With the rising temperatures we have quickly entered the best time of the year to plant sod. I’m sure a few of you just read the first sentence and thought that I was crazy since we’re hitting 105-110 degrees most days. Warm season turf is so well adapted to this type of weather that establishing a lawn during the summer is a simple process with the right prep work and follow up. I’m going to outline some simple cost effective steps for those looking to put in a lawn this summer.

Living in the desert we all know that water is scarce so we want to do our best to preserve it and not overuse it. One of the best water saving tips is putting in an automatic sprinkler system. Before I proceed I will tell you that I don’t recommend putting in a new lawn without one. A good sprinkler system will allow you to put out the correct amount of water in a given period of time and will help eliminate waste.

BOBSod does very well during the hot summers.

Setting up a manual sprinkler or hose is inefficient, time consuming, and most of all it is very tough to gauge the amount of water you actually put out. Before putting in an irrigation system you should by a small gauge to check your homes water pressure. Knowing how much water pressure you have will determine how many sprinklers can be on each valve. Depending on the area you will be watering you may need a couple to several valves to correctly operate your irrigation system. Most sprinkler systems are set up with a valve that controls the drip lines to the plants and then a valve for each section of the turf. A home with 1000 square feet of turf will typically have two valves to control the lawn. If you have very low water pressure you will probably need to add a third valve so less sprinklers are running at one time.

Read the rest of this entry »

The word transition tends to conjure up some ugly thoughts in people’s minds. Transition is often used to describe moving from one stage to another or in the case of sports teams are often transitioning from one style of play to another. Fans of sports teams cringe when they hear the word transition and the same is true for most turf managers but with turf it is often an easy fix. My goal today is to answer some frequently asked questions on transition, sod install, fertilizer and watering for the summer. If you have another question that I didn’t list please let me know.

Q.     I overseeded my lawn last fall and I can’t get the ryegrass to die off. Can I turn the water off and kill it?

A. Yes and no. You can turn the water off and severely stunt or kill the ryegrass but you will also do some serious harm to your warm season turf. It is best to cut your water back 30-40% and let it fade away with the warmer temperatures.

Read the rest of this entry »

By now most of you have overseeded for the fall or made the decision to let your turf go dormant for the winter. I think now is an appropriate time to talk about the best way to control your water bill and at the same time give your grass the best chance of thriving. Our extreme summers often give homeowners the wrong idea of just how much water is necessary to grow a green lawn. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re getting closer to the overseeding process! I am sure many of you reading my blog have started to see perennial ryegrass arriving in stores by the truck full, but we are still a little early. It isn’t too early to start some of the initial prep work, but it is still a little hot to drop seed. I realize that some of you won’t have a choice in the timing of overseeding, but if you do have a choice it is best to wait. Today’s blog is going to give you 10 easy steps on how to overseed and establish a great lawn for the winter. I have also attached a short video on doing so. http://www.youtube.com/ Read the rest of this entry »

The holidays are right around the corner and everyone getting ready to enjoy some family time.   I think you should do the same with your lawn!  This is a good week to put some final touches on your grass and get it ready for all your visitors.  Read the rest of this entry »

While most of the country has been experiencing some of the worst early winter weather on record, we have been blessed with some of the best weather I can remember for December–especially for our  lawns!   It is not that often that we only receive a couple frosts and then the temperature pops back up into the high 70’s, low 80’s.   Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday was an eye opening day for several people in the turfgrass industry as West Coast Turf played host to Dr. Ronny Duncan for a workshop on how to grow paspalum at our Scottsdale farm.  He also gave some tips on keeping color and winter hardiness for bermudagrass and St. Augustine.  Many people are still opening up to the idea of growing a different grass than bermuda, but the paspalums is where the turf industry is quickly heading.   Read the rest of this entry »

At this time of the year there is not a warm season grass that is going to have time to root into the ground without having ryegrass to help it establish itself into the soil.  We are just beginning to get into the season of having cool nights and mild days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put down sod.  Read the rest of this entry »

As we begin the month of November (and we are about 4-5 weeks into the overseed season) it’s time to make sure your lawn is ready for the winter.  Winterizing your lawn with overseeded turf is quite different than getting it ready to go dormant for the winter.  We have been blessed with some warm temperatures so far this fall keeping our non overseeded turf green, but as temperatures move into the 50’s at night you will start to see a sudden decline in non-overseeded turf growth. 

Read the rest of this entry »

About once a month it is always good to post some of the most frequently asked questions during that time period as well as some that I know many of you may have.

I overseeded too early and lost some of the seed to the heat, when do I know I need to reseed? Read the rest of this entry »