If your
yard is more than 50% shady, Fescue or Zoysia is recommended. If
your yard is more than 50% sunny, Bermuda or Zoysia is recommended.
If your yard is about 50% sunny and 50% shady, then you may choose
whatever type of grass best suits your maintenance preferences.
Bermuda requires less maintenance than either Fescue or Zoysia
grasses, which both do best with regular mowing, watering, and
fertilizing.
How
much sod will I need for my yard?
In order
to determine the amount of sod you will need, measure the square
footage (the length of the area in feet, multiplied by the width of
the area, in feet), and then divide by 9 (this gives you the square
yardage). A pallet provides 50 square yards of sod cut in slabs, and
a roll of sod provides 25 square yards of sod cut into one long
slab.
What
is the biggest mistake people make in purchasing their sod?
Many of
our customers have confessed to initially choosing to purchase the
cheapest grass they could find. A lot of people think that the brand
is the most important part. For example, they believe that Tifway
419 Bermuda is going to be the same quality of grass, no matter what
company it is purchased from. With regard to sod, the old adage,
“You get what you pay for” is more than applicable. Many first-time
buyers are under the mistaken impression that they can purchase
cheap, bad grass, and improve it. This is possible, but not
economical. It takes months of work, and usually ends up costing
more to change bad grass to good grass than it would have cost to
purchase quality turf to begin with.
A
first-time buyer should choose a reputable company. Ask friends and
neighbors about their sod and the company they used. It is also
reasonable to visit the farm or ask to see the sod before purchasing
it. At Top Turf, we encourage our customers to ask questions and do
research before buying.
How
should I prepare my yard/ site prior to sod installation?
There can
be some dead grass, or grass less than 1 inch tall, if it is
scattered. Otherwise, it should be landscaped to the topsoil. A
landscaper usually uses an implement called a “power rake” to do
this. With regard to the terrain, slope, rockiness, etc., of the
site, the shape should look exactly how you want it prior to having
sod installed. Having turf installed is comparable to having carpet
laid: Just like a saggy floor without carpet will still be saggy
with it, if there are holes or large rocks on the site before sod is
installed, there will be holes and lumps in the yard after the
installed grass settles.
Top Turf
Sod Farm doesn’t do site preparation. However, we can recommend
landscape companies that do.
A common mistake is to prepare the yard for sod and then wait several weeks before installing. It is important to install turf ASAP on newly landscaped ground, because rain or wind can create ditches and ruts and can wash or blow topsoil away.
Does
Top Turf Sod Farm deliver and install grass or can I pick it up?
We can
deliver it, or we can deliver and install it, or the customers may
pick it up.
If we
deliver the grass, there is generally a minimum $75 delivery fee on
local orders of less than 1000 yards.
If we
deliver and install the grass, there is also an installation fee
which is determined by the size of the area, the location, the
terrain, etc. In order to install grass in a gated area, there must
be an opening of at least 8 ½ feet so that our forklift can enter
the site to deposit the rolls or pallets. If your fenced-in yard
doesn’t have an opening this wide, there may be an increased
installation fee due to the increased work load for our installers.
In order
to pick up your sod, you’ll need a vehicle capable of transporting
the grass, which can get pretty heavy. Pallets are 48 inches
square, so a truck bed must be at least that wide to fit 1pallet;
more or less than a pallet may be transported any a variety of
vehicles. Most customers use a truck or SUV with a trailer to
transport their sod, but some have been known to toss a few slabs of
turf in the trunk of their car.
Pickups
smaller than half-ton (Nissan Frontier, Hard-body, Toyota Tacoma,
Chevrolet Colorado, S10, Ford Ranger/Mazda B series, Dodge Dakota)
can carry half to three-quarters of a pallet, depending on exact
model and suspension equipment. A half ton truck (Chevrolet C1500
Silverado, Ford F150, Dodge Ram 1500, Nissan Titan Toyota Tundra) is
capable of carrying about one 50 yard pallet. A three-quarter ton
truck will carry the weight of a pallet and a half, though unless
they are equipped with a flat bed, only one pallet will fit in the
bed, and the remaining half pallet will have to be loaded and
unloaded by hand. A one ton truck (Chevrolet 3500, Ford F350,
Dodge Ram 3500)is generally capable of carrying two pallets, if they
are equipped with a flat bed. If they are equipped with pick-up
style bed, they usually run out of room before two pallets are
loaded, even loading them by hand. A receiver-hitch trailer can
generally carry one pallet per axle. Goose neck trailers can usually
carry about two pallets per axle. Also, Fescue slabs tend to be
bigger than Bermuda slabs because they usually have more moisture
and are cut to be taller and thicker.
Should I purchase rolls of turf or slabs?
There is
no difference in the cost: 2 rolls are the same price as 1 pallet; 2
rolls equal the same square footage as 1 pallet. Many customers ask
to purchase one roll of sod, and intend upon picking up and
installing the grass themselves. However, it is all but impossible
to install a roll of grass without the required roll-installing
machine. A roll of sod weighs 700-900lbs! Therefore, anyone who is
picking up their sod should purchase their amount in slabs.
Customers who hire Top Turf to install sod may get slabs, rolls, or
a combination of the two, depending upon the terrain of the site.
Rolls are generally easier to install unless there are ditches,
slopes, flower beds, etc., in which case slabs are more easily cut
to fit the shape of the yard.
When
does grass go dormant for the winter?
Of the
top-quality brands offered by Top Turf, only Bermuda and Zoysia
grasses go dormant during the winter. Exactly when the dormant
period begins depends upon the weather. When
it first begins to frost, the grass will begin to go dormant. After
a hard freeze, these types of grass are completely dormant. In north
Alabama and southern Tennessee, turf will normally go dormant during
the month of November, and will come out of dormancy during the
month of March. When grass is dormant, it loses it’s color and
doesn’t grow. This means less maintenance for the customer. Fescue
and hybrid Fescue with Bluegrass don’t have dormant periods, so they
require more maintenance, but provide beautifully colored lawns all
year.
Buyers
should use extra caution when purchasing sod during the dormant
months. Unfortunately, some sod dealers will sell dead or
almost-dead turf to their customers, claiming that their grass is
dormant as an explanation for the lack of color and poor texture. It
is important to buy from reputable companies, so ask around before
making a purchase.
I
recently had sod installed. Now what?
Water,
water, water! How well your new grass will do depends upon how it is
treated in the immediate days after installation. For about the
first 3 days, keep the grass very damp to soaked - you can lift an
edge of a slab and see for yourself how well it is watered. Within
about 4 days, the root system will begin to attach, and it will feel
and sound similar to Velcro when you lift an edge. At this time, you
should be able to see tiny white roots growing from the sod to the
ground. This means that the grass is doing well. It still needs to
be watered regularly, but it has made it through that critical
period when it really needs to be drenched.
Should I fertilize or treat my lawn?
Keeping a really beautiful lawn can take a lot of work! The level of maintenance is up to you, but for really gorgeous grass Top Turf
recommends regular fertilizing for an optimal lawn. If you have
Bermuda grass, we recommend that you use a pre-emerge in the very
early spring. This will prevent weeds from sprouting throughout the summer. You should also use fertilizer (Nitrogen with varying levels of
Potash and Phosphate) in late May and early August. You may use it
again in late October, but it’s optional. If you have Fescue, you
will want to fertilize at the beginning of March, the end of May,
the beginning of September, and again in the middle of November. If
you have Zoysia grass, we recommend fertilizing in March, May,
August, and October. We also recommend using a fungicide twice a
year on Zoysia grass - once in early spring, and once in late
spring. It is also a good idea to use a pre-emerge on Zoysia in the early
fall.
In order
to understand what kind of fertilizer you need, it helps to
understand what the numbers describing different types of
fertilizers mean: the numbers which are used to label different
kinds of fertilizer refer to the ratio of Nitrogen, Potash, and
Phosphate in the mix. For example, a bag of 20 10 10 indicates that
for every 100 parts of the combination, there are 20 parts Nitrogen,
and 10 parts each of Potash and Phosphate.
For the
first application of fertilizer on any turf which is coming out of
dormancy, we recommend using a fertilizer comparable to 20 10 10,
unless the soil is extremely deficient. (A soil sample can be used
to determine deficient soil. In the case of deficient soil, a
fertilizer comparable to 13 13 13 can be used for the first
application.) For subsequent applications throughout the year,
something similar to 34 0 0 would probably be best.
Does farming sod affect the environment?
Farming
sod benefits soil compared to other types of
farming because it not only 1) decreases erosion to almost zero, it
also 2) builds topsoil. Erosion occurs when the elements of nature
(wind, rain, etc.) wash or blow away nutrient-rich topsoil. When topsoil is washed away, any
chemicals that have been used on the area wash away with it,
gathering in ditches, streams, and rivers. On a sod farm, the
erosion is almost zero, even after a really heavy rain, and even on areas where grass was recently harvested - the roots of the grass are just below the surface, clinging to topsoil and preventing erosion.
Erosion
occurs in backyards too. Many customers make the mistake of having
their yard landscaped for sod and then wait several weeks before
installing. It is important to install turf ASAP on newly landscaped
ground, because rain or wind can create ditches and ruts and can
wash or blow topsoil away.
What
kind of chemicals does Top Turf Sod Farm use on sod?