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It is that time of the year again and after getting an estimate of $650 to scalp, dethatch and plant winter grass we decided to do it ourselves…again… and hope the lawn looks better this year than it did last year (and the year before). I have planted winter lawns for the majority of the years I have lived in Arizona, which is nearly all of my life, and none has beguiled me more than this Maricopa lawn. After multiple conversations with landscapers, Home Depot Guys, and other neighbors I learned we just have really bad soil. Since I don't want to pay someone to do the lawn and I want it to look great I had to do some research on how to make my lawn look fabulous this winter.
A fabulous lawn requires good -- not crappy soil. In order to give our lawn the best start we will need to get rid of as much summer grass as possible and tear up the top 1/4" of soil. It took nearly two days and approximately 10 large garbage cans full of clippings to get the lawn ready for dethatching. This involved mowing the lawn two to three times to get the summer grass to about an 3/4" tall. Unfortunately, after mowing away the last green Bermuda grass I received our water bill with the new rate increase -- needless to say $214 is ridiculously high for a house that doesn't have a pool! And that made me think twice about my winter lawn.
A fabulous lawn requires good -- not crappy soil. In order to give our lawn the best start we will need to get rid of as much summer grass as possible and tear up the top 1/4" of soil. It took nearly two days and approximately 10 large garbage cans full of clippings to get the lawn ready for dethatching. This involved mowing the lawn two to three times to get the summer grass to about an 3/4" tall. Unfortunately, after mowing away the last green Bermuda grass I received our water bill with the new rate increase -- needless to say $214 is ridiculously high for a house that doesn't have a pool! And that made me think twice about my winter lawn.
By looking at the pictures of our lawn one can see why our bill might be a bit high. Our lot is on 1/4 acre and our yard comprises about 6,000 s.f.. The best thing about where we live -- is our yard and it is quite beautiful when it is green. I guess we will put up with the large water bills for awhile.
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After scalping the lawn (cutting it very low with the mower) we dethatched it with a dethatcher. This is a machine that tears up the top 1/4" of soil and loosens any thatch (grass smothering the soil). After the dethatching we will plant the winter seed, spread a generous amount of manure and fertilizer -- then water, water, water. As always -- I will post my progress as it happens. For better or worse.
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I hope your lawn turns out well. I know the frustration of planting your own Arizona winter grass, our climate can make it so difficult. I found a local sod farm in the Chandler area that has really good quality stuff for overseeding. I used their stuff this year and so far so good! You'll have to post some after pictures :)
ReplyDeleteKatie thanks for the website! I will be contacting them regarding their great looking summer grasses.
ReplyDeleteAs per usual the lawn has turned out quite disappointing. Some areas are completely bare and we OVERseeded in the literal sense. It definitely looks better this year than the previous years, but still not as good as I would have expected for all the effort we put into it.
Pictures are coming soon.
Great keep me posted. A tip I recently found out about for bad patches in your lawn is to add more seed and then since you can't over water the whole yard add deodorized manure to the bad areas and then keep your watering amount the same. Also I get their emails and find lots of helpful tips through them as well. At least we have spring coming soon to try again ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I was really hesitant to seed the areas again because I wasn't sure how I was going to water the "bald" spots and not over water the rest. I will give it a try. Thank you!
ReplyDelete