Lawn sense.

by Jane Hermann

Whether you're a new home owner or you just want to start a new lawn, the project can be a major undertaking.

But, according to Gary Ludwig, owner of Ludwig's Pleasant Avenue Nursery in Buena Vista, all it really takes is following some basic rules and common sense to achieve a lawn anyone can be proud of.

"The most important step to putting in a lawn, whether you seed or sod, is the preparation of the soil. It's the most important aspect of establishing a drought -tolerant lawn."

He said it is important to target the root zone depth and said the prepared soil must be between 6 to 8 inches deep or even 10 inches.

"With native soil, you have to get rid of the weeds first. Plowing or rototilling the soil is the best way. Then, because we have a sandy-gravel soil in this area, the ground should be prepared with a third top soil and a third peat moss with the native soil making up the final third."

He said by using a little extra effort at the start, homeowners will have better lawns five and 10 years down the road.

He said the second step to a great lawn is creating a flat seed bed for seeding or sodding.

"If you have an uneven surface when you put down sod, it will stay uneven. And it will be harder to water."

The best method is to flatten the area to be planted, water it well so the dirt settles and then rake and possibly roll it to compact the earth. Then rerake again. "If you take a good look at the ground you are preparing, you can see the highs and the lows."

He suggests raking the ground in opposite directions at least three times before seeding.

Once the ground is prepared then the homeowner has to decide whether to use seed or sod.

With sod, there is little flexibility, he said, and usually sod is a Kentucky bluegrass blend, which is not very drought tolerant.

Tall fescue varieties are more drought-tolerant and will drive the roots further into the ground if the soil is prepared properly. It also will withstand heavier traffic.

Fescue will germinate in usually 10 days, while Kentucky bluegrass takes two to three weeks.

Lawn grass should not be planted before mid-May in this area, he said, because it is not warm enough for germination before then.

The key to establishing grass plants is to water when they need it. For a three to five week period, a seed bed environment must be maintained. This could require watering as frequently as twice a day.

Once the grass plants are germinated and established, watering deeply to allow the roots to penetrate deeply, is the key to establishing a drought tolerant lawn.

"One of the most common mistakes is to water shallow and frequently. If you start that way, you end up with a shallow root system."

If you're not sure how deeply you're watering, you may want to water for a given period of time, allow the moisture to soak into the soil for a couple of hours, then actually dig a hole to check to see how deeply the water has penetrated. This will give you some guidelines to determine how long you should water in the future, he said.

When sowing seed, Ludwig suggests raking a seed bed first in one direction. After seeding, rake it in the opposite direction so the seed is mixed with about a half inch of top soil. He cautioned against overseeding twice as much seed as called for.

Ludwig said his nursery has seed spreaders on loan for customers who purchase seed from them.

With fescue, a lawn can be well established in six to eight weeks and with Kentucky bluegrass, from eight to 10 weeks.

Seeding can actually be done in this area through mid-August, he said.

If the homeowner would rather put down sod, he suggests getting it within a day of delivery to a store, such as Wal-Mart. There are also sod growers who will deliver a truck load from the Front Range or will split a load if they have two buyers in the area.

Sod over three days old is not worth buying, he said.

Within 10 days to two weeks, sod will establish itself with proper watering. Seeded grass and sod can be mowed as soon as it gets tall enough.

Ludwig said he is always glad to recommend companies which sell sod, soil or other products which his company does not carry.