Ask Danny | Ep. 1: Improving Your Lawn’s Health

Welcome to the initial episode of Today’s Homeowner’s new podcast, “Ask Danny.”

Each individual week, I chat with an business pal to deal with your property advancement queries. We’ll share pro suggestions and practical information to support you triumph! Moreover, there’s always a exclusive or funny tale together the way.

Today we are talking about lawn care and sodding, with Sid Sexton. Sid is the founder of Sexton Garden & Landscape in Daphne, Ala., and is certified in turf and ornament spraying, landscape layout, and environment of landscape crops.

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About Sid Sexton

As the founder of Sexton Lawn & Landscape, Sid is a down-to-earth, genuine businessman with a enjoy for garden treatment, landscape structure, and providing the ideal items to his clients.

Starting off at age 16, Sid expended his summers performing for a regional landscape business and the community state club and golfing course in his hometown of Muskogee, Okla.

Immediately after earning his bachelor’s degree in business enterprise administration with a small in horticulture, Sid joined the U.S. Coastline Guard and was stationed in Hawaii, where by he satisfied his upcoming wife, Jourdan.

He was honorably discharged just after two yrs and started doing work as an account supervisor for a landscape corporation. In January 2004, he established Sexton Garden & Landscape.

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Sid is accredited in turf and ornament spraying, landscape structure, and placing of landscape plants. He is also a Certified Landscape Skilled and continues his education and learning by way of workshops, on the net classes and other situations numerous periods all through the 12 months.

Maintain reading through for his tips on typical garden problems.

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Controlling Weeds

“We laid sod in our property a number of many years in the past and it is held up very well till a short while ago. We’re starting up to recognize a whole lot additional weeds than normal. What ought to we do?” 

Sid: The greatest weed command is a wholesome garden. Grass demands a few important issues to prosper — daylight, drinking water and nutrients, and in that purchase.

See if the sod is having sufficient daylight. Trim any branches that could be casting way too substantially shadow onto the grass.

Also, believe about the type of grass. Some types of grass prosper in a person site and fall short in another. The type of sod could not be shade-tolerant. There is no true shade-loving turf, but there are some that tolerate a certain quantity of shade.

Upcoming, look at irrigation. Are you watering as well considerably or too minor? The appropriate harmony is dependent on the type of turf you have.

The past phase ought to be fertilization and weed manage. If weeds are the problem and you experience like you have plenty of solar, water and nutrients, speak to a professional for a weed command system.

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Garden Aeration

“Should all people aerate a garden, or is that in a problem when you suspect the ground has gotten more compacted?”

Sid: The reply is dependent on how a great deal website traffic you have on your lawn.

Do you have some mature trees and are individuals roots are getting much larger and bigger and getting up additional room under the grass. Do you have puppies or young children? Is there a soccer match in the yard just about every weekend? This will result in compaction.

If this is the situation, you need to core aerate. If it is a athletics turf, you need to main aerate 2 times a calendar year. 

For typical householders, at the time a year, if that, is enough. 

And just before you aerate, mark the places of your sprinkler heads.

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Prepping for Sod

“What must you do prior to sodding your lawn?”

Sid: Just before laying sod, get 5 or six soil samples from the entrance and backyard.

Label them so you will know what place of your yard wants soil amendment. Check with with your community extension office to see what treatments you should do.

Following your soil is amended and you are completely ready to lay the sod, get started prepping. There is no have to have to remove all vegetation, but you do have to have to get rid of the weeds. 

Right before laying the sod, crack up the soil with a till. This will generate a comfortable transition layer of soil that will make it less difficult for the grass roots to acquire hold. 

Then, add some organic matter to create a living soil for your sod to thrive, like Black Cow. (This is an affiliate connection. If you purchase this product, we will generate a tiny commission at no supplemental value to you.)

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Sid Sexton’s Mowing Guidelines

• Sharpen your lawn mower blade at the very least when per season. A sharp blade will make a good cleanse slice and will not tear the grass blades.
• Adjust up mowing designs. Do not mow in the identical way every single time each 12 months. It will help the grass to develop a various way and lessens the chance of ruts in your garden.
• Make confident you know the mowing peak for your turf sort. Diverse grasses expand most effective when at certain heights. For instance, the encouraged height for St. Augustine grass is 3-4 inches, whereas Bermuda grass requirements to be cut at an inch and a half. 

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Sid’s Experience with the Elusive Floor Pearl

Through the course of his horticulture experiments in school, Sid figured out about an insect named a ground pearl. Ground pearls dwell in the soil, feed on turf roots and appear like a pearl, as their identify suggests.

Around the years, he’s read about ground pearls in seminars and read through about them in textbooks, but he experienced never witnessed 1 in real existence. 

“I considered it was the Loch Ness monster — anything you explained when you could not determine out what was incorrect with a garden,” Sid claims.

This changed, however, when he purchased a dwelling in 2012. For 9 months, he struggled to uncover the bring about of why the grass’ wellbeing was declining. The response became clear when he was digging to plant a tree and pulled out a large wad of soil.

There were being white and pink dots everywhere you go! Lo and behold, it was the elusive floor pearl.

Now, he sees them just about everywhere!

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