When
is the best time to plant Eco-Lawn™ ?
In the
Northern USA and Canada the ideal time for you to
plant your Eco-Lawn™ seed is between late
August and late September, Labor Day Weekend is
ideal (for the best seeding time in your specific
area please refer to our Seeding Times
Chart ). The cool evening
temperatures, early morning dews and autumn rains
create the perfect conditions for germination and
growth. Also, nature has programmed fewer weeds
to germinate in fall, so your new Eco-Lawn™
will establish more rapidly, with less weed
competition!
Seeding from mid April through mid June is a good
second choice. Maximum germination occures when
temperatures are between 10°C (55°F) and 25°C
(77°F). If you spread Eco-Lawn™ seed in
cooler temperatures, it will not germinate until
the soil temperature reaches 10°C (55°F).
In the southern states, Southern California and
much of the southwest, November is generally the
best time to sow the seed as this provides
Eco-Lawn™ the opportunity to take advantage
of the naturally cooler, moister conditions
available at that time of year. Sowing
Eco-Lawn™ in November also allows the turf
to get itself established before it has to face
the heat of summer (for the best seeding time in
your specific area please refer to our Seeding Times
Chart ).
Site
Preparation
NEW LAWNS
Proper soil
preparation is the key to success and is the best
opportunity to create a beautiful lawn that will
last a lifetime. Taking shortcuts on site
preparation will often come back to haunt you
with chronic lawn problems such as thatch, weeds
and disease.
Eliminate all
weeds existing on the site.
Remove all
debris from the area to be seeded. Do
not bury construction debris as this will
cause problems later on.
Rototill the
site to loosen the soil to a depth of 3
inches
Ensure that
there is a gentle grade sloping away from
any buildings. Grades are very
important as too steep a grade can cause
erosion and loss of nutrients. A grade of
one to two percent away from buildings is
ideal (one to two feet per one hundred
feet of land). Poorly graded sites can
result in a water-logged lawn, ensuring
good drainage is essential as poor
drainage can lead to fungal diseases.
Rake the area
to smooth the surface and create a good
seed bed.
Spread a
small amount of weed free, organic
compost, a 1/4 inch
layer equals 3/4 cu. yard
for every 1,000 sq. ft. This
will help to start the seeds and the
compost will fertilize your lawn for a
year. This also helps keep out future
weeds and grubs.
Converting existing
lawns to an Eco-Lawn™
If you
have an existing traditional lawn and wish to
quickly convert to a low maintenance
Eco-Lawn™ you have a few options:
Organic Conversion:
1) For a quick
conversion you can apply an organic herbicide to
your old lawn. There are now a number of food
based organic herbicides on the market. Many kill
plants in as little as three hours. Read
the label carefully! Once
your old lawn is dead, mow the dead grass as
short as possible and then roughen the area by
hard raking it. Then seed the area with
Eco-Lawn™ or you can simply seed directly
into the dead grass of your old lawn. If you opt
to seed directly into the dead grass, please note
that it will take about 8 weeks for your new
Eco-Lawn™ to cover up the old dead grass
and that your lawn will look brown during this
period.
2)
Alternatively, strip off the old lawn to a depth
of 2 1/2 - 3 inches and remove it entirely. Then
either lightly rototill the existing soil or give
it a hard raking to create a seed bed. Then
spread the seed, rake it into the soil and if
possible, roll it flat with a lawn roller.
3) Another method is smother your existing lawn
with 4 inches of new soil. This will kill off the
old lawn underneath and you can simply spread
your Eco-Lawn™ seed onto the new soil, rake
it in and roll it. Please note that the drawback
to this method is that when you purchase new
soil, you have also just purchased someone else's
weeds! You'll need to combat those weeds as
described below.
Non-Organic Conversion:
You may also
kill your existing lawn with a non-organic
herbicide such as Round Up or WipeOut (if you
choose this option - Please read the label
first!. PLEASE NOTE: THESE CHEMICAL
HERBICIDES ARE ILLEGAL IN ALBERTA, ONTARIO &
QUEBEC. ). Round UP take about two weeks to
achieve the full effect. Once your old lawn is
dead, mow the dead grass as short as possible and
then roughen the area by hard raking it. Then
seed the area with Eco-Lawn™ or you can
simply seed directly into the dead grass of your
old lawn. If you opt to seed directly into the
dead grass, please note that it will take about 8
weeks for your new Eco-Lawn™ to cover up
the old dead grass and that your lawn will look
brown during this period.
Overseeding Existing Lawns
Simply
overseeding an existing lawn with Eco-Lawn™
will not result in an instant conversion to a low
maintenance Eco-Lawn™ as your existing lawn
will continue to grow. However, if you were to
overseed your old lawn each and every year for
four to five years, it will become a true
Eco-Lawn™. In the meantime, you will need
to regularly mow the existing lawn. So while this
method will work, it does take time, patience and
annual re-seeding. You can excellerate the
conversion process by overseeding twice in a
year. Check the Seeding Times
Chart for the best times in your
area.
Mow the
existing lawn as short as possible. To
one inch or less, preferably with dull
mower blades as dull blades will damage
the existing grass.
Remove
thatch. Fall only:
With a steel rake, deeply rake
to loosen clippings, thatch, sticks and
above ground roots (or rent a dethatcher
for big lawns).
For
spring seedings, rake
surface only (do not deep dethatch) to
avoid bringing up weed seeds to the
surface.
Rake the area
again. This time with a yard
rake and remove the grass clippings,
stones and thatch.
Spread a
small amount of weed free, organic
compost, a 1/4 inch
layer equals 3/4 cu. yard
for every 1,000 sq. ft. This
will help to start the seeds and the
compost will fertilize your lawn for a
year. This also helps keep out future
weeds and grubs.
Seed Installation
Spread
Eco-Lawn™ seed at 15 seeds
per sq. inch (a 5 LB bag covers 1000 sq
ft) or spread the seed extra thick at 25
seeds per square inch or 7-8 pounds per
1000 sq feet to help keep out weeds. For
small areas you may sow by hand. For
urban or suburban sized lawns use a
fertilizer spreader set at about 1/3 open
and apply the seed in two passes using
half the Eco-Lawn™ seed per pass -
one at right angles to the other in a
crisscross pattern for complete coverage.
Gently rake
the seed into soil to just barely be
covered, you should see some seed on the
surface after raking.
Roll the
area with an empty to 1/4-full lawn
roller (do not fill the roller more than
1/4-full with water so that you do not
compact soil). Rolling seeds in for good
soil contact is especially important if
you have any kind of slope to prevent
erosion.
For large
areas, Eco-Lawn™ may be
installed via hydro-seeding or by
mechanical planters.
Watering your
Eco-Lawn™
Water every
day (if it does not rain) for 3 weeks in the
early morning for 20/30 minutes or what ever
length of time that helps it be moist down to one
inch. A good way to know how long it takes to put
one inch of water on your lawn is to place an old
tuna or cat food can on the area you are watering
and time how long it takes to fill the can. Set
up an automatic timer if you cannot water
regularly yourself. In warmer weather or for very
well-drained soils, water a second time for 20
minutes at 3 pm. Never water after 5 pm in the
evening to prevent possible fungal
diseases. After 3 weeks, cut back to
watering every 2 days, for the next 2
weeks. Adjust watering timing and length of
time for your soil to stay moist but not have
puddles over night. If you seed in the spring,
during the first year only, after the first
month of watering, water to a depth of one inch,
once per week, in the morning. In northern
climates If you seed in the fall, after
one month of watering you should not need to
water again except during times of exceptional
drought. In southern climates you will need to
water at least once a week during your hottest
times. Watering to get your Eco-Lawn
established is essential.
Please note that if you experience drought
conditions in the first year of growth, you will
need to water your new Eco-Lawn™ during the
first season of growth. Once Eco-Lawn™ has
gone through a full season, your watering regime
will change dramatically. In hot, dry climates
such as parts of California or Texas your
watering will be cut back by 75% over that of
traditional, shallow rooted turfs. In most parts
of North America your established Eco-Lawn™
will require no watering except in extreme
drought conditions.
Sowing Eco-Lawn™
under large trees
While
Eco-Lawn™ will germinate and grow under
large trees, please remember that it is a virtual
drought under those trees (trees need and take a
lot of water!), so for the first full growing
season, after the initial germination period,
please continue to water your Eco-Lawn™
deeply under the "drip line" of the
trees on a weekly basis. This will encourage the
deep roots that Eco-Lawn™ develops to dig
down deep. By next year, you should not need to
water under the trees at all as your
Eco-Lawn™ will be able to compete with the
trees for the water that nature provides. Leaves
from trees should be removed in the fall. Mowing
them with a mulching mower is the easiest method.
The nutrients from the mulched leaves are all the
fertilizer your Eco-Lawn™ should need.
Slopes
On steep,
erosion prone slopes, Eco-Lawn™ should be
mixed with with an annual rye grass for rapid
soil stabilization. Add 1/2 LB annual rye grass
for every 1 LB of Eco-Lawn™ seed. When
planting on slopes in the fall, plant no later
than September 15th in northern climates, to
ensure sufficient growth of the nurse crop to
hold the soil. On gentle slopes with no real
potential for soil erosion, seeding with
Eco-Lawn™ alone is fine.
Dormant fall seedings
In northern
climates seeding Eco-Lawn™ via a late
season "dormant seeding" can be done
very successfully. Careful soil preparation, weed
control and good timing are essential with
dormant fall plantings. The seeds should be
planted in the late fall or early winter after a
couple of hard frosts but before the ground is
frozen. Seed planted in late October through
December will germinate early the following
spring. If there is any chance of erosion, a
dormant seeding is never recommended. Planted in
fall, your new lawn will grow rapidly the
following spring.
After sowing
Eco-Lawn™
Eco-Lawn™
germinates in 7 - 14 days (it is quick to
germinate and then slow to grow). During the
first few weeks, keep as much traffic off the
seedbed as possible. The tender, emerging shoots
of your Eco-Lawn™ will not withstand much
wear and tear. Once the grass has grown up to 4-5
inches (10-12 cm), you can begin cutting it if
you choose to do so. This should be after about
4- 6 weeks of growth. If you have some patches
that aren't as thick as the rest, they may not
have received enough seed. Don't be afraid to
overseed these areas. The longer they stay bare,
the more likely that weeds will encroach onto
your lawn.
Mowing Eco-Lawn™
The reason you
don't need to mow Eco-Lawn™ often is
because it grows very slowly. If you prefer a
traditional "cropped lawn look,"
occasional mowing will be necessary, but far less
frequently than with other lawn mixtures. Ensure
that your mower has sharp blades to prevent
damage to the grass. A mulching mower works best.
Set your mower to a minimum 3 inch (7.5 cm)
height. Mowing lower than 3 inches (7.5 cm) will
cause damage to your Eco-Lawn™ as it, like
all plants, needs to go through the process of
photosynthesis in order to live. Never remove
more than one third of the top growth. Mowing too
short will damage the turf and reduce its vigor.
One of the most common lawn problems is people
mowing their lawns too short!
Left unmown, your Eco-Lawn™ turfgrass will
form a gentle, flowing carpet of grass.
Weeds
Please note
that most weeds germinate in spring and early
summer and this will inevitably result in some
weed competition with your Eco-Lawn™. Weeds
will grow much faster and they can sometimes
out-compete spring planted seedings. Once your
Eco-Lawn™ is about 3 inches tall, you can
combat those weeds with a variety of organic
methods including:
1) Regular mowing which will prevent any weeds
growing from forming seeds.
2) Using an organic pre-emergent herbicide such
as corn meal gluten (Note: You cannot use corn
meal gluten within 5 weeks of sowing new
Eco-Lawn™ seed.)
3) Easiest of all, overseed with fresh
Eco-Lawn™ seed in spring or fall to crowd
out weeds.
4) Once your Eco-Lawn™ is at least three
months old you can, if you choose, also use
traditional weed killers such as weed 'n feed and
selective herbicides that contain 2-4-D if these
are permitted where you reside. PLEASE NOTE:
WEED ' FEED AND OTHER NON-ORGANIC HERBICIDES ARE
ILLEGAL IN ALBERTA, ONTARIO & QUEBEC.
When your Eco-Lawn™ is fully mature, it
becomes allelopethic which means that the grass
itself emits a natural, pre-emergent herbicide
that prevents other plants (weeds) from
germinating!
Maintaining your
Eco-Lawn™
Once your
Eco-Lawn™ is established, you'll only need
to water it during extemely dry periods, if at
all. If you feel that you do need to water it,
occasional thorough soakings are better than
frequent light sprinklings This encourages deep
root growth, and makes your turf more
drought-tolerant. Fertilizer should be applied
sparingly, if at all, in early spring or late
summer only. Slow-release, balanced fertilizers
with nearly equal portions of nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium are best. This
encourages strong root development to keep your
turf healthy without excessive top growth that
requires mowing. With minimal fertilizing and
watering, you'll reap the benefits of reduced
maintenance, lower costs and a healthier
environment!
A thick healthy lawn is the best defense against
weeds, disease, drought and insect damage.
Over-seeding your Eco-Lawn™ on a yearly
basis (again early spring or Labour Day weekend
is ideal) will foster new growth and keep your
Eco-Lawn™ thick and healthy. Overseeding
will also quickly repair a lawn that is thin and
patchy from winter damage, damage from insects or
other damage.
For more information please see our Eco-Lawn™
F.A.Q. page
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