Lawn Renovation

1. Lawn Renovation Post hurricane repairs

2. Some flood areas got killed

3. Some flood areas survived

4. 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.

5. Storm topping could be good or bad/salty; remove, don’t till in, if salt contaminated

6. 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.’

7. What to do spring 2006 ? • A dry winter didn’t help much. • Run a soil test and storm test if suspicious of salinity. $7 & $5. • Remove storm topping only if salty. • What’s 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. • Don’t rush into establishment; do it right. • Kill existing vegetation first before replanting.

8. 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 you’ll 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 won’t 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, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how affected is the soil.

9. 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

10. Have irrigation in place before final grade and planting

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

12. 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)

13. First establish a good seed bed

14. Broadcast seed uniformly

15. Get good seed/soil contact- as shown by tire tracks

16. Roll in your seed for good soil contact

17. 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

19. Sod beds need a good base too

20. Pallet distribution cuts work

21. Lay sod tight together

22. Lay sod in ‘brick-like’ pattern

23. Keep those edges tight together or fill in gaps with soil

24. Roll over your newly planted sod or plugs

25. Plugged lawn

26. Cut sod into Plugs- 2x2 or 4x4 “

27. Keep your newly planted investment growing well