In Hawaii, where we receive full sunlight all year long, cultivating lush green lawns should be fairly easy. According to Sean Fong of Hawaiian Turfgrass, it’s simply a matter of knowing what kind of grass is most appropriate for your area and lifestyle — and making sure that it’s installed and maintained properly.
Once you’ve selected a grass that’s right for your budget, space, and preferred level of maintenance, it’s time to prepare for installation. Here’s the five-step procedure used by Hawaiian Turfgrass:
ELIMINATE ALL WEEDS AND VEGETATION. “This is very important; you don’t want old weeds and grasses to come through the new lawn you’re about to plant,” said Fong. “You’ll need to spray multiple times, and it normally takes about a month. Don’t rush it!”
TILL AND RAKE THE AREA THOROUGHLY. Use a tiller to turn the soil, and then rake and remove all dead grass, plants, and roots. “If you miss even one root, it will come back up through your new lawn,” cautioned Fong.
ADD COMPOST/SOIL AMENDMENT. Cover the entire area with an inch of good soil amendment. “Get high-quality compost,” Fong recommended. “It will make make the soil profile a lot better, and help with nutrients and retention.”
LEVEL AND ROLL AREA WITH A WATER DRUM ROLLER. When the soil and compost are spread, use a water drum roller to eliminate divots and imperfections. “Roll it up and down, side to side,” said Fong. “You want it to be semi-compacted when you put the grass down.”
INSTALL GRASS. Fong’s team prefers to plant turf-grass when it’s dry. “But once it’s planted we soak it with water and then roll it again with the water drum roller,” Fong explained. “If the water squishes out from the roller, you’ll know it’s wet enough.” Once the sod is planted, work it as many times as it takes to get it level.
After installation, make sure you water heavily: two to three times a day for two to three weeks. Then taper down to a normal watering schedule — and begin mowing — according to the recommendations for your turfgrass.
When it’s done correctly, installation ensures a lovely, healthy lawn. Prefer to let an expert handle this tricky process? Now through the end of the summer (Sept. 22), Hawaiian Turfgrass is offering $500 off installation for all new orders. Call 371-0527 or check out the company’s new online ordering system at hawaiianturfgrass.com, which makes it easier than ever to start planning for your gorgeous new lawn.
With grasses for every budget, climate, and lifestyle, Hawaiian Turfgrass offers the popular El Toro Zoysia, and is also the state’s exclusive licensed provider of specialty varieties like Tifgrand Bermuda, Captiva St. Augustine, Seastar Seashore Paspalum, and gorgeous Zeon Zoysia.
All are grown at the company’s 67-acre sod farm in Mililani.
“We not only specialize in new varieties, developed to require lower maintenance, less water, and less mowing, but we also do turnkey grass and sprinkler installation services from start to finish,” said Fong. “We try to do everything so that our customers don’t have to do anything. We really try to set them up for success.”
Order your new lawn from Hawaiian Turfgrass by the end of the summer — Sept. 22 — for $500 off installation!
Call 371-0527 and mention this article to receive your installation discount.
HAWAIIAN TURFGRASS
CONTACT 371-0527
ADDRESS 94-840 Lanikuhana Ave., Mililani (by appointment only)
WEB hawaiianturfgrass.com
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