Adrian87
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Joined: Thu May 30, 2019 10:59 am

New lawn rough shape help

Hi I installed new sod about 6 weeks ago. Watered twice daily for first 2 weeks, once daily for next 4 weeks now once every 2 days. I made the mistake on my first 2 cuts of letting the lawn grow too tall so with my mower on its highest setting ive cut well over 1/3 and down to the stems. My lawn is now a bit thin and very "stemy". How can I thicken and SOFTEN it up??

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thisgardener1
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Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:51 am

I don't know much about lawns but I think you should allow it to grow some more before cutting it down low - not to the lowest, then repeat the cycle again.

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I don't know what kind of grass you grew or where you live but:
New lawns whether seeded, plugged or sodded should have the soil amended first. 4-6 inches of compost and about 1/2 inch of manure, tilled into 4-6 inches of the soil. Weed first by watering and weeding until no more weeds show up. If you are using regular glyphosate, you will probably need to do this at least 3 times. You can plant 3 days after using regular glyphosate. Do not use extended control herbicides or you cannot plant grass for a long time.

Watering new grass = 1 inch of rain or water a week. 4 times a day on newly planted grass until the roots take which is about 3-6 months depending on the time of year. Slowly back off water. You still need to apply an inch of water (or rain) a week. The soil type matters. If you have sandy soil, you will have to water more, clay soils less. For me it is about 45 minutes a week. I usually divide the time and water 20 minutes twice a week every 3 days or so. I have clay soil and live in a relatively wet place.

Feed new lawns once a month. Your fertilizer bag will have instructions on how much.

In summer cutting heights are higher for all grasses. Cutting height should probably be around 2 inches for most grasses, except emerald zoysia which will be 1- 1 1/2 inches.

Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass at any one time. If you have to cut the grass lower, wait 4-5 days and cut another 1/3 max off. If the grass is very tall and exceeds the mower height limits, use a weed whacker first to knock it down. You can use a weed whacker in place of a lawn mower. You have to be good at it to cut it nicely, but I have St. Augustine and it is forgiving, the swirls disappear in a couple of days. Same rules applies as for lawn mowers. Cut height around 2 inches. If the grass is very tall cut it in stages wait a few days for the grass to recover and cut it again. If all that is tall are the seeds, then it is ok to knock all of it down.

Watering of any plant is based on need not on a schedule. New grass does need to be watered more often, but frequent shallow watering is not good for the grass in the long run. Water as long as it takes for the water to wet the soil about 4 inches deep. You may have to dig into the soil and check. Water again when the soil is almost dry. How often you water will change depending on rain, soil, and how hot it is. On established, it is easier to tell when the grass needs to be watered. If you step on the grass and it springs back immediately, it is o.k. If it springs back slower it is drying. If it stays down or leaves a footprint and the blades are curling, you should have watered sooner. Water at least 20-30 minutes each time. The water should not run off the top, but it should be on long enough to water deeply. This will send the grass roots deeper and the grass will be more resilient than grass with shallow roots.

P.S. A lot of people use rotary mowers, they are cheap and only have one or two blades to sharpen but the cut is not as good and the blade height positions will never be as good as a reel mower. Some grasses like, zoysia will look better with a reel mower. Reel mowers cut like a knife and rotary mowers cut like a weed whacker and damage the grass blades more. With some grasses like Emerald which is a tough bladed grass, but only grows an inch a month, rotary mowers will choke more often.
If you do have a gas lawn mower, you do have to do the maintenance on it at least once a year. Change the spark plugs, clean or change the filters, sharpen the blades (don't hit any rocks or debris). Use ethanol free gas and stabil if you are going to keep the gas for a while or ethanol shield if you are using cheap gas. Always run the mower dry after every use. Gas will spoil in the mower, and ethanol gas will ruin your carburetor without protection or if it is left in too long. Battery powered mowers are new on the market and are replacing the electric models. They are as good as gas if you only have a small lawn and can finish mowing in 40 minutes or less. There is no string to pull or gas engine to maintain. You still need to charge the battery and keep it out of the rain, and sharpen the blades. Battery lasts about 3-5 years with good care.



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