Free Winter Grass Clinic Scheduled for Local Phoenix Homeowners

My local Gilbert Ace Hardware store located at 870 E. WILLIAMS FIELD RD. is just one of the local valley wide Ace Hardware stores to host a free winter grass clinic on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 2:00 p.m.

Ace Hardware was recently ranked, for the second consecutive year the “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Major Home Improvement Retail Stores” by J.D. Power and Associates in its inaugural study of the retail home improvement industry.

If you are new to Arizona and want to learn the ‘how-to’s’ of Arizona winter lawns and need step by step instructions, perhaps this free winter grass clinic was designed especially with you mind.

Mid September through 2nd week of October is the preferred time in metro Phoenix to begin the process of overseeding your lawns. The experts at Ace Hardware are offering a free class and will provide step-by-step tips on overseeding and lawn care solutions for the winter months.

I called my local Gilbert Ace Hardware store to confirm that they are participating and they told me that they were.  I recommend you call your neighborhood Ace store to make sure they are.

I’ve noticed around town, especially on the Arizona golf courses, and Greenfield Lakes Golf Community where I live has started the overseeding process. John Arterburn, owner of Pinnacle Peak Ace Hardware offers a tip about the importance of preparation of your lawn care,

“In order to grow a successful lawn in a warm climate, it’s important to begin preparation for overseeding when evening temperatures drops to 64 degrees. At that point, the grass will become dormant and the rye grass won’t have to compete with the summer lawn,” said John Arterburn, owner of Pinnacle Peak Ace Hardware. “There are several different seed options available, including new hybrid alternatives, which grow faster and require less water than the average perennial seed.”

For me, overseeding is not an issue any longer as my desire is a low-maintenance landscape, however over the years I know the investment not only in cost but importance of timing that is crucial to getting your lawns in order for winter grass.

It’s important to know your plan of attack when preparing your winter lawns. Bermuda grass should be scalped nearly to bare soil with lawn mower and then rye grass seed to be spread on top of the soil and you must then water frequently to keep it moist and promote germination. If the seeds are allowed to dry out even slightly, they die. Watering several times per day for a few minutes each time. The biggest job is removing all the old clippings before you overseed. This is important because the seeds need good soil/seed contact. Mow the lawn gradually lower with a bagging attachment and then go after carefully and pickup what you can. If you can find an equipment rental stores which rent dethatchers (vertical mowers) you can set it at a low (shallow) setting and run over the lawn several times in each direction. Besides re-moving the thatch (which must be raked and bagged) you accomplish the task of scarifying the soil (preparing it for the seeds, and ensuring good soil/seed contact). Another tip to remember is to not fertilize the lawn until the annual rye is well established (3 weeks).

Taking the time to stop by your neighborhood Ace Hardware might prove well worth your time Saturday morning to get you started in the right direction.

If you are looking for some landscaping experts and would rather hire someone to tend your lawns then you can contact Lalo Guzman with Guzman Landscaping in Phoenix valley at 602-434-7524. Guzman Landscaping does a fantastic job with trimming trees and lawn maintenance. Guzman has over ten years of experience with all types of landscaping and also works with flagstone, pavers, BBQ build outs, concrete, block walls and more.