In this video I want to show you how to keep your winter lawn green in Phoenix. My crew here is scalping the thatch and will then seed the lawn with winter rye to give this customer a lush green lawn in the upcoming winter months. This service needs to be completed between the end of September through Halloween. After November 1st, the evening temperatures make seed much harder to germinate.
First thing we do is turn the water off 1-2 weeks before scalping is scheduled in order to make the job much easier. We start with scalping the lawn as low as possible to expose the soil. If there is a layer of thatch (thatch is grass clippings that sometimes build up on top of the soil) you will want to either use a thatcher or a rake to pull up this layer and mow the yard again. Sometimes this is necessary so you can scalp the yard really short and expose the soil.
Now that the soil is exposed you will want to test the sprinkler system and make sure that you have good coverage with all the sprinkler heads before applying the seed. You will need a broadcast or drop spreader and perennial rye seed to spread it out at an application rate of 1 pound per hundred square feet. Perennial rye seed is much better than the annual rye seed that tends to clog up lawn mowers and hold a lot of moisture making the yard look messy in the fall.
Using a spreader, we recommend crossing patterns in the yard until the application is evenly spread. Once this is complete you can set your timer to water 3-4 times per day starting at 8am, 12pm, and 4pm. Sometimes I will add an extra water at 8pm. Pop-up sprinklers should run for 5-10 minutes and rotor sprinklers need to run between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the temperature outside. You will want to keep the ground moist for 2-4 weeks but you will want to prevent pooling of water as much as possible.
If you have any other questions about our commercial or residential lawn care and landscape services, please give us a call at (602) 944-0421 or check out our website, www.azlawns.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel and you can also follow us on Facebook.com/AMSLandscaping or on twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @azlawns.
