AIC Landscaping. Landscaping, Lawn, seed and Sod, Long Island

AIC Landscaping, Long Islands' finest and most innovative landscape design and hardscape design companies that offers landscape design services to New York, Long Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County and Beyond!

T(516) 220-5780
Email: aicland88@yahoo.com

AIC Landscaping
266 Wood Lawn Drive West Hempstead, New York 11552

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Lawn And Sod

December 11, 2024

Lawn And Sod

Lawn & Sod

Maintaining a Healthy and Beautiful Yard

A panorama of green grass outside our windows seems to be a basic American right, an essential part of home landscaping. Lawns and landscaping provide that encouraging sign each spring that life is returning, and in summer, that lush green turf.

Maintenance; watering, fertilizing, weeding, and your perfect lawn awaits. Many of us feel that, the labor is well worth these sometimes almost Herculean efforts.

Sod or seed?

Labor has a lot to do with whether you choose to place sod or plant seed, and the basic tradeoff is cost vs. labor.

Brand new homes characteristically have that barren look that many homeowners ache to replace with finished landscaping as quickly as possible.

Using pre-grown commercial grasses harvested in the form of sod is the quickest way to bring green to your home’s exterior landscape. Planting a lawn from seed is less expensive. You can also select from a greater range of grass types by starting your lawn "from scratch."

Sod for a Beautiful Yard

AIC Landscaping is a full service Landscape Designer specalizing in Sod instsllation Long Island, New York. Serving Nassau County and Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. .

AIC Landscaping is your only solution for your lawn renovations serving Nassau County, South Shore Long Island for all your Sod installation needs

With a professionally installed sod lawn you ensure a healthy lush green lawn for years. Put the experience of Suffolk Sod Father to work for you.

With sod you can literally go from dirt to lawn in one day. Commercial growers select the best grass mixes and varieties for your area, cultivate and harvest them by slicing them into rolls, then deliver them by truck.

For many homeowners the payoff is saving the back breaking effort of fertilizing, planting, watering, then watching, hoping pests and weeds will not undo all the hard work. You can use your sodded lawn weeks earlier than one that is seeded and it will immediately help control erosion. Another big plus is that you can lay sod during those times of the year when seedlings won’t grow quickly.

Your landscape contractor looks for four things when purchasing sod: freshness, soil type, thickness, and weed content. Sod, like any crop, is perishable. Your contractor will check to see whether your local sod supplier harvests and stores sod, or harvests and delivers to order the same day. Expect commercially grown sod to run 35 cents a square foot and up.

The best sod should actually contain little soil, allowing the sod to more quickly establish a better root structure. The first few days are critical, however; sod roots are less than half an inch thick, which can dry out faster, and so require more watering while they establish.

The soil used in the sod should be similar to that on your property, because different soil types may drain differently or the roots may not penetrate the subsoil properly. Weeds are another concern.

When commercially grown sod is installed, it should be tight, with varying seams like brickwork. Your contractor should not overlap or stretch the sod, which can shrink as it naturally dries slightly during establishment, forming exposed edges and gaps.

Edges that don’t touch can also die, although it is normal for some browning to occur briefly during the first few weeks.

Sod must be watered more frequently during the first few weeks, at least once a day, and more often in dry climates. Rolling the sod is necessary during the first few days to remove any gaps between the sod and the soil underneath. Avoid foot traffic until the sod is well established.

Mowing should be avoided for the first week or so. Until the sod is well established, plan to mow to a height at least 50 percent taller than you will later want. If you want three-inch grass, you will want to initially mow it to 4.5 inches.

Make sure to add some commercial nitrogen soil amendment one month after planting, and again in the fall. While it depends on the grass variety you choose, remember that taller grass is usually is hardier and more drought tolerant than shorter-cropped lawns.

Seeding

Maintaining a Healthy and Beautiful Lawn

Seeding

Planting your own grass by seed or by plugs is another way to establish a lawn. Your landscaper should be quite easily able to handle the job of site preparation, seeding and initial care.

You can also plant for your specific need: Will your lawn be planted in the shade or the sun? Will it become a beautiful viewscape, or will your kids make it the local soccer practice field?

Traffic, climate and placement will determine what grass variety is right for your lawn, but in all cases, choose a grass seed variety that germinates vigorously and has a low level of weed seeds or non-grass contamination.

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Site Preparation

Adequate site preparation can be the most important factor for success in establishing your lawn and turf, but it is usually the most neglected task.

Site preparation is the same whether you plant seed or sod. The process begins with careful removal of debris, like construction material, rocks and weeds. Be sure to grade about an inch lower where grass adjoins driveways or walkways, so your lawn will be level with them when it grows in.

For better results in thin soil, the top layer should be removed and stored while the ground is rototilled, debris removed and weeds pulled. Afterwards, replace the topsoil or add additional soil.

Soil should be tested for pH levels so the correct soil amendments and compost material may be added to compensate for acidic or alkaline conditions. Once rototilled, soil should rest and settle before planting or sodding, and rain can help this process.

To remove weeds from your soil, water it; watch to see what grows, then remove larger plants and treat the soil with a pre-emergent herbicide. Commercial fertilizers will often contain an herbicide, such as Roundup.