Welcome to the 1st episode of Today’s Homeowner’s new podcast, “Ask Danny.”
Just about every week, I chat with an field friend to deal with your residence advancement questions. We’ll share professional guidelines and sensible information to help you triumph! Additionally, there’s usually a unique or amusing story alongside the way.
Nowadays we are talking about garden treatment and sodding, with Sid Sexton. Sid is the founder of Sexton Lawn & Landscape in Daphne, Ala., and is accredited in turf and ornament spraying, landscape style and design, and environment of landscape crops.
About Sid Sexton
As the founder of Sexton Garden & Landscape, Sid is a down-to-earth, trustworthy businessman with a like for lawn treatment, landscape design and style, and offering the best products to his shoppers.
Starting up at age 16, Sid invested his summers working for a regional landscape business and the nearby place club and golfing course in his hometown of Muskogee, Okla.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in organization administration with a minimal in horticulture, Sid joined the U.S. Coastline Guard and was stationed in Hawaii, exactly where he met his long run wife, Jourdan.
He was honorably discharged soon after two decades and began working as an account manager for a landscape organization. In January 2004, he started Sexton Lawn & Landscape.
Sid is certified in turf and ornament spraying, landscape layout, and placing of landscape vegetation. He is also a Certified Landscape Specialist and proceeds his schooling by workshops, on the web programs and other situations numerous instances all through the calendar year.
Keep reading through for his tips on popular garden troubles.
Managing Weeds
“We laid sod in our yard a couple years back and it is held up effectively right until just lately. We’re commencing to discover a ton extra weeds than typical. What must we do?”
Sid: The greatest weed regulate is a healthy garden. Grass requirements three main points to prosper — daylight, h2o and vitamins, and in that order.
See if the sod is having enough sunlight. Trim any branches that could be casting much too considerably shadow on to the grass.
Also, think about the form of grass. Some kinds of grass thrive in one particular location and are unsuccessful in an additional. The form of sod could not be shade-tolerant. There’s no serious shade-loving turf, but there are some that tolerate a specified amount of shade.
Future, consider irrigation. Are you watering as well substantially or far too small? The ideal stability depends on the variety of turf you have.
The very last action should be fertilization and weed regulate. If weeds are the difficulty and you really feel like you have sufficient sun, drinking water and nutrition, speak to a experienced for a weed management system.
Lawn Aeration
“Should everybody aerate a garden, or is that in a scenario when you suspect the ground has gotten additional compacted?”
Sid: The remedy depends on how a great deal targeted visitors you have on your garden.
Do you have some mature trees and are these roots are receiving greater and larger and getting up a lot more room beneath the grass. Do you have puppies or young children? Is there a soccer match in the backyard each and every weekend? This will cause compaction.
If this is the circumstance, you need to core aerate. If it’s a sports turf, you ought to core aerate 2 times a yr.
For common house owners, the moment a 12 months, if that, is enough.
And in advance of you aerate, mark the destinations of your sprinkler heads.
Prepping for Sod
“What must you do right before sodding your garden?”
Sid: Just before laying sod, take five or six soil samples from the entrance and backyard.
Label them so you’ll know what place of your garden demands soil modification. Consult with with your neighborhood extension business to see what therapies you ought to do.
Following your soil is amended and you are completely ready to lay the sod, start out prepping. There’s no need to have to remove all vegetation, but you do have to have to get rid of the weeds.
Right before laying the sod, split up the soil with a till. This will develop a soft transition layer of soil that will make it less complicated for the grass roots to just take hold.
Then, incorporate some organic make a difference to produce a living soil for your sod to prosper, like Black Cow. (This is an affiliate link. If you order this product or service, we will make a smaller commission at no extra cost to you.)
Sid Sexton’s Mowing Ideas
- Sharpen your garden mower blade at the very least at the time for every year. A sharp blade will make a nice clean up minimize and will not tear the grass blades.
- Modify up mowing designs. Don’t mow in the very same path each and every time every single year. It will help the grass to increase a distinct way and lessens the likelihood of ruts in your yard.
- Make guaranteed you know the mowing top for your turf kind. Diverse grasses improve ideal when at specific heights. For example, the suggested height for St. Augustine grass is 3-4 inches, whereas Bermuda grass needs to be cut at an inch and a 50 percent.
Sid’s Face with the Elusive Floor Pearl
For the duration of the study course of his horticulture reports in school, Sid realized about an insect named a floor pearl. Ground pearls are living in the soil, feed on turf roots and glimpse like a pearl, as their name indicates.
Around the decades, he’s listened to about ground pearls in seminars and examine about them in textbooks, but he had never viewed 1 in genuine everyday living.
“I thought it was the Loch Ness monster — something you explained when you couldn’t figure out what was incorrect with a lawn,” Sid states.
This adjusted, however, when he bought a home in 2012. For nine months, he struggled to discover the lead to of why the grass’ wellbeing was declining. The answer became apparent when he was digging to plant a tree and pulled out a large wad of soil.
There were white and pink dots everywhere! Lo and behold, it was the elusive floor pearl.
Now, he sees them just about everywhere!
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