Sharpe Landscaping & Construction’s FAQ

Yes!

We prefer to use more effective turf-building methods such as hydroseeding and terraseeding™.

We can tend to your flowers, shrubs, and trees, but we do not offer vegetable garden maintenance.

We plan for projects for the spring and we offer snow removal and ice control services.

We offer foundation excavation, so if it is possible to dig a foundation, we absolutely can do that for you.

Hydroseeding is a similar process to Terraseeding that also mixes grass seed with other components that can facilitate its growth. However, it does not automatically plant the seed by mixing it in with blown-in topsoil, mulch, or compost in the same way as Terraseeding. Hydroseeding can be a great choice if your existing soil is of high quality, and you’re not worried about rainfall washing away your seed.

The advantage of Terraseeding is that it builds up a layer of material around the grass seed in which the seed is already planted and ready to germinate. Since this soil is high quality, carries nutrients, and protects the seed, it is a great alternative to hydroseeding in areas where growing grass may be more difficult due to environmental conditions. This includes poor soil nutrients or heavily sloped areas where rainfall can more easily wash away hydroseed. It can also require slightly less water and other forms of maintenance than hydroseeding.

Proper Watering

Your newly installed sod requires a lot more water than a regular, established lawn normally would. This is because the roots in the new sod need much more, consistent moisture.

You need to provide your sod with enough water to thoroughly soak the first few inches of soil for the first 7-10 days after laying the sod. This can be accomplished with about five to ten minutes of watering two to three times a day, depending on the weather.

During hot weather, you may need to water more.

Following this time frame, you can decrease the amount you’re watering the new sod to once a day while still ensuring that you’re soaking top quarter inch of the soil. After about three weeks, you can begin watering every other day and after about a month, you can begin watering as you would an established lawn.

Always make sure to water your new sod in the morning or evening to allow maximum moisture absorption! Grass will develop a blue-grey tinge if thirsty.

Mowing Your New Sod

You should not mow your sod until it is a bit longer than you would generally allow your grass to grow, about 3.5-4 inches. Once it’s grown to this length, avoid cutting it too short, and make sure that your mower’s blades are sharp and set to cut your grass evenly.

Foot Traffic

Try to avoid stepping on your newly lain sod for the first period after you’ve installed it, about a week to a week and a half. Even after about a month, you’ll want to keep foot traffic light as the roots of your new sod will be newly established and can be affected by disturbances, such as too much weight being placed on them.

Your sod will go through the fertilizer applied at installation in roughly 4-5 weeks. That’s when you’ll need to fertilize once again. The requirements will vary depending on what time of year it is. You should ask a trustworthy nursery or seed centre for the best fertilizer application specifications. Make sure you know what seed variety was used in your sod when you buy fertilizer for application. Different types of grass need different types of fertilizer!

Remember, your new lawn is still establishing itself. It may look fully established, but it is still in infancy and you should take care to keep up the proper watering and mowing practices. It may take months before your new lawn is ready for the stress of hot summers and cold winters.

When hydroseed is watered the fibre mulch retains moisture like a sponge and gives the seed the ideal environment to grow in. If you just throw down seed out of a bag onto the soil, when you water it the water quickly goes down into the soil. The seedlings do not have enough time to absorb the moisture or the nutrients from the fertilizer. That is why hydroseeding is far superior to hand seeding.

No, we only hydroseed over freshly prepared soil. You need to have a large majority of the existing grass and turf removed, the soil turned over, and the surface raked flat and soft – not packed down/compacted. We recommend 4” of fresh loam also be applied to the area and raked out soft to where you can leave a footprint in it.

We don’t spray over any existing grass, dead or alive. The hydroseed needs to penetrate the soil to germinate and root into it properly. When there’s dead grass/root system in the way, it will germinate in the fibre mulch and then die off within a few weeks.

Yes, it will grow anywhere, but without having a surface to root into, it will not thrive or last. It’s not a “magic” seed. It needs water, fertilizer, sun, and proper care forever to germinate properly and become a healthy beautiful lawn.

About 4” of thickness of top-quality soil.

No, you want it soft enough to leave a footprint in it. If it gets packed down/compacted by rain or from sitting for too long, you will need to rake it again before we apply the hydroseed.

With proper watering, you will start to see germination begin within 10-14 day. With proper care you will have a mowable lawn in about 5-8 weeks, and end up with a fully established lawn in about 6-9 months. Green dye will fade within 1-5 days. Keep as much traffic as possible off of the newly seeded areas for the first 6 weeks. You must continue to water it and fertilize it to bring it to full establishment, just watering until it germinates is not enough!

We do not recommend you let your dogs or kids onto the hydroseed until it’s fully grown (about 8-10 weeks). It’s safe for them but the wear and tear will result in poor growth.

We leave a care sheet for you at the time of hydroseeding. It is also available here.

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3 times per day, about 15-20 minutes per zone for the first few weeks. Multiple light waterings are better than one heavy watering. You want to keep it moist, not sopping wet and puddling.

Keep as much traffic as possible off of the newly seeded areas for the first 6 weeks. At 4-6 weeks after it is sprayed, you can carefully push mow it. Never remove more than 1/3 of the blade when you mow.