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

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

Just about every week, I chat with an field good friend to deal with your property advancement issues. We’ll share pro recommendations and useful assistance to support you realize success! Plus, there’s often a unique or amusing story together the way.

Currently we are conversing about lawn treatment 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 design and style, and setting of landscape vegetation.

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About Sid Sexton

As the founder of Sexton Garden & Landscape, Sid is a down-to-earth, truthful businessman with a like for lawn treatment, landscape style and design, and offering the very best items to his consumers.

Commencing at age 16, Sid spent his summers doing the job for a neighborhood landscape organization and the regional region club and golfing course in his hometown of Muskogee, Okla.

Immediately after earning his bachelor’s diploma in organization administration with a minor in horticulture, Sid joined the U.S. Coastline Guard and was stationed in Hawaii, in which he fulfilled his long term spouse, Jourdan.

He was honorably discharged immediately after two decades and began performing as an account manager for a landscape enterprise. In January 2004, he launched Sexton Lawn & Landscape.

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Sid is accredited in turf and ornament spraying, landscape design, and location of landscape plants. He is also a Licensed Landscape Skilled and proceeds his education by workshops, on line courses and other situations quite a few situations throughout the 12 months.

Continue to keep examining for his tips on popular lawn complications.

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Controlling Weeds

“We laid sod in our property a number of yrs in the past and it is held up nicely until finally not too long ago. We’re setting up to notice a large amount much more weeds than standard. What really should we do?” 

Sid: The most effective weed regulate is a nutritious lawn. Grass demands a few major factors to prosper — daylight, water and vitamins and minerals, and in that buy.

See if the sod is obtaining enough daylight. Trim any branches that could be casting far too substantially shadow onto the grass.

Also, believe about the form of grass. Some styles of grass prosper in a person location and fail in a different. The sort of sod could not be shade-tolerant. There’s no real shade-loving turf, but there are some that tolerate a specified volume of shade.

Upcoming, think about irrigation. Are you watering far too substantially or also minimal? The suitable balance relies upon on the sort of turf you have.

The past phase really should be fertilization and weed command. If weeds are the issue and you truly feel like you have ample sunshine, drinking water and nutrients, get in touch with a specialist for a weed command program.

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Lawn Aeration

“Should everybody aerate a lawn, or is that in a circumstance when you suspect the ground has gotten much more compacted?”

Sid: The remedy is dependent on how significantly website traffic you have on your garden.

Do you have some mature trees and are all those roots are having larger and larger sized and taking up a lot more area down below the grass. Do you have canine or children? Is there a soccer match in the yard each weekend? This will result in compaction.

If this is the circumstance, you need to main aerate. If it is a athletics turf, you should really main aerate 2 times a yr. 

For common homeowners, at the time a yr, if that, is adequate. 

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

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Prepping for Sod

“What really should you do just before sodding your garden?”

Sid: Just before laying sod, just take five or 6 soil samples from the entrance and backyard.

Label them so you are going to know what area of your property requirements soil amendment. Talk to with your neighborhood extension business office to see what therapies you need to do.

Immediately after your soil is amended and you’re prepared to lay the sod, commence prepping. There’s no require to eliminate all vegetation, but you do will need to get rid of the weeds. 

Prior to laying the sod, crack up the soil with a until. This will generate a tender changeover layer of soil that will make it a lot easier for the grass roots to acquire hold. 

Then, incorporate some organic issue to generate a residing soil for your sod to prosper, like Black Cow. (This is an affiliate link. If you invest in this solution, we will generate a little fee at no supplemental cost to you.)

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Sid Sexton’s Mowing Suggestions

• Sharpen your garden mower blade at least once for every time. A sharp blade will make a great cleanse minimize and will not tear the grass blades.
• Transform up mowing styles. Never mow in the same path every single time every single year. It can help the grass to increase a unique way and lessens the likelihood of ruts in your garden.
• Make guaranteed you know the mowing peak for your turf style. Diverse grasses mature greatest when at sure heights. For instance, the encouraged height for St. Augustine grass is 3-4 inches, whilst Bermuda grass wants to be slice at an inch and a 50 percent. 

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Sid’s Come upon with the Elusive Floor Pearl

For the duration of the system of his horticulture research in faculty, Sid uncovered about an insect identified as a floor pearl. Ground pearls are living in the soil, feed on turf roots and seem like a pearl, as their identify implies.

Above the years, he’s heard about floor pearls in seminars and browse about them in textbooks, but he experienced by no means noticed just one in real life. 

“I thought it was the Loch Ness monster — anything you reported when you could not figure out what was incorrect with a garden,” Sid suggests.

This changed, although, when he acquired a property in 2012. For nine months, he struggled to come across the result in of why the grass’ well being was declining. The solution grew to become very clear when he was digging to plant a tree and pulled out a huge wad of soil.

There have been white and pink dots everywhere! Lo and behold, it was the elusive ground pearl.

Now, he sees them in all places!

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