Gettin sod not from close by.

[Lukacs Property Maintenance]

What can i do if a customer has a lawn that was supplied from a area of different climate then mine. I am in an area that gets very hot and the sod that was brought in was from the wet coast. Any ideas of how i can bring this back to life with out redoing someone elses mistake. I was thinking aerating, reseeding and then top dressing. Any input would be great. Mike

[Steve]

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Does anyone have any advice for him on this?

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[StartALawnCareBusiness]

Originally Posted by Lukacs Property Maintenance

What can i do if a customer has a lawn that was supplied from a area of different climate then mine. I am in an area that gets very hot and the sod that was brought in was from the wet coast. Any ideas of how i can bring this back to life with out redoing someone elses mistake. I was thinking aerating, reseeding and then top dressing. Any input would be great.

Mike

Hi Mike:

Great question.

Did the old sod ever take root? If not, it should be a relatively easy uninstall.

Do you think it would be cheaper trying to patch an improper job and hope it works than uninstalling to do it right? I suggest selling the customer on a complete redo. Think of it this way: If you try to patch the old job and it doesn't work, this will reflect poorly on your company. However, if you do it right, you can take before and after pictures for your portfolio and use it as a show piece.

Since you may do a complete reinstall, subcontract with an irrigation company. It's cheaper doing irrigation before sod is in place. The customer will be really happy they didn't waste a lot of money trying to fix doomed sod.

This can be a really great job for you especially as we approach August.

Let us know how it goes:

Keith

[Lukacs Property Maintenance]

Thanks.

Maybe i should tell the you the complete situation. I have a lady that has sod, installed by another lcc, which was from the Frazer valley region. We live in the Thompson valley region. The two regions are almost 300kms apart. Two different climates intirely. The Fraser valley is cool and wet because it on the cost of BC. The Thompson valley is hot and dry interior country which gets very cold in the winter. What she has is already established(2004) sod. Would the sod have adjusted to the climate or would i have to aerate, remove the plugs, topdress and reseed with the right grass seed? She has problems with weeds that only grow down on the coast. At least i think. Haven't seen any other of my customers with this problem. Want to bring the lawn back to health.

Hope that helps a bit more.
Mike

[Lukacs Property Maintenance]

almost forgot she has irrigation already installed.

Mike

[Lukacs Property Maintenance]

Hello,

I have been goin ever this in my head tryin to come up with a affordable solution. I'm stumped. Help!

I did a scotts weed and feed. Didn't work for some weeds.
Any good books or web sites on weeds(not the narcotic)

Any help is greatly apreciated thanks,

mike

As long as she is watering it, I don't see the type of turf as being a huge problem. Do you know what grass type it is? Everything in Vancouver is usually bluegrass/ryegrass maybe with some fescue thrown in.

The weed treatment would depend on the type of weed. But what I typically do for lawns that are dry/poorly growing and generally in crappy shape is the "organic" aerate (usually two passes if it is relatively compacted) topdress with some nice rich compost soil and then seed. I usually also fertilize at that point to help the soil.

I'm guessing it's probably not the actual grass that is the problem, but the soil beneath it. 99% of the time, lawn problems (especially weeds) are to do with the crappy soil the turf was laid on. I come across lawns installed by builders/contractors where they just lay down cheap sod over the leftover dirt/debris from the construction of the home. Within a year it looks like crap.

[Lukacs Property Maintenance]

Thanks guys for all the help. This forum is the best thing since sliced bread (couldn't think of a better line). I did a few things that didn't cost very much at all. This is what i did:

1) Cut the lawn very short to frist get the grass to start growing good.
2) Did a Scotts weed and feed application.
3) I checked if the irrigation was watering for the right amount of time( it wasn't)
4) I also started to bag the clippings instead of mulching. (the weed seeds were goin into the bag instead of the on the lawn)
5) After a while later i did a weed kill spot treatment to the lawn.


The lawn is very agresively growing now which keeps the weeds down. I'll have to keep an eye out for more weeds and spot treat on the spot. The customer is very happy with the results. I think she understands that it takes time to have a healthy lawn. It won't happen over night. I tried to explain this to her but it didn't sink in until now. Growin good and 95% weed free.

Mike