Lawn Renovation

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Lawn Renovation

• Post hurricane repairs

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Some flood areas got killed
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Some flood areas survived
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Areas flooded differ in damage

• Severity of plant damage depends on flood water
  quality, duration and temperatures.
• Salty water for long periods of time in hot
  weather were the worst.

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Storm topping could be good or bad/salty remove,
dont till in, if salt contaminated
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Early sample conclusions

• For those areas that had a large accumulation of
  sediment, it is recommended to scrape or remove
  this sediment from lawns and beds. The primary
  issue with sediment is salinity, which when
  watered into the soil may increase the soil
  salinity and thus be deleterious to plant growth.

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What to do spring 2006 ?

• A dry winter didnt help much.
• Run a soil test and storm test if suspicious of
  salinity. 7 5.
• Remove storm topping only if salty.
• Whats dead is dead- reestablish as necessary or
  weeds will take over and predominate.
• Routine 7 soil test may be a good idea to see
  what the flood water did to your soil fertility.
• Dont rush into establishment do it right.
• Kill existing vegetation first before replanting.

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Simple Bioassays

• Is there an area that you think may have a
  problem with salts? Take a
• 0-3 section of the soil, place it in a
  suitable container and plant
• into it the seed youll be planting. Water it
  observe.
• Another more direct approach is to locate a
  questionable area and use
• a rake to rough-up the soil. Plant sensitive
  radish and lettuce seed vs Swiss chard, tomato or
  broccoli (salt tolerant). Be sure to mark which
  crop is planted in which area. Water the areas as
  needed observe.
• If sensitive crops emerge and do O K- great if
  the salt tolerant wont grow, you either have bad
  seed or extremely salty soil. Try some known good
  soil in a pot as a control comparison.
• With these tests, youll have a pretty good idea
  of how affected is the soil.

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Establishment preparation

• Get the soil tested
• Control perennial weeds
• Remove rocks trash
• Install drains, swales, irrigation, etc.
• Develop the topsoil
• Lime, fertilizer, organic matter, sand
• Develop the seedbed
• Till, rake, drag, level, roll
• Now plant seed or sod

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Have irrigation in place before final grade and
planting
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Propagation success

• Seeds and young plants are most affected by
  salinity or stress.
• Vegetative (mature material) is more resistant to
  salinity or stress.

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Establishment by seed

• Choice of grass
• Cool season type vs. Warm season
• Mixture, blend or one kind
• Review seed quality
• Broadcast or drill the seed
• Cultipak or roll to seat seed
• Irrigate (lightly frequently)

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First establish a good seed bed
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Broadcast seed uniformly
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Get good seed/soil contact- as shown by tire
tracks
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Roll in your seed for good soil contact
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Vegetative establishment

• Solid sodding
• Plugging or strip plug
• Sprigging or stolonizing
• Lay sod or distribute sprigs
• Disc in, topdress and roll or cultipak as needed
  to plant or level the surface.
• Irrigate immediately

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Sod beds need a good base too
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Pallet distribution cuts work
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Lay sod tight together
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Lay sod in brick-like pattern
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Keep those edges tight together or fill in gaps
with soil
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Roll over your newly planted sod or plugs
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Plugged lawn
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Cut sod into Plugs- 2x2 or 4x4
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Keep your newly planted investment growing well
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