain is forecast within the next 24 hours. Always read the directions on the bag carefully before applying any fertilizer.